September it’s harvest time in Tuscany so in this period of the year we can find by bakery a special sweet focaccia made with grapes called : schiacciata con l’uva ; just simple ingredients but very very yummy : ideal for breakfast or as a cake for a tasty snack . This could be your … More Florence cultural tours with yummy stops in harvest time
This is my first commandment since I was ten years old. Sardinia took my heart away soooo many years ago and still nowadays I can’t miss one summer without its clean and emerald sea and I love it not only because of this : its coasts are so beautiful and each one is different from … More Sardinia: you shall have no other seas before me!
Have you ever seen “buchette del vino” in Florence? Maybe yes but you didn’t know what they were… In English could be translated in : “wine windows”, for wine lovers since the XVII century when , due to some export restrictions the Florentine noble families decided to sell wine produced in their countryside estates , … More “Wine windows” in Florence: one just re-open!
Buongiorno from my birthplace, Pistoia! This morning I after having visited the clothes market that as I wrote in another post of some time ago, it is on Wednesday’s & on Saturday’s in the main square of Pistoia since the Middle Age, I took a walk at the vegetable market on the “Piazza de La … More Summer colors of Pistoia : sun is here,on our food market today
If you are in Florence you can’t miss the Basilica of Santa Croce , the Pazzi chapel and of course all the nice shops in the nearby, especially http://www.aquaflorfirenze.com in Borgo Santa Croce no.6 a lovely shop where you could find the best room fragrances, parfums and luxury soaps to bring home as gifts for … More Berberè in Florence : an authentic Italian pizza in the heart of Florence
What a great, sunny day in Torcello island with a fab group of American and English people sharing excellent food in a relaxing ,charming and historical location such as Locanda Cipriani ! Antipasto di astice was so delicious with the perfect Bellini cocktail ( just invented in 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani owner of the renowned … More Locanda Cipriani : a must in Venice
What about having a taste of France in piazza della Santissima Annunziata in Florence? Not just food but even scented soaps ,parfums, herbal infusions , clothes , lovely hats, table cloths and much more. As soon as I ‘ve been arrived in the piazza suddenly I felt like being in France but on the back … More A bite of France in Florence
Have you ever tasted Colomba Pasquale ( Easter dove in English )? Not yet? Here follows some photos I took on the ‘backstage’ of Fratelli Lunardi bakery in Quarrata – Pistoia – http://www.fratellilunardi.it This special kind of soft pastry needs many rising hours to be ready for the oven in this case the Lunardi brothers … More Easter time : it’s Colomba sweet time in Italy!
Have you read ” Elephants in the garden ” by Kuki Gallmann? I did , many years ago & loved it very much for the great ability of the author to describe her beloved Africa, her second home . So it comes so easy to my mind this book’s title when I saw wild boars … More Wild boars in the garden – Sardinia Mon Amour
Love markets like this : full of nice stalls with organic food & aromatic herbs coming from the countryside full of different kind of people, a real melting pot !any kind of food fresh straight from the producers , hard hands & tanned faces so different from the citizen ones I love the feeling they … More A typical Italian – freak – market in Florence
Ever tried ‘croccante’ ? It’s an onomatopoeic word thst sounds like ‘crock’ & in fact it crocks under your theeth! When I was a child I was used to have it during the traditional Carnival in Pistoia ,when the street food trucks were coming to town & spread all over a yummy smell of caramelized … More Made in Pistoia : how to make croccante
What a great coincidence : Pistoia has been crowned Italy’s capital of culture in 2017 & just in this year , Bar Nazionale celebrates 50 years of activity! Run by the same family with the same kindness , with the same smile from 5:30 in the morning ( very hard to smile at that time … More Pistoia : happy 50th anniversary Bar Nazionale !
My grand-grandmother Inès introduced me to these particular kind of food when I was a child. I didn’t know what they were made of and so I tasted them & loved them inmediately. Nowadays , as my daughter knows what they are made of , she doesn’t want to try them : she really can’t … More Migliacci pistoiesi : traditional crêpes made with pork blood (Made in Pistoia – Italy’s capital of culture 2017)
Have you ever heard about “scole” ? In Italian it sounds like “scuola – scola ” = school in English but it has nothing to do with this . When I was telling about how tasty they were to my friends living just 10 km from Pistoia , they told me they have never heard … More A special sweet , yummy roll from Pistoia!
