David had already spent a day in Trento, visiting the sparkling wines makers of the region before spending three days practising blind tasting with largely Italian MW students in Verona. I flew to join him, first passing the previous night in what felt like a luxurious padded cell on the seventh floor of a sort … Continue reading Trento and Alto Adige: November 2017

My mind turned to Pliny the Elder as we sat in the car at teatime on All Saints day, gridlocked just south of Erculano on old Strada Statale 18. We were attempting to travel north along this narrow strip of coastal plan between the sea and Monte Vesuvio - along with what suddenly felt like … Continue reading Oh! No! Vesuvio! All Saints Day 2017

We left Campania, heading east from Atripalda towards Melfi on the northern foothills of volcanic Monte Vulture, just inside Basilicata’s northern boundary, the region of Italy perhaps least known or visited, shown in red: It feels remote and unreconstructed, and there are some desolate spaces as well as extraordinary places. Matera, which we visited in … Continue reading And on to Basilicata ….October 2017

This view from Gli Dei hotel of the Pozzuoli part of the bay of Naples with the island of Ischia in the distance gives no sense of the immediate landscape. We were surrounded on all sides by the crators and sulphorous fissures of the Campi Flegrei, a volcanic landscape punctuated by webs of roads, tightly … Continue reading Campania: autumn 2017

Sail Croatia has an office in London and trades in pounds, but is a Croatian company sailing a fleet of smallish cruisers (less than 50 metres, capacities up to 36 people) locally owned, newly built and beautifully designed. Different vessels cater for different types of clients - we signed up for the 'elegance' range targetting the … Continue reading 2017 summer sailing : the Croatian islands

This was to be the first real 'holiday' for a quite a while...  We wanted the sea -  so it was a toss-up between a merchant vessel on the Norwegian coast or an island-hopping criuse with Sail Croatia on the Adriatic. The sunny option won despite my reservations about high temperatures. Easyjet have made Dubrovnik … Continue reading Summer in Croatia 2017: Dubrovnik

The river Isonzo, which  runs north-south on the western side of Gorizia was briefly swollen by the dramatic downpour that marked the first evening of our return to the region. We just made it to the Tre Amici restaurant before the heavens opened. Hic sunt aves said the notice on the northern bridge - and indeed there … Continue reading Hot, hot, hot… Veneto in high summer 2017

Can't keep an Italophile down! Readers may recall our earlier medical adventures in Friuli during April. Well, here we are in early June after lunch on the molo in the beautiful southern Tuscan resort of Castiglione della Pescaia, having a couple of days relaxation before the conference: Maremmachevini  (11 - 13 June 2017) begins.  Our … Continue reading June 2017 in Italy : Maremmachevini

It began very well. The forecast was fine and warm, and from the aircraft the lagoons surrounding Venice glinted, the canals forming a complex maze within the web of islands. The golden facade, the bronze horses and cupolas of San Marco shone in the evening light as we disembarked the traghetto and as every visitor … Continue reading Spring 2017 in NE Italy: a long story cut short!

Generous friends living in Pimlico kindly invited us to join them to celebrate the New Year. We began on the 31st with a brisk morning walk via Sloane Square, in pursuit of wine glasses for use that evening. On to Picadilly by bus for coffee and sandwiches in Pret a Manger before launching ourselves on … Continue reading New Year 2017