Friday 7 November 2025 Today we set off for a fortnight’s research for David’s new writing project, The Wines of Northern Piemonte: Annual Report Spring 2026 sponsored in part by Nebbia e Luce. It begins at Taste Alto Piemonte, an annual event this year held in Stresa on Lago Maggiore, 80 km north of Milan. … Continue reading Piemonte 31 : Stresa for Taste Alto Piemonte : 7 – 11 November 2025
Author: countrymouse
Two days in Siena – and three Italian Cathedrals: 5 – 7 September 2025
Friday 5 September After we had tasted and talked with Guiseppe Gorelli at his winery close by Montalcino, we drove through the Friday late afternoon traffic to a car hire in the industrial estate in the south of Siena. We arrived at 17.53, just in time to hand back the car to two efficient and … Continue reading Two days in Siena – and three Italian Cathedrals: 5 – 7 September 2025
Radda and Montalcino: 1 – 5 September 2025
On Monday afternoon we rescued our big ugly jeep from the tiny carpark outside the gates of Volterra, and drove to Radda to stay in the Palazzo San Niccolò, one of the four star hotels on the tiny via Roma. I had remembered the parking issues from an earlier trip; like so many medieval settlements … Continue reading Radda and Montalcino: 1 – 5 September 2025
A weekend in Volterra : 29 – 31 August 2025
Friday 29 August - my birthday We travelled to Gatwick on the 09.38, arriving in plenty of time for a 14.20 flight - which annoyingly was delayed by an hour. Nonetheless we reached Pisa car hire (Locauto) around 18.30 and headed for Volterra, in a clumsy Jeep, bigger than we would like, and parked in … Continue reading A weekend in Volterra : 29 – 31 August 2025
Deal in Kent July 2025: three happy days with Lefty and Trish
When David discovered he had three days of outstanding holiday to take before the end of July, our thoughts went straight to Deal in Kent to where our long-standing friends Lefty and Trish had moved at the start of the year, and our promise to visit them in their new surroundings. Tuesday 22 July 2025 … Continue reading Deal in Kent July 2025: three happy days with Lefty and Trish
Westward Ho! a short English summer holiday visiting friends : July 2025
Wednesday 9 July 2025 We left the house by car around 11.00. David had booked lunch at Bowood county hotel en route to Bristol, and we arrived without incident to join a couple of other tables in an otherwise quiet dining room, serving strangely pub-like food; nor was it expensive, despite the exclusive surroundings. We … Continue reading Westward Ho! a short English summer holiday visiting friends : July 2025
Shetland : June 2025
While David served as the wine expert on the Wine Scholar Guild’s tasting tour of Piemonte, Hugh and I embarked on Naturetrek ‘s Summer on Shetland: Seabirds and Cetaceans. We had a fabulous time. Thursday 5 June 2025 David dropped us at the station at 08.00 (he travelled the following day) and we had a … Continue reading Shetland : June 2025
Siena: the Rise of Painting 1300 – 1350: June 2025
I was delighted that the National Gallery, to celebrate its 200th anniversary, was hosting an exhibition of the art of Siena 1300 - 1350; and absolutely thrilled by what I saw. Many pieces in this exhibition were small, portable objects used as devotional aids by the many pilgrims passing through Siena as they followed the … Continue reading Siena: the Rise of Painting 1300 – 1350: June 2025
Verona for VinItaly: 3 – 10 April 2025
Thursday 3 April An unusually late flight with BA from Gatwick (17.50) to Verona meant a long morning’s packing and sorting out - including watering Chris’ houseplants and emptying bins while she languished in Basingstoke hospital after her fall early on Tuesday morning, breaking a vertebrae. The UK was enjoying the long spell of high … Continue reading Verona for VinItaly: 3 – 10 April 2025
Piemonte 30: a week in the Langhe: 15 – 22 March 2025
Saturday 15 March We had driven from the Hotel Crabun in Pont St Martin to an appointment at Kalamass at 09.30 near lake Viverone on the Sella d’Ivrea (the huge terminal moraine created over eight different ice ages) and then found a very fine lunch - by accident - in A Cà Mia in Cigliano. … Continue reading Piemonte 30: a week in the Langhe: 15 – 22 March 2025
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