When Leonardo da Vinci set out to paint his famous portrait, the Mona Lisa, he took much time to consider the most appropriate background. The scenery had to enhance her physical beauty, not overwhelm it, and it had to evoke the viewer’s idea of paradise. His solution was to paint the landscape dearest to his heart, the… Read More
Popular in southern Italy, a Tiella is a beautifully layered vegetable dish that often contains tomatoes, potatoes, and zucchini. Its name refers to a deep earthenware baking dish as well as anything cooked in that dish. A Tiella, however, can also be cooked in other baking dishes. Every region in Italy has their own favorite version of Tiella—variations for ingredients… Read More
This post is inspired by a question from Josephine, a dear friend and member of our Petit World Citizen community. In response to recent posts about our family vacation to Italy, she asked if I could spend some time discussing the practicalities—such as learning the language, obtaining a visa, and exchanging and handling money—for travel… Read More
No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. – Lin Yutang I relax on an old wooden bench in the piazza just around the corner from our hotel. The sound of the water splashing in the center fountain competes with the… Read More
It was a cuisine made of labor and patience and the love of aromatic herbs. It was a cuisine of lean folk who lived on lean land—sea cliffs and terraces hewn by hand from solid stone—and lean olive trees. — Vittorio G. Rossi, nostalgic of his native Ligurian cuisine Before traveling to Liguria, I was… Read More
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~ Mark Twain I’ve often wondered what it would be like to live by the sea. I don’t mean just living in a house with beach-front property, although that could be very nice. Instead,… Read More
