Tasting Catalunya

Tasting Catalunya

In that moment, savoring, reveling, and taking in the accompanying menu and literature, we spied an upcoming club trip to Catalonia, Spain in June 2022.  We were offered Albariño and Tempranillo, then, without pause, we joined Club Marimar and signed up for an adventure in Spain!

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WHEN IN ROME, WHERE TO EAT LIKE A ROMAN

WHEN IN ROME, WHERE TO EAT LIKE A ROMAN

From the ancient Romans we’ve inherited the basis for modern civil law and city planning, a standard coinage, a system of weights and measures, plumbing, aqueducts, bridges, …and delicious food, represented best by pasta especially spaghetti alla carbonara or cacio...

Photo & Food and More in Verona

Photo & Food and More in Verona

On January 27, 2007 the genial and indefatigable Piemontese entrepreneur Oscar Farinetti opened his first mega food store of exclusively Italian food products, Eataly, in Torino; now they are in 46 locations in 15 countries with several more in the planning stages. In...

The History of Pumpkin Pie

The History of Pumpkin Pie

THE HISTORY OF PUMPKIN PIE Pumpkin pie, an international symbol of harvest time, is a favorite dessert, especially in the United States and Canada, but also in Northern Italy, between Halloween and Christmas. Its custardy filling flavored with nutmeg, cinnamon,...

A NEW ERA FOR SLOW FOOD

A NEW ERA FOR SLOW FOOD

The International Slowfood Movement was founded in 1986 by Carlo Petrini, political activist, journalist, author, and publisher, as a protest against the newly-opened McDonald’s near Rome’s elegant Piazza di Spagna, the first fastfood restaurant in Italy. Today the...

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY “BACI”!

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY “BACI”!

“Baci” Perugina chocolates, a genuine Made-In-Italy icon, are celebrating their 100th birthday this year. “Baci” means “kisses” and their birth and history is the product of a secret love story between their creator Luisa Spagnoli and businessman and politician...

THE LENTEN COOKBOOK

THE LENTEN COOKBOOK

During the past five years The Sophia Institute Press has published three cookbooks, The Vatican Cookbook (2016, $34.95), Cooking with the Saints (April 2019, $34.95), and The Vatican Christmas Cookbook (September, 2020, $34.95). I’ve reviewed all three for...

JEWISH ROME: EUROPE’S OLDEST COMMUNITY

JEWISH ROME: EUROPE’S OLDEST COMMUNITY

     Today, Rome’s Jewish population counts some 15,000 people and a dozen Orthodox synagogues. The liturgy of the largest and ornate Il Tempio Maggiore follows the Orthodox Italki rite as practiced by Italian Jews since early Roman times. In fact, Jews have lived in...

Getaway to Fabulous Virginia Beach

Getaway to Fabulous Virginia Beach

My sister in law and I entered our wonderful hotel room at the luxurious Hyatt Virginia Beach and walked over to the beach view from the window. The curtain were closed so we opened them and our mouths literally dropped open at the fabulous view. We knew our room was...

Memorial Day Missive

Memorial Day Missive

Travel, even Epicurean travel, will inevitably lead you to some somber places. I have been to Normandy in search of Calvados and cheese only to find myself visiting World War II battlefields and cemeteries. I explored Manila and came upon another sobering military...

NOT TO BE MISSED IN NAPLES

NOT TO BE MISSED IN NAPLES

Naples is world famous for pizza, coffee, crèche artisans and music, both operatic at its magnificent 18th-century Teatro San Carlo and popular songs with lyrics in Neapolitan dialect sadly without a venue. That changed on October 15th when La Fondazione Trianon...

Why and When to Visit Minori

Why and When to Visit Minori

    Tucked away in a narrow inlet since ancient times, the small coastal town of Minori is located directly below Ravello, the more famous hill-top town beloved by Wagner, who wrote “Parsifal” there, and by many writers: Gide, E.M. Forster, D. H. Lawrence...