Why should you visit Pistoia? Not just because it is my birthplace , of course! ( or maybe…. just for this ?) not only because it is crowned Italy’s capital of culture in 2017 but first of all for its geographic position in Italy in the second century BC it was chosen by the Romans as a … More Where is Pistoia? More than 10 reasons to visit this hidden gem in Tuscany , Italy’s capital of culture in 2017!
This morning I was prepearing lasagne for tomorrow lunch to celebrate my daughter 18th birthday at home, and was thinking the importance of cooking for someone you love, thinking of her/him/them while you are doing this . Both my daughter & me decided to do it at home not just because it is the best … More Food & feelings about cooking
I love my birtplace Pistoia, as a part of myself, althought I wanted to escape from her when I was young as I thought it was too small , too NOT open mind for the big dreams I had..after many years I fell in love with her just because I have been so fortunate … More Why Pistoia ? my interview to American expats who decided to live here.
With me, yes, you can! Visit a family run business with the owners , explaining their experience about the Chianina cows ( it is one of the best meat quality you can find in Tuscany) they started with just 3 animals & now they are almost 100 .Their passion for this job : to feed … More Made in Pistoia : ever visited a Tuscan farm with cows?
Every November I really need to find an old mill to …smell the aroma of the new extra virgin olive oil ! I said “I need ” because without this sensorial deep experience I can’t start winter time :for me it’s the easier way to try to forget summer time & live the autumn mood … More Made in Pistoia : morning in a Tuscan old mill pressing olives
Everybody speaking about Pistoia but I am sure you are wondering : where is Pistoia? in Tuscany, of course! in the Norhtern part of it! close to many more popular and touristic cities such as Florence 30 km Lucca 50 km , about 67 km from Pisa (International airport ) just near the Appenine mountains … More Pistoia , a must see but ..where is it?
http://www.bajmacario.it/ This is not just a traditional Tuscan wine estate in Chianti Classico district ,it is something different : it’s a real experience in the wineyard ,tasting wine spilled directly from the barrel , smelling the grape inside the wood , have a ride on an old car from the Second World War among the … More Enrico Baj Macario : a Count who produces regal wines in Chianti!
http://www.bookclubintuscany.com/ How you can resist to all this? Everythinng you can wish is included here : book,📖travel, food 🍝🍕, wine, 🍷 great company 👭👭 day trips 🚗🚗 , shopping 👠👒💄👢 tastings , a lovely villa 🏡🏡where to stay , cooking class 🍳🍅 , historical palaces, city tours , Tuscan landscapes …whatelse??? My good friend Suzanne … More Do you like read & travel?this is just 4 you : an amazing tour in Tuscany !
If your dream is to live a real Florentine experience & feeling like being part of the History, not just a visitor , this is exactly where you should stay. In an historical building , Palazzo Ciofi-Jacometti , old columns frame the palace dated midway through the 18th century, commissioned by the Papal treasurer Marquis … More Where to stay in Florence & feeling part of the History : Relais Santa Croce ~ Baglioni hotels ~
Yesterday I was strolling in the Florence city center & I’ve heard a drum sound …so I stopped: I thought it was like being in another century … then I saw a police woman on a horse & lots of people standing at the border of the Calzaiuoli street that leads to Piazza della Signoria … More Celebrating 300 years of Chianti Classico wine 🍷: 1716 September 25th & today 🍷2016
I have already told you about Pistoia that has been called “city of green” because of its nurseries plant & greenhouses , exporting plants & trees all over the world to create fab private & public gardens /parks ,right? This time I wish to share with you this beautiful location where having a yummy & … More Pistoia’s gem :ever had an aperitivo in a greenhouse & in a kitchen garden? Here you can!
