Category Archives: Travel

As our butler opened the door to our sanctuary and led us in, my jaw dropped. It was the most incredible space I’d ever seen.  We were greeted by an extraordinary vista with a private infinity pool just steps away from our canopied bed, living room, and breakfast table, all surrounded by a stunning view of the St. Lucia Pitons.  A perfect place for a honeymoon for even the most discerning and demanding bridzilla, and a breathtaking welcome for everyone else.  The cool breeze of the mountains gently informed us that our room had no walls, or windows for that matter.  We were at one with nature while still surrounded in luxury.

A suggestion to bring on a cruise is:
FAVORITE WINE. “Most cruise lines will allow you to bring one bottle per adult; paying the corkage fee of $15 to $18 is worth it if you want to drink good wine and don’t want to pay the exorbitant cruise ship prices,”.

what made this convention so exciting for us was that all those booths were focused on FOOD, specifically ways of marketing or bringing to market specialty food products from all over the world.  Almost 1,500 exhibiters showed more than 80,000 food products.  Importers met with producers and buyers sampled the newest products.

The James Beard House will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of A Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price. Noted chefs who have had an affiliation with or who were influenced by Vincent have been asked to cook at what will be a spectacular event. Giuliano Hazan, was asked by, Vincent’s daughter, Victoria Price, to participate. She said that late in life, when Vincent was ailing of emphysema and food wasn’t giving him that much pleasure, he greatly enjoyed a risotto Giuliano had cooked for him when he visited the family in Italy.

The wines bacari dispense by the glass are of the kind Italy excels in making: very young, light-bodied, exuberantly grapey, inexpensive and deliciously gulpable. Many are produced in the Veneto itself, including the most popular white, the fresh, soft, and gently sparkling Prosecco, and the most popular red, Merlot, produced in a simple, tenderly fruity style.

Usually prepared and served out of a small shack that may have a few plastic tables, piadina is a flat bread that is chewy but tender. Until not very long ago it used to be the everyday bread of Romagna. It is baked to order on a griddle (traditionally made of terracotta) and served with a variety of salumi, cured meats, and cheeses. One of our favorite toppings is sautéed mixed greens using a combination of mild and slightly bitter greens. It is both savory and soothing. Even without piadina, it is a side dish Giuliano often enjoys making. Made with Savoy cabbage, Swiss chard, and broccoli rabe, it appeared most recently on our Thanksgiving table.

The world has many magnificent markets, of which I have seen a good number, but it has none like Rialto. Its stalls are lined up behind an embankment along a curve of the Grand Canal, displaying their contents in the open air.

The children fed the donkey, played archery, and biked around the neighborhood without need for supervision. I don’t think I saw a Nintendo or electronic gadget from either the kids or parents for the whole weekend. It was a perfect, relaxing, getaway.

We had our first taste of Sardinia some years ago at the Rialto food market in Venice, and it had the quality of revelation. Daniela, whose vegetable stall is our favorite, offered each of us a small, round, deep red tomato, about 1½ inches in diameter, its top dimpled and marked by splotches of vivid malachite green. “These are from Sardinia” she said. “Pop one into your mouth as though it were a cherry.”

I would start with an introductory course on the spot. My son gives some in the wine country above Verona, see his website. I would then rent a small place […]