Catania, Italy I had not really intended on going anywhere for the weekend, but Dario had other plans. After a short discussion on possible destinations, we decided on Sicily. It was time to find the best arancini in Italy, and Catania was the place to do it! First view of My Mountain (Etna) from …
Featured photo: Venetian scallops
Venice, Italy This is a photo taken in the fish market in Venice, Italy. I saw a lot of suprisingly pretty seafood, as well as some that seemed rather tragic (eels and snails that were still in various stages of being alive). The colors and texture of this photo surprised me when I looked at …
Serenella’s Limoncello Recipe
Naples, Italy (Note: the recipe is at the end ↓ Only 5 short paragraphs between here and there, I promise!) I first tried limoncello while out with friends and fellow Couchsurfers at Trattoria da Nennella in Naples. There were 14 of us there and we had lots of food and red wine. I'm a …
Featured photo: Mt. Vesuvio
Naples, Italy As a big fan of nature, I dislike descriptions of volcanoes that include words like "fury" and "wrath." It's just nature, after all. I mean, if you watch a cooking show, you don't focus on the tragic destruction of all those little wheat seeds, do you? No, you just look forward to the …
Featured photo: Stromboli
Stromboli, Italy Photo of a ship anchored off the volcanic island of Stromboli, with the Strombolicchio in the background. The Strombolicchio is the "throat" of an ancient volcano, possibly the oldest in the region. As I understand it, all of the Aolian Islands in Sicily are volcanic, with two of them (Stromboli and Vulcano) remaining …
How to drive your Italian lover crazy!
Naples, Italy Out for a late night cioccolata with my handsome Italian companion, he suddenly leaned forward to kiss me. Finalmente! I had heard about how romantic Italian men are, and now I was being given a chance to test the theory. Fortunately, my charming companion was a talented kisser and did not disappoint. …
Top 5 in Cork — x 3!
Cork, Ireland I was recently asked to do a guest post for GotSaga.com about the Top 5 in Cork. I asked if they wanted County Cork or Cork city, but by the time I got the answer, it was too late! I was already off and running — I had THREE top 5 lists! …
Southwest Co. Cork
17 Dec. 2010 Co. Cork, Ireland Dario's parents were in town for a brief holiday visit. Other than an afternoon outing to Blarney Castle, most of their time had been spent in the city. We both really wanted to show them some of the beautiful Irish countryside and coast so they would have a better …
The Cork Accent
Found this on the Peoples Republic of Cork forums, where folks were quite outraged at his representation. Mention of broken legs and such, eek! …I have to say, I found it pretty funny. It's a bit Yoda-fied, but still funny. (I hope Janet, of Journalist On The Run, will forgive me for chuckling a bit.) …
Blarney Castle
Blarney, Ireland I finally had an excuse to visit Blarney Castle! Dario’s family was visiting from Italy, so I took the opportunity to head up the hill and gain the gift of eloquence (about time!). I dragged my friend, Steven, along, too. He’s a bad, bad Irishman and had never been there. That situation is …
Cork: South Parish
Cork, Ireland Tourist information offices are easy to dismiss as being designed for, well, tourists. They are also, however, a great source of information for locals who would like to learn about upcoming events as well as a bit of history. Handily enough, the Cork tourist office has 2 brochures published by the Cork City …
3 things on Sunday
7 Nov. 2010 Cork, Ireland Dario and I had lunch in town, then walked around a bit and ran errands. Found a few amusing things along the way. Just following orders.
Cork-surfers.
30 Oct. 2010 Cork, Ireland I think we can all agree that, whenever it is humanly possible, you should use puns. It is one of the clearest, simplest laws of nature. Not worth debating, really. I mean, on my first trip to Cork, I sent out couch requests with "Cork-surfing" as the subject line, because …
Nigel Tufnel on Stonehenge
Whenever I travel somewhere new, I like to study up on the history of the place I'm visiting. If I am rushed, it will be a cursory browse through a guide book and a couple of quick internet searches. When I have more time, I might order something from The Teaching Company, like when we …
The Dragon of Shandon Samhain Parade
Cork, Ireland One of the best things about living in Cork is the creativity and liveliness of the art scene. One of the best things about living in Ireland is seeing the mishmash of history and religion that are present nearly everywhere you go. One of the best things about October is that the …
Magical Cork
Every once in a while, I give in and believe in Irish faeries. Sometimes it is when the house keys go missing only to reappear in a spot that has been check at least 5 times! Other times it is when we manage to sneak out to the coast and breath in that fresh Irish …
EATcork
26 Sept. 2010 Cork, Ireland, along the Grand Parade. Mmm… delicious sausage rolls! Mushy is good in this context. NetworkedBlogs setting had to be tweaked, so you get another EATcork picture! We had partaken of the meat pies at The Grafton, a local pub, a few nights prior and found them quite tasty! …
Bishop Lucey Park
Bishop Lucey Park, Cork, Ireland. Dario and I finished off the ice cream we bought at the EATcork food festival while enjoying the spectacle of two tiny doggies (one was a puppy :D) running around the small park as if they’d just found Disneyland. You can just see the bigger one to the left of …