Professional Eater, Storyteller, and Wine Traveler
Juliet’s very first photo in Sicily (one of the best shots of our entire trip)
Ryanair fucked us deep in the culo on our flight from Trieste. I had mistakenly printed 2 boarding passes for Juliet and none for me so when we reached the check-in gate nearly 2 hours before our departure the lady told me it would be a 60 euro charge to print my boarding pass. [Read more...]
Welcome back to TBA live posts! This feels so good to get back in the Saddle and with over 6000 new images and countless new stories I am thrilled to share with all of you.
I urge you all to click the images below and see them in full resolution. Juliet and I worked like starving artists (we are) to capture the photos along this journey.
Stay tuned for big new changes to the TBA site and I look forward to all your comments and my still very jet-lagged responses.
The first Venice light
of the day spotted a
strange cameraman [Read more...]
**The Blissful Adventurer is running about Italy at the moment so in his stead we happily endorse and support the work of the following blogger, Sheila Hurst: Reading, Writing, Dreaming. Please check out this post, leave comments for exchange with the author, and give their blog a read.**
Why Sheila Hurst is a cool contributor: She may not be the greatest tour guide since she tends to get lost easily, but she does love to wander and wandering can lead to the most surprising places. She’s worked as a reporter and now freelances for newspapers and magazines.
Your Radicofani tour guide
Radicofani seemed to be an Italian ghost town. There were no people there. None. But for a town with no people, it was a lot of fun.
Radicofani’s main street (really).
Puglia Boy Offering Beer
Here is part 6 of the day the disco broke down
After Da Matteo our Italian friends, Puglia Boy and Chef Girl, called it a night and even though we urged them to join our American beach-bound birthday bash the Italiani simply were not having it and I believe they just wanted a quiet evening alone. As we sat on our porch enjoying a bottle of wine (or several) we could hear the discos in the background revving up into the foreground and we were getting noticeably excited.
[Read more...]
**The Blissful Adventurer is running about Italy at the moment so in his stead we happily endorse and support the work of the following food & wine writer, Viktorija Todorovska. Please check out this post, leave comments for exchange with the author, and give their blog a read.**
Viktorija is a food and wine adventurer passionate about the Southern
Mediterranean and its people. She is never happier than when making
new discoveries and sharing them with others. Visit her at www.olivacooking.com and check out The Puglian Cookbook: Bringing the Flavors of Puglia Home.
Santu Lussurgiu, a tiny village in Western Sardinia, is not a must-see for most visitors to this breath-taking island. And Sardinians like it that way. Nestled in the Montiferru hills, famous for olive oil, casizolu (unique cow’s milk cheese) and the tender meat of bue rosso, Santu Lussurgiu is a Mecca for food lovers in the know. This little village houses one of the best restaurants in all of Sardinia, a place where food is passion, community, and a sustainable network of family producers who give expression to the land and its history.
In the midst of this land of olive orchards, nuraghe, and bue rosso, the red cow that freely roams the hillsides in search of the best wild greens, is Roberto Flore, a genius in the kitchen. Roberto is the chef of Antica Dimora del Gruccione, an albergo diffuso in the historic center of Santy Lussurgiu. Young and energetic, Roberto is not your stereotypical chef. His welcoming smile instantly puts you at ease and his enthusiasm about Sardinia is balanced by his deep understanding of great food and modern food tastes. Once you taste Roberto’s food, you will want to know this intriguing young chef. And you’ll wonder how he found the time to perfect his culinary skills. Because Roberto also makes delicious (and natural) wine, spicy olive oil, and delightful liqueurs flavored with everything from wild thyme, mint and myrtle to exotic herbs such as artemisia.
[Read more...]
Get the party started right liqueur
Here is part 5 of the day the disco broke down 
Now, the disco in Puglia is not your father’s club scene. This is Italy first and foremost, and we actually were living in a small villa at the epicenter of the summer disco onslaught; the beach town of Capitolo. Say this name to any Italian aged 19-31 and they immediately begin to groove in time with the music in their immediate memories, they will begin to drift in and out through the recollections of 3am make-out sessions on the beach, and will only snap back to reality with a vocal or physical jab!
[Read more...]
**The Blissful Adventurer is running about Italy at the moment so in his stead we happily endorse and support the work of the following blogger, Molly Elmore of Paprika & Pinot. Please check out this post, leave comments for exchange with the author, and give their blog a read.**
Molly Elmore of Paprika & Pinot is an avid lover of food and wine, and is especially interested in the synergy that is created when a great meal and a wonderful wine are enjoyed together. She loves to cook and regularly writes about the meals she prepares and how they complement (or how they clash) with the wines she pairs with her dishes. Most of Molly’s vacations include trips to wine country she often recounts her exploits and adventures along the wine trail.
I grew up eating calamari quite often. It was (and still is) a favorite dish of mine so my mother prepared it for me whenever I got to choose that we were having for winner. Interestingly, I did not try deep-fried calamari, which seems to be a very popular way to enjoy this treat, until I was an adult. While I really believe that frying can be a wonderful way to prepare some foods (like chicken) I am not a lover of fried seafood because I think that it masks the delicate flavors of the wonderful frutti de mar.
Dear Readers I am posting from the plane over the Atlantic Here is part 4 of the day the disco broke down
Undiscovered and Brilliant
Exhausted, nauseated, and suffering from a sudden case of cat shat fever our group of weary birthday revelers had made it to and from Lecce, eaten like queens, and now roamed the industrial back-streets of Monopoli in a scorching summer sun in order to return home to prepare for one of Puglia’s, if not Italy’s, greatest dinners (and values) at the gem of Triggianello: Braceria da Matteo.
Vineyards in Alto Adige
Ciao Followers of Bliss! As you read this I am boarding a flight for Venice and I want to salute you all for being so supportive and leave you for a bit with lasting images of Italy in anticipation of many more shots to come.
Please stay tuned tomorrow for our first guest blogger Come due Maiali (like 2 pigs in Italian). CDM are some of my dearest friends and are amazing food travelers. Please check out their piece on France and dive into their blog. Rumor has it these two pigs can dance like 2 angels.
Cheers to you all and enjoy the tour of Italy and some of my favorite bloggers over the next 25 days! [Read more...]
