About.com Europe Travel

Underground Rome: Jewish Catacombs Under Villa Torlonia

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:53:28 +0000

Some say the Jewish catacombs under the Villa Torlonia just outside the historic center of Rome are the oldest in the Eternal City. We recently had a chance to visit them and were surprised at the state of preservation of the frescos. (The burial chambers themselves were not so fortunate, having been looted long ago.) Our guide, Rome archaeologist Simona Morretta, hoped the catacombs will be open to the public by 2010--or as soon as safety issues are worked out. For now, you'll have to be content with some pictures your intrepid scribe has taken of our excursion:
Pictures of the Jewish Catacombs under Villa Torlonia in Rome, Italy.

(Shown in the picture is guide Alejandro Capriles, who gives an excellent and highly recommended tour of the gardens and villa of the Villa Torlonia. Photo © 2009 by James Martin, licensed to About.com)

Underground Rome: Jewish Catacombs Under Villa Torlonia originally appeared on About.com Europe Travel on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 02:53:28.

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Off-Season Travel in Barolo and Lake Como

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:26:02 +0000

We've just completed a 4 day trip through some if Italy's northern territories, Barolo and the Langhe in Piemonte and Como in Lombardi. The weather late in November wasn't the best. In fact, it was difficult to get pictures. There was fog every day, sometimes dense. The famous vineyards lay dormant, the few remaining leaves displaying an abundance of color--if you could see it through the fog. I guess there's a reason the "big grape" here is called Nebbiolo. "Nebbia" means fog.

But, with the seasons comes change, felt not only through nature's color and the chill in the air, but in expectations, food, and seasonal traditions as well. Persimmons hung heavy on the trees, as you see up there on the left. That's the castle of Barolo behind. The onset of a winter chill was a good time to showcase one of the region's winter food specialties, the big Bollito Misto, a dish of boiled meats (with assorted dipping sauces) that warm you through and through. Our waitress at Osteria La Cantinella described their Bollito Misto as containing hens, beef, pork, and "everything of the veal that can be boiled." She then started a pantomime of veal parts, carefully pointing out the analogous calf part on her own body. It was a good Italian anatomy lesson. You should have been there.

I'm sure I yammer on too much about the off-season in Europe. Granted, the weather wasn't the best, but the uncrowded restaurants (except at Como on Saturday night, where many restaurants were fully reserved), the nearly empty roads, the discounted apartment we rented, and the laid-back attitude made it all worthwhile. Below are some highlights and surprises.

Most Surprising City: Mondovi in Piemonte. I had seen Mondovi on the map and wondered about it. Very interesting city. Mondovi-Piazza is the part above, and you reach it by funicular for �1 round trip. Baroque churches, friendly cafes, fine medieval architecture, a belvedere, or view spot in a park with exhibits on timekeeping through the ages in the shadow of a huge belltower with enormous clock were ours for the gawking. There were hot air balloons in the sky overhead. You could almost see them.

Surprising sight: Fruit and vegetable stands in the streets of Como on a brisk, wintry evening.

Most disappointing road: The Langhe and Roero Romantic Road. Taking a page from the German Tourism Playbook, Italians define a "romantic" route with maps that will make you go stark, raving mad in a second. It would be better to take the the Vespa tour of the road. Maybe the organizers know where they're going.

Odd thing--for an American: Tasting the famous Barbaresco wines in a church: Enoteca Regionale del Barbaresco.

Notable: The Holy Shroud will be on display in the Cathedral of Torino starting on 10 April to 23 May, 2010, for the first time since 2002.

Off-Season Travel in Barolo and Lake Como originally appeared on About.com Europe Travel on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 12:26:02.

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Discover the Monastic Life of Reichenau Island

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:00:11 +0000

The Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau Island on Lake Constance was founded in 724. By the 10th century it became one of the leading centers for the production of illuminated manuscripts in Europe. The island is well-equipped with small and free museums ideal for relating its monastic history--and is small enough for a day trip. I enjoyed my visit very much, and have prepared a short virtual tour: Pictures of Reichenau Island on Lake Constance in Germany.

More on the Monastic side of Europe:

Meteora (Greece) Monasteries

Lodging in European Monasteries (guides)

Stay in a Monastic Outpost in Umbria (Italy)

Discover the Monastic Life of Reichenau Island originally appeared on About.com Europe Travel on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 04:00:11.

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This Boar Is Not as Wild as the Others: Picture of the Week

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:13:27 +0000

This Boar Is Not as Wild as the Others: Picture of the Week originally appeared on About.com Europe Travel on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 01:13:27.

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Doing Your Laundry in Baroque Sicily

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:36:40 +0000

Many of us who come frequently to a place do so because the culture fascinates us. Italy is particularly interesting, because compared to the US, it's a fairly "new" country, or at least recently unified. That leaves a lot of room for regional cultural and language differences. Go to a place like Sicily and the atmosphere will be totally different than, for example, Tuscany.

I like it when expats settle in and begin to document those things about a place that they find fascinating. Jann Huizenga, a photographer and writer who lives part-time in Sicily, has recently started a blog called Living in Southeast Sicily. The blog is a kick to read; I especially enjoyed Strung Out in Sicily, an interesting look at how different (and socially important) doing the laundry "properly" can be in some cultures.

