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…
We are lucky to live on the Gulf of Trieste, it is always spectacular. Some days it is flat and slick like a mirror without even a ripple. Other times it is churning with cresting white caps thanks to the bluster of the Bora. Sometimes it is a myriad of baby pinks and blues at…
So we are into the first week of widespread Coronavirus concern and alert in Italy. In January, it was just two Chinese nationals receiving treatment in Rome’s Spallanzani Hospital. Since late last week, we have seen the spread of the virus with cases not only increasing in number but spreading from region to region, country…
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…
So many Italian cities, towns and regions have symbols to represent them. Some are associated with an historic landmark or a cathedral. Others use their heraldic seals to represent them and for some, there are architectural details or decorative items that represent them like the winged lion of Venice or the Pomo of Puglia or the…
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…
I keep telling anyone who’ll listen that Italy has so many amazing and beautiful treasures to see that there is no actual need to travel out of the country. Just two hours from Trieste, in the Veneto region, is the city of Padova (Padua). A little smaller than Trieste, the city is just as enchanting;…
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…
This year will mark the 67th anniversary of the launch of the bathyscape TRIESTE and on January 23, 2020 we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its history making dive to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. From Greek words bathys=deep and scafos=ship, this deep submergence vehicle (DSV) was designed by Swiss scientist Auguste…
This year’s recipe “gift” is for a cookie that I have only just recently added to my holiday repertoire. It has been received with great success and everyone who tries them becomes instantly addicted. Is it because they are 95% butter? Is it the salty sweetness? Whatever the reason, these are sure to delight you…
Walking around Trieste, one often stumbles upon a beautiful building that has been shuttered for many years, if not decades… relics of a once vibrant past when the city was the epicenter of trade and culture as the port city of the Austrian Empire. Often one hears descriptions of these once great palazzi; the beautiful…
Now is the perfect time to visit TRIESTE FUNGHI – When I first arrived to Trieste, I discovered the most surprising and magical little shop, Funghi Trieste. I don’t remember now if back then they also had the fruit and vegetable shop next door, but as I recall, in 2015 it was just a tiny…
