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I love travelling. I love to ski too. So perhaps it’s no wonder I collect foreign words for snow. Gatsch is a good one. It’s the Austrian word for wet, sludgy mud, but it’s used for slush as well, and it sounds exactly like the hiss of exasperation that catches in your throat when you try to ski it. Even better is snosmocka. That’s how the Swedes d...

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Is the journey the destination, as they say — or is the best destination really just a good meal? If you’re more for the latter, the rifugio-hopping tradition of mountain-goers in Trentino-Alto Adige is the life for you. If a tree falls in the Dolomites and no one is around to hear it, it might still make a sound. But if one takes a hike without a...

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In Italy, soups can be a light, elegant way to open an evening meal or large banquet. January is National Soup Month, and the perfect time to curl up with a cozy bowl of warming Italian broth. This month I’m sharing a recipe that’s lesser known outside of Italy, but perfect to enjoy while dreaming of a weekend in an elegant Italian ski chalet!  Man...

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Traveling along Lake Como and up through the Dolomites is a breath-taking journey. With spectacular scenery and photo stops around every corner, this is a perfect trip to take by car. It gives you the flexibility to visit some of the smaller towns, drive through majestic mountain passes and make the most of your time in these beautiful regions. See...

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Italian architecture studio Carlana Mezzalira Pentimalli has designed a public library that acts like "a sensitive organism" that can  continuously adapt itself to the needs of the site and the project in Bolzano, Italy. Named Brixen Public Library, the 3,013-square-metre library has angular surfaces and protruding large windows that grasp the view...

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Yes, we love geographic U-turns. In this episode of Rare Wines we join two distant lands, not only geographically, but by way of small productions of great sweet wines, which are increasingly difficult to find. Let's start from Sicily, from the beauty of Ustica and its vineyards overlooking the sea, living in the middle of the sea. Zhabib Passito 2...

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Sauerbraten, bratwurst, spaetzle, kartoffelpuffer and sachlich all are great examples of fine Italian cooking. No, I have not gone mad. These and many more Germanic foods are the usual fare of the Italian population of northeastern Italy’s Alto Adige. Once part of Austria, the area was ceded to Italy as reparations after World War I, but, like the...

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Think apple strudel, dumplings and potatoes, ski slopes, forest foraging, mountain views, saunas and uber-chic design hotels. Believe it or not, this isn't Austria or even Germany. Say "hello" to Italy's Dolomites. Particularly South Tyrol and the surrounding area. The beautiful region is another Italy. One that has its own language, Laden, and whe...

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The typical spiced pastries of the Christmas markets, in various shapes (stars, hearts, crescents) often decorated with greeting phrases, have a very ancient origin: it was in 1409, as a matter of fact, that the word "lebkuchen" appeared for the first time in documents of the pastry chef guild of Nuremberg, the city from which these eventually spre...

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For us New Englanders the cold weather has arrived and we're awaiting the snow days to arrive. Some of us are excited about it and many aren't. Of course it's more common for folks to get into the mindset of drinking rosé wines when the weather is warmer. If you're lucky enough to have fantastic weather year round than you may always have rosé in m...

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