Just a little over an hour’s drive from Trieste, tucked away in the Julian Alps is the town of Tarvisio. This is a destination year-round for many locals looking to enjoy downhill and cross country skiing in the winter and hiking and biking through the natural beauty of mountains in the summer. Tarvisio offers you…
The name is a little misleading….Trieste doen’t have a Metro line and for now, and Google search brings up just the local “Restaurant Depot” style store METRO in Valmaura. But, just like mushrooms sprouting after our rainy spring, 111 new totems have “popped up” around the city of Trieste: 111 totems outlining 7 itinieraries around…
Wow, no one really knows how this summer is going to pan out. Theoretically “the worst is over” but then there are concerns of a “second wave”. Right now we are living in this world of contrasts wondering if plans made long ago should still be fulfilled. Many of us hoping to see family overseas…
This week Trieste, along with the rest of Italy, has begun a nearly full easing of the restrictions that have been in place for the last 10 weeks in response to the COVID-19 crisis. I ventured out yesterday, partly out of curiosity, mostly because I had some errands to run, but also to support local…
So after 8 weeks of lockdown, we are embarking on “Phase 2”, the slow reopening of Italian life, the economy and the business of “getting back to normal”. In my mind I see those time-lapse videos of springtime flowers bursting through the soil, first weak and fragile sprouts shoot straight up, determined to burst open…
Thanks to this #Covid-19 #lockdown, I’ve had a lot of time on my hands to dedicate myself to #QuarantineCooking. If you look at my Instagram page, you can see I’ve been cranking out cakes, pastas, exotic asian dishes, elaborate salads etc. However, sometimes you just want to let someone else do the cooking. During this…
So if you’re like me, by now you’ve cleaned out the medicine cabinet, purged your make-up collection of anything from before 2019, reorganized your sock drawer etc. The lockdown is getting extended and you feel bored and helpless. What can you do? Most of us watch the battle against the virus from afar. Sure, we…
Well, needless to say, there’s not much to report this week. Everything and everyone is on lockdown. Incredibly (I have to say this again) it seems people are really taking this seriously and respecting the rules and dutifully filling out their “passes” for any outside trip to the pharmacy or grocery store. As an aside,…
While Italy is seeing the globe’s second worse outbreak of the Coronavirus after China, the Italians’ ability to conform and follow national directives to observe a near total lockdown have surprised many both in Italy and abroad. I have to say that I am grateful and proud to live in Trieste and to have the…
With Spring coming early this year, the farmers’ markets are already selling the local erbe spontanee (spontaneous herbs a.k.a. wild edibles) like bladder campion silene vulgaris, wild asparagus, dandelion and aglio orsino = wild garlic (the Italian name means “Bear Garlic” because, apparently, bears waking from their hibernation tend to eat it in huge quantities). I…
As is the custom, this past Sunday the Mayor of Trieste handed over the key to the city to the King and Queen of Carnevale 2020 to signify the start of the festivities. Fat Thursday is this week and already families (with pets in tow) parade around town in matching outfits to festoon passersby (and…
As you know, I love Trieste to bits, but now I love BiTS! BiTS stands for “Bike sharing Trieste” which is a new program launched this week to promote “soft mobility” in an attempt to reduce congestion, pollution and provide sustainable alternative transportation modes in Trieste. This initiative is aimed at the tourist and…
Ode to the Rosa di Gorizia courtesy of Rosenbar Restaurant In the dead of winter, when all else struggles to bloom, the Rosa di Gorizia is the first “flower” to appear in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. I’m talking about a local variety of red radicchio (Cichorium intybus) that has been cultivated in and…
With All Saints Day coming upon us, I could have easily recycled one of the articles on the famous Fave Triestine, the tri-colored “Day of the Dead” cookies that are ubiquitous in shop windows this time of year, but instead I want to tell you about where you can actually visit the dead here in…
Here we are coming up on Halloween and all I can think of is Venzone. Host to the annual Festa della Zucca, the Pumpkin Festival, for the last 27 years, I have been jonesing to go and see for myself both the town and the festivities. Like a child hopped up on halloween candy, I have…