http://www.grandhotelsitea.it What does it make your visit in a new city an unforgettable & pleasent experience to be remembered forever ? In my opinion where you choose to stay is very important to determinate your first impression: the hotel or b&b or farmhouse ,becomes your home away from home for some nights & days so … More Where to stay in Turin with class: Grand Hotel Sitea ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another summer, another lovely dinner in one of my fav restaurant on the Emerald coast : “Belvedere” near Porto Cervo.It first opened as a gastronomy shop to take away & then during the years it became a real restaurant with few seated places & with excellent seafood dishes . This time we tasted a local … More A fish cooked in a brick : a seafood dinner in Sardinia
Agriturismo Gallura by Pieruccio is located on the way to Paradise costal few kilometer from Santa Teresa di Gallura. Just open in June but with a glorious past: Pieruccio open it in another location where we used to go almost every week in the past years when we wished to taste the real Sardinian specialities: … More Typical Sardinian dinner
Imagine a group of beautiful ladies from the States – headed by my dear friend Suzanne Stavinoha Waltz – sharing a stunning typical Tuscan villa “under the Tuscan sun” , on a green hilltop , in the countryside of Chianti area : amazing view, great landscape , vines & olives groves around it , aromatic … More Cooking class & sweet memories in a Chianti Tuscan villa
Here again after a long long ,busy year I can enjoy the same seaside & this marvellous sea, the granite marble big rocks 🌊☀️🌻🌴🌺meet my old friends from different regions & nations, tasting great food & excellent wines!🍾🦀🐠🐬🦂🌴🐚🌞🍷🍸🍹🍧☕️ This summer I have to add more memories to those I have collected in more than fourty … More Sardinia fascinates me !
One of my best friend , Chiara , who knows me so well since ever, talked me about a special place I had to see : GARTEN3 www.garten3.it in the outskirts of Pistoia, Quarrata city. Of course ,she was right : GARTEN3 is located in the main square of this town & on the same corner … More Gelaterie Garten 3 : a corner of sweetness!
Still remember one of the first Pistoiablues in 1983 : I was still a teenager & never seen before a concert in the Duomo square of my city ! The most impressive thing to me was the very different kind of people coming from everywhere in Italy & from abroad with long hair & long … More Pistoia: tomorrow starts 37th edition of PistoiaBlues Festival & it’s live music in town!
Amazing views, great wines, beautiful plants & trees from Tuscany – from my Pistoia, called city of green , beacause of its greenhouses – provided by Moreno Menci who exports his plants since more than twenty years in Czech Republic www.vivaimenci.com , a traditional Tuscan architecture for the farmhouse that is a 4 star hotel where … More A small Tuscany in Czech Republic
You know how much I love❤️ my birthplace , Pistoia, located in Tuscany ,just in the between of the marvellous Florence & lovely Lucca , more renowned & visited by tourists than my small city. So you can understand how happy I’ve been to be invited by Tuscanybuzz www.tuscanybuzz.com to a blogtour #BuzzMeetFriends along with American, Brasilian … More Pistoia : a must see town in Tuscany!
Since more than 40 years I have been stopping in Livorno just to leave it , yes by boat , direction…Sardinia island. Never a walk , never a look around , never some time to shopping or seeing its streets , its buildings : it has been since ever just an harbour to me, not … More Tuscany : Livorno, not just a port but a charming city
What a wonderful idea travelling all women together in the Chianti countryside enjoying food,wine & lovely landscapes! This is one of my fav tour : ladies only …..💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽 A stop in Greve in Chianti, for a beautiful & yummy cappuccino , a tour among hanging hams & salami by Falorni historical butchery, lunch by “Il … More Tour,lunch & shopping with Texan ladies in Chianti
What a great Sunday yesterday ! Some months ago I had the pleasure to meet a foodblogger from Prato – Stefania Storai www.minaelesuericette.ifood.it & she invited me to this event in Prato called : Pastamadre day , litteraly in English could be “mother dough “: the name is easly understanding , because it is from … More Prato & PastaMadreDay : sourdough for homemade bread & focaccia
Very easy to make with a real yummy taste : have it for a quick lunch with friends or your family . It’s a nice way to make just one meal in a short time & make your guests smile 😄or at least it what’s happened to me today☺️🙃 In the fridge you should have: … More Friday it’s perfect for a seafood carbonara, ever tried?
In Tuscany we love pork meat , in every possible way! Even raw pork sausages are delicious just spreading them on a Tuscan unsalted slice of bread….ever tried? if not yet ,you SHOULD ! Just buy FRESH ones handmade by one of our ‘norcino’ ( a particular butcher who deals with pork meat only ) … More How to eat a fresh pork sausage for a tasty aperitivo!
Have you ever heard about Certaldo before? Maybe because the renowned writer & poet Giovanni Boccaccio – The Decameron’s author – was born here …..https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Boccaccio and its home museum so interesting to visit http://www.casaboccaccio.it/ with books & even old shoes dated 1300 and aspectacular view from the tower over the hamlet that till today maintained its old … More Certaldo : a Medieval beautiful hamlet in Tuscany!
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