Anglo-Irish writer Iris Origo died 12 years ago, but her books describing wartime in the Val d’Orcia are still very much alive. She and her aristocratic Italian husband lived at La Foce, a beautiful villa with a superb Giardino al Italiano designed by English landscape gardener Sir Cecil Pinsent, who worked miracles between 1925 and [...]
Archive for August, 2008
Iris Origo’s garden
August 31, 2008Maestro
August 30, 2008The undisputed Prague pizza king has arrived with little fanfare in the form of this airy Old Town eatery. Eighteen pies come loaded with delectable sauce and soulful Italian cheeses, neither of which you can dependably find at most of the competition. While that doesn’t say much for the state of dining in this city, [...]
Vide-Grenier
August 28, 2008Paris doesn’t go in for open-air bric-à-brac sales on the same scale as Lille, but this attic clear-out at the foot of the recently restored Porte St-Denis could yield a few gems, among the old sets of cutlery, clunky radios and abandoned toys. Even if you don’t buy anything, magicians and musicians will be on [...]
Por la Rambla
August 25, 2008Corneille
August 23, 2008As a founder of COBRA, the late-1940s movement involving artists based in Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam, Liège-born Corneille (real name: Guillaume van Beverloo) became identified with bold experimentalism. Featuring 35 of his works in several media, this exhibition shows him using garish colours to engage in a bizarre exploration of the links between sex and [...]
Top 15 sites in New York
August 19, 2008Top 25 Sights 15. City Hall. The mayor keeps his office in what might be the most beautiful building in New York. 14. New York Stock Exchange. Billions of dollars are exchanged here every day. Watch other people make money. 13. New York Botanical Garden. A feast for the eyes and nose. Unless you enjoy [...]
Using public phones in Italy
August 12, 2008Old-style phones which accept only gettoni no longer exist. Phone cards are issued to the value of L5,000, L10,000 and L15,000. For inter-Europe or North Africa calls it is cheaper to telephone after 10 pm, for intercontinental calls it is cheaper to call after 11 pm. In Rome, the cheapest way to get to Fiumicino [...]
