Podcast

Bite-Sized Bits of Basilicata, Italy

Most people aren’t really quite sure where Basilicata is… usually I say, the instep of Italy between Puglia and Calabria. They start exploring further afield only after the greatest hits of Rome, Venice & Florence, but I see no reason why not to head down south first. I can understand that, in the past, you might have been put off from journeying below the mezzogiorno when even home-grown authors, such as Carlo Levi, describe Basilicata city Matera,“like a schoolboy’s idea of Dante’s Inferno…these dark holes…I have never in all my life seen such a picture of poverty.”

That was in the 40’s and, I am happy to report, the years have been good to Matera. The Sassi, or Caves, as they are known, that make Matera special, are one […]

Read More
July 8th, 2016|Basilicata, Destinations, Italy|2 Comments

10 Best Bits of Anacapri, Italy

It’s only ten minutes away by car from the port, but Anacapri, the other village on the Isle of Capri, is just as charming as its more famous sister – so wave goodbye to the port, you won’t miss it, I promise.

These bits might be a little Capri Palace Hotel heavy, that’s because it really is the only place that should be your home while on the island, unless you have one of your own.

ci vediamo a Anacapri

 

NB: I was the guest of Capri Palace Hotel. It was absolutely perfect and I can’t stop thinking about the time I had there…a true Best Bit! 

Read More
May 24th, 2016|Capri, Destinations, Italy, Ten Best Bits|0 Comments

A Bit of Paradise: Capri Palace Hotel, Capri, Italy

On an island resort, you spend most of your time in the hotel doing three things: sleeping, eating and lounging. Other activities, such as shopping and sightseeing, fall by the wayside as you grow lazier and lazier. If you are lucky enough to find the right resort, then sleeping, eating and lounging become otherworldly and, thus, Bits of Paradise.

For those new to Best Bits Worldwide, there have been only a handful of entities that have garnered the moniker of A Bit of Paradise. It’s not given out willy-nilly. It takes a certain combination of that “je ne sais quoi” and that “oh yes, this is it,” as well as, a touch of “they didn’t forget” and a pinch of “nobody does it better.”

The Capri Palace […]

Read More
October 22nd, 2015|Capri, Destinations, Italy|8 Comments

Best Bits Packs for Capri

This post has a soundtrack: so click before you proceed:

Capri. From Augustus to Sophia Loren, it’s one of those places that was born luxurious and always attracted the cream of the crop. Heading there next week and in a quandary about what to pack. Even though I’m not going at the height of the season, I have a reputation to uphold and it isn’t mine! Capri demands it of me.
The last time I was there –  a cold wet January in 1987 – young and foolish, (who else goes to Capri in January?), it was sweaters with shoulder-pads. After a semester in Florence and about to head home, it was my last chance to head down south. Sorrento, Naples and Capri – all in one short […]

Read More
October 2nd, 2015|Capri, Destinations, Italy|1 Comment

A Bit of Italy – A Womb with a View near Florence

If you haven’t read my last post on Florence, you might not know that I was a student there many moons ago. I never turn down a reason to revisit a city that was a home to me so long ago.

Technically I was not really visiting Florence last week. A barrister friend of mine needed some R&R and called on me to find us a “womb with a view.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald’s description of his and my alma mater!).

Flying to Princeton wasn’t going to be an option for a long weekend, so we had to pick a place closer to home. I put out the cry to Villa La Massa, Leading Hotel of the World and sister hotel to Villa D’Este on Lake Como. Luckily for us, […]

Read More
August 14th, 2015|Destinations, Florence, Italy|2 Comments

A Bit of Rome: Walks of Italy, Campo dei Fiori style

I’m not a food blogger per se but I do like to eat and where is better to eat than in Rome?  It’s home to all my favorite pasta dishes: arrabbiata, amatriciana, cacio e pepe, and carbonara!  So I jumped at the chance to take part in a Walks of Italy food tour.  Eating and drinking while wandering the streets of the Campo dei Fiori, a part of Rome I didn’t know at all, was my idea of heaven.

The morning just couldn’t have started any better.  I had slept like a bambina in my amazing suite at the lovely Babuino 181, a small but luxurious boutique hotel owned by my friend of at least 25 years the hotelier Alberto Moncada.  The cappuccino was perfect, the bath huge, the pillows down and what a […]

Read More
November 25th, 2014|Destinations, Italy, Rome|5 Comments