In Verona, children don’t leave letters by the fireplace for Father Christmas, but for Santa Lucia – the patron saint of the blind. She visits on the 12th December with gifts for the good, coal for the bad, and for the nosy, a fistful of ash thrown in the eyes. The girl I look afterContinue reading “Letters to Santa Lucia”
Category Archives: Travel
Italian sausages and beans (and Verona)
I was planning to write about sausages and beans, but then I remembered that I haven’t properly told you about Verona. About the way the crisp morning air nips at my fingers as I cycle to my Italian class (late, of course), or how the narrow streets ripple with life, and music, and spritz-drinking revellersContinue reading “Italian sausages and beans (and Verona)”
Taverna Tipica Veneziana: the Venetian chippy that’s bringing life back to Torcello
The Venetian island of Torcello has 11 inhabitants. Last year there were 16, but then Carmen’s cousins upped sticks and moved to Burano. Apparently they didn’t have a boat – problematic on an island where the local amenities consist of a couple of restaurants and a Byzantine cathedral (beautiful, I might add, but not muchContinue reading “Taverna Tipica Veneziana: the Venetian chippy that’s bringing life back to Torcello”
Verona
It was a good weekend. On Friday evening we walked from Chinatown to London Bridge, along the Southbank and through the dimly lit streets of Borough. I drank in October London in all of its damp, heady glory, knowing that when I come back it will be muffled by the gloom of January. But even now,Continue reading “Verona”
Day six: Cala Sisine
I’ve just realised that I never finished telling you about Sardinia. On the second to last day we took our rented car up the side of a mountain and then – going against all common sense – we drove it down a rock strewn trail for an hour and a half. The donkeys looked at usContinue reading “Day six: Cala Sisine”
Day five: gin rummy and a storm
I already know that soon this place will feel like an illusion. The morning wake up call of the butcher shouting through his megaphone; the midnight ceremony by the fridge as we scavenge salami and cheese; the twists and turns of the mountain roads, and the black-clad widows nodding their good mornings. On our firstContinue reading “Day five: gin rummy and a storm”
Day four: Baunei
A valley opens up before us and we catch sight of the ocean at last. Three hours on the road, Alghero far behind us. We’re heading towards Baunei – a tiny mountain town on the east of the island. The wind picks up by the time we reach our little house in the hills. TheContinue reading “Day four: Baunei”
Day three: Bosa
I lie in bed, listening to the sounds of Alghero (namely the very loud plumbing and the rumble of a mini tourist train crawling past our window). Yesterday I handed in my notice. In three weeks I’m moving to Verona to learn Italian, teach English and write. At home the idea seemed vaguely ridiculous, butContinue reading “Day three: Bosa”
Day Two: Neptune’s Grotto
At about 9am the church bells are drowned out by furious hammering in the apartment above us, the sound echoing through the thick stone walls. A cappuccino by the sea; a walk through Alghero’s historical centre, and we’re ready to face the Sardinian roads. With the sea on our left, we drive towards the headland.Continue reading “Day Two: Neptune’s Grotto”
Day One: Alghero, Sardinia
Through the drizzle, we see Alghero’s City walls loom before us, thick, tall and flanked by sea. Inside, the streets coil around stone churches and the city’s windows are draped with blood red coral. From our apartment’s window we have a view of a damp cobble street; to the left there is a white church,Continue reading “Day One: Alghero, Sardinia”
To The Table 