Focus on Palermo: Giardino Garibaldi and the Banyan Trees

Nestled amid Palermo’s chaotic traffic and beautiful Baroque/Norman/Arab inspired architecture lies Giardino Garibaldi, famous for it’s unique Banyan Trees.  While we were visiting Palermo, we took Ollie down to the Garden to stretch his legs.  It was a beautiful reprieve from Palermo and all of it’s chaos.  The garden is located at Piazza Marina, where [...]

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Caffe: The Basics

Coffee is a huge part of life in Italy. Cafe’s are on every street corner and everyone starts their day off at their preferred cafe. We quickly got into the routine of a morning caffe and an occasional pasta (pastry). The beauty of the caffe atmosphere is that it is quick and [...]

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A View Worth a Thousand Words

“There is a secret place in Rome” one traveler said to the other quietly. “We have to go! It is the most spectacular and unexpected sight. It is amazing! And the four legged traveler can come as well!” “Sure, sounds great” the second traveler responded.
They set off on a Sunday [...]

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A Sicilian Adventure: Messina to Siracusa

In which the three travelers encounter their first taste of Sicily……….

The three travelers sprinted into Messina Centrale; they needed one-way tickets to Siracusa and they needed them in a hurry. They had fewer than five minutes to purchase the tickets, find the train, and board the train.
They heaved their heavy bags onto the train [...]

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From Boot to Toe: The Drive from Matera to Sicily

The last time I wrote, we were in the enchanting city of Matera in Basilicata, visiting the spectacular sassi. We were now on our way to Sicily to visit the mythical city of Siracusa and the bustling city of Palermo. But first, we had to get there!!!
Before leaving Matera, we headed back to [...]

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Food and Supermarkets: Italy and the U.S.

In Siena, there is a small supermarket, Conad, which we frequented when we were in Italy. It was on the bottom floor and you rode the escalator down. They had a pretty good selection of food, including tortillas and even sour cream, both of which came in quite handy when we were craving Mexican food!! [...]

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Pesto: A Yummy Pasta and a little Italian Grammar on the side

Our basil plants have been growing out of control lately and I thought what better way to utilize the basil than to make pesto. I definitely prefer homemade pesto to store bought pesto, mainly because the store brands always end up being too oily and I prefer a thicker creamier pesto. Pesto [...]

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Prosecco with Basil

Every once and awhile Reed and I get a bottle of Prosecco. I recently found a post on the blog Figs Olives Wine, about adding a sprig of basil to a glass of Prosecco (I actually chopped mine up). You can read the original post here. We tried it the other night and it really [...]

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July 2, 2008 Palio Winner is…….

……Istrice or Porcupine!
The Istrice contrada won the July 2 Palio; the first Palio of 2008. The second and final Palio race will be held on August 16.
We were really hoping to be able to see a Palio race after living in Siena and seeing all of the festivities that occurred months and months after [...]

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Gnocchi

Gnocchi is the Italian word for dumplings. The word “gnocchi” means “lump” or “knot” and is originally a Germanic word that may describe the distinctive shape of gnocchi.
Gnocchi vary from region to region throughout Italy. The most common way to prepare gnocchi is with potatoes and flour. In Rome, gnocchi are made with semolina [...]

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