Jann Huizenga is in Sicily working on a book called Kissing Sicilians. It's on my list already. She lives in Ragusa Ibla, the old town we loved visiting last year. See our Ragusa Pictures to see how the old town looks, a town that Huizenga describes as "a stony village where lemons roll in the streets and bees grow fat as hummingbirds, where the local gelateria offers up cream of anise and petal of rose, where public clocks as well as people are way behind schedule, where street names are snatches of poetry."

Yup, that's the place. Exactly.

Doing Your Laundry in Baroque Sicily originally appeared on About.com Europe Travel on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 12:36:40.

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Truffles and Turkeys: Notes from Travel in Italy

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:34:59 +0000

What delights can way-off-season travel bring you? Well, here in Italy we're pretty much into truffle season. That's when you can't resist driving down a windy road to end up at a town whose streets are jammed with truffle stands. The "perfume" as they say here in Italy, is fantastic. Once you tour the streets crammed with all manner of good things to eat, you find a seat at a restaurant (not an easy thing if you haven't reserved) and pretty soon you'll have stabbed your fork into two or three courses of truffled delights. The one in the picture is risotto with shaved black truffles.

The festival we attended this weekend was held in the small Emilia Romagna village of
Calestano, a place tourists would have a hard time finding without help from the web. Yes, travel to the little places is easier these days. Is this worth a little cool weather and some rain? Absolutely, made a lot better by the warm leather coat I bought on sale for �80 in Aulla.

And yes, we bought a truffle. We're eating it tonight, grated over some scalloped potatoes and served with pork ribs (rosticcini) and turkey wings. An odd meal to be sure.

Italy, of course, is a land where many folks shun the industrial production of food products in favor of real food, usually grown on property they own. They prefer turkeys that hunt and peck over a wide swath of land to the genetically tampered-with, breasts-so-big-they-can-hardly-walk industrial turkeys we get frozen in the US. In fact, I just visited some of my neighbors' turkeys that will become our dinner for Natale or Christmas. They're posing on the left. Ok, so they aren't pretty. Still...

Finally, did you know there's a growing interest in artisanal beer in Italy? Yes, the drink of choice in Italy, even with food, isn't always wine. I recently found an account of a food and wine pairing at a restaurant called Grado Plato in Chieri, just outside Turin, by a new company who is doing food, wine and beer tours: GrapeHops.

We have a month and a half to go on our European jaunt. On tap tomorrow is a three day journey to Barolo, then the Christmas markets start. Follow us on twitter if you want to know what it's like in little bitty 140 character bites.

Truffles and Turkeys: Notes from Travel in Italy originally appeared on About.com Europe Travel on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 05:34:59.

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Pink Flamingos in the Camargue

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:28:24 +0000

If you like observing the type of wildlife that doesn't involve alcohol consumed in dark bars, there's another reason to head for Europe in the cooler months--mating season (not for pink elephants or humans--that would be wrong--but for pink flamingos).

The best time to see flamingos according to experts is during their reproduction process. Oui, mating season! When is that? In the Camargue, it is recommended to see the flamingos during the winter months, any time between November and March. However, THE most ideal time to visit is actually in January and February according to the Parc Ornithologigue, (where we saw the flamingos) just 4 kilometers from the center of Saintes Maries. 10,000 flamingo couples gather around to do their thing.

The above quoted passage is part of a very interesting and comprehensive blog post called The Best Time to See Pink Flamingos in the Camargue, recommended reading on this fascinating part of the south of France.

It was rather spectacular to watch the flamingos in early November though. Here's a link to a short Camargue Pink Flamingo Video I made while we were there.

Pink Flamingos in the Camargue originally appeared on About.com Europe Travel on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 04:28:24.

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Portico of Glory Tours - Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:15:28 +0000

Everyone who's been to Europe laments the incredible percentage of monuments covered in scaffolding. With my tongue firmly in cheek I long ago uncovered the Office of Tourist Distractions which is responsible for such inconveniences.

Ok, so here's the bad news: The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is undergoing some restoration work. Some of the Cathedral is covered in scaffolding, including the 12th century Portico of Glory (picture) .

The good news is that if you're at least 12 years old and wear sturdy shoes you can don a hard hat and crawl around the scaffolding to see how the work is going. Yes, they've taken disappointed tourists complaints to heart and are offering a free Portico of Glory Tour.

Read more from Newsweek: In Spain, Tourists on the Scaffolding

Portico of Glory Tours - Santiago de Compostela, Spain originally appeared on About.com Europe Travel on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 11:15:28.

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Pictures of Lourmarin in the Luberon

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:00:31 +0000

The village of Lourmarin makes an excellent base from which to explore the Luberon region of Provence. Surrounded by vineyards and olive groves and sporting a castle with Renaissance additions--including a stone carved winding stairway that will amaze you--you can probably spend a week just exploring the local scene. There are enough restaurants within walking distance that you probably wouldn't have to go to the same one for dinner twice in a week.

I've selected a dozen pictures that should give you an idea of what to expect in the village of Lourmarin, see: Lourmarin Pictures.

Pictures of Lourmarin in the Luberon originally appeared on About.com Europe Travel on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 02:00:31.

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Spices in Aix: Wordless Wednesday

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:05:25 +0000

Spices in Aix: Wordless Wednesday originally appeared on About.com Europe Travel on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 05:05:25.

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