Paradise of Exiles

04/11/2024

What do you prefer if you have to travel from north to south Italy? Train or plane?

30/10/2024

These Are the Cheapest Times to Fly to Italy

30/10/2024

My suggestions for eating in Tuscany's stunning Val d'Orcia😍

My Guide to Eating in one of Tuscany's Most Stunning Regions

29/10/2024

28/10/2024

I just updated my article on how not to commit a food crime in Italy. This review of trattoria in a small Tuscan town that I just saw reminded me of another problem. Foreigners gave the trattoria a bad review. I will paste it below. Do you know why, in fact, the waiter/trattoria was NOT being rude? And what the tourists were ignorant about?

Rude Behavior: We arrived in Bagno Vignoni on a very hot June afternoon around 3.00 pm. We wanted coffee and a cold drink. We sat down at an outside table at Osteria del Leone. We sat there for about 20 minutes. The waiter was coming and going but he completely ignored us, even when I called 'Scusi Senor'. It was deliberate and we were not sure why.

https://open.substack.com/pub/chandiwyant/p/how-to-not-commit-a-crime-against?r=e4cwe&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

26/10/2024

Tuscany's autumn food festivals are perfect for vibrