Ciaotraveler

          I recently watched the movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley (again) and was surprised to see the same three stars were in another movie recently.   Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law  also starred in the movie, Contagion.  The Ripley  film featured many great European locations especially in Italy.  To the left is  the  historical coffee bar Cafe Florian , the oldest cafe in Venice in the main Piazza, St. Mark's Square where the stars met several times throughout the movie. The historical, popular Church in San Marco Basilica in the main Piazza, one of the most amazing and most visited Cathedrals in Europe.  Several hotels...

Published: Oct 17th, 2012  Life in Italy From the Ligurian coast, past the shores of Lake Garda; through Le Marche, Tuscany and Umbria way down through Lazio and Campania; all the way to Puglia, Calabria, and beyond to Sicily, Sardinia and other islands: the olive tree is a dominant and enduring feature of the Italian landscape. Indeed, the olive tree, a sturdy ancient Mediterranean plant, is a powerful and evocative representation of culture and civilisation. The ancients considered olives not just as a food, but a general panacea, a magical elixir of health and eternal youth.  The olive ranges in size from shrub to immense tree, and yields both fruit for eating, as well as a rich prize of precious  olio di oliva , the basis of the so-called Mediterranean diet.  Olive oil,

It was another elegant ($650k)  wedding this time in Luxembourg for Prince Guillaume, 30, heir to the throne, and Belgian Countess Stephanie di Lannoy, 28.   Guillaume is a lieutenant colonel in the Luxembourg army and has been engaged in humanitarian work.  She plays piano and violin, swims, skis, and speaks French and German - two of Luxembourg's three official languages.  She is studying the third, which is called Luxembourgish.  Her wedding gown and 13' train and designed by Elle Saab.   Daily Mail UK  here .

Justin and Jessica Timberlake were married October 19, 2012 at Resort Borgo Egnazia, Provence of Brindisi, Puglia, Italy.  Puglia is located on the Adriatic Sea side of Southeastern Italy.  This is not your typical touristy area so they picked a great choice to be discreet.  Congratulations, Justin and Jessica and...

  The street vendors in Italy are some of the best in Europe...here's my favorite Chestnut vendor in Rome.  You can smell these a mile away.  The most popular vendors in the hot weather are the cold fruit drinks. I love Rome and the Roman ruins in the off-season!   The chestnut vendors are nearby.... Lugano Market Pumpkins Lavendar in Lugano Lugano Chestnut Vendor Granita vendors...wow, this is the greatest smooth iced drink made from the freshest fruits especially lemons, blood oranges and oranges.  These are obviously located at Pompeii. Wandering musician in Lucca, Italy Looking on the town below Orvieto, It. The fresh cocoanut and garlic knots, Pisa, It. My favorite flower vendors in Milano. Not really a street vendor, but he sort of hangs out in this London street a lot! It's not u...

I come from the land of cotton, grapes and dairy farms in the great Central Valley of California.  Bruce Springsteen sang about the early immigrants living and working along the Central Valley agricultural producing trails.  When I was growing up, I knew people who worked in the fields and I even picked tomatoes one summer.  On a recent drive by some of the many fields in our area, I realized it was close to harvest time and the cotton will soon be gone.  Here's just a small tribute to its wonders, handmade from Europe...

I was inspired by the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, today as I watched her make authentic French bistro foods.  She finished with a beautiful outdoor table scape, French style naturally.  Ina  cut fresh lilies from her own estate garden.  She  mastered the Julia  Child's French Cook Book and enjoys cooking the French way with her own twist of making it simple.  I loved her simple Apple Tarts that she made today.  You can see that recipe at the end of this post and the link to her favorite shops in Paris...

Versus pronounced vair-ZHOO), sometimes spelled verjuice, is a French term that when translated into English mean “green juice." It is a medieval condiment that was once a staple of French provincial cooking and is now enjoying a worldwide revival. In medieval times the term verjus could refer to the juice of a variety of unripe fruit - from grapes to plums. Today, Verjus is made from semi-ripe and unfermented wine grapes. The grapes are hand-picked from the vine during a period called veraison (when the grapes change in color and the berries begin to soften enough to press). Grapes are thinned to reduce the crop load in our vineyard. The thinned grapes are high in acid and low in sugar. Sugars at this harvest can range between 13 and 15 brix. In Oregon, veraison occurs sometime in mid August. Because  verjus is made from wine grapes and shares the same acid-base as wine, it is an elegant and delicate alternative to vinegar and lemon juice as it is “wine friendly” and will ...

These design and photo tips may help you post on facebook or your first blog posts.  We all have to start somewhere. Try different effects depending on the statement you're trying to make in your post. Upper left is the original photo of this home in France.  Read on to see how the effects were created and more design tricks...

Si si in Sorrento! This lovely well-dressed lady from New Orleans, LA., was someone we met while dining in Sorrento, IT.  She adored her Cocker Spaniel, "Maggie Mae".  We also bumped into the pair in Positano just by accident the next day!  She was so memorable and her dog too!  See...

This only appears to be a magnetic board with my photos on it with colored travel magnets.  This is NOT what it appears...read on...

Ever thought about swapping homes for a much needed vacation?  Many travelers are doing this every year to save money or to have a more personal experiences.  There are many services that handle these vacation home exchanges.  What a great way to see the world...more houses...

One of the things that makes the small villages of Europe so special and charming are the quaint, local neighborhood markets.   This is a wine shop in Pienza, in the provence of Siena, Italy.  Notice the church in the background that adds a serene, romantic atmosphere to the area.  This is a main street in Piensa immaculately cared for by its citizens and business owners to attract tourists. Pienza in the Siena province is a very lovely quintessential hilltop town to visit in Tuscany.  Another...

Complete France In the last few years second-hand shopping, whether it’s for furniture, clothing or bric-a-brac, has experienced something of a renaissance, and France offers a particularly good hunting ground for those looking to create a unique look for less. Easter to October is flea market season across the Channel, with events taking place in towns and villages across France on Saturdays and Sundays during the spring and summer.  See more...

Oh that chef-family-man, David Rocco was on TV today again pushing his Italian cooking!  I just had to watch because he's so charming and well uh, you know, an inspirational Italian chef of simple authentic Italian cuisine.  He was featuring an Amalfi Coast  area farmer who creates hearty and creamy Bufalo Mozzarella .   Now, this isn't just mozzarella--it drips cream when you squeeze a mound of the fresh stuff!  More...

Published: Aug 10th, 2012     Life in Italy words by Kate Wickers With its distinctive red, white and green tricolore ingredients Insalata Caprese literally flies the flag for all Italian salads. Purists would say that it should only be eaten in the summer as the tomatoes should ripened on the vine so that they are not too soft but juicy and full of flavour from the mineral rich volcanic soil found near the Vesuvius. The basil should be young, tender and also grown in the earth and the mozzarella preferably the best “mozzarella di bufala” , made from buffalo milk , from the Campania region around Naples. And don’t even think about dousing the salad in any olive oil. Only genuine extra-virgin will do. Of course there are many variations on the theme and many confuse the Caprese with the Insalata Tricolore, which is a salad made up with the colours of the Italian flag, mozzarella and tomato combined with any other green ingredient, commonly arugula. See more.....

I recently caught the dynamic duo, Extra Virgin's Gabriele and Debi, on the Cooking Channel prepare a local dish for an audience in Tuscany.  Talk about stressed, poor Gabriele was nervous but did a great job preparing the shrimp and zucchini dish with risotto for the crowd.  He is testing dishes to share as authentic recipes from the the Tuscany region .  Debra also shares Gabriele's love of Tuscan cooking and chef duties, but is known as an actress as a regular on HBO's Entourage series.  More...  

Got an iPad?   You can make it reflect your travel tastes such as these  from SFarlow's Etsy  I just got an iPad so what goes better with an iPad than a travel theme case? I started looking around and pricing them and was overwhelmed.   Above are some very charming travel cases for your iPad to keep it safe and secure.  See more..

One of my favorite HGTV design series is 'Sarah's House', and since my crafts area is an office area/closet I can appreciate the room she created today.   The entire house decor budget was set at $100,000. and they went over budget by about $11,000.   Sarah and her Assistant, Tommy (right), always seem to make a great team.  See the new  crafts room, kitchen and basement  decor by the design duo.... 

Anyone thinking about staying at the Grand Royal Sorrento (4*) Hotel on the magnificent coastline o f Sorrento  won't be disappointed.   It just so happened that we got this one right when we booked ahead.   The Grand Royal is just steps across the plaza from the train station.  So, how easy is it to roll your suitcase across the plaza and you're there at the Hotel Sorrento...see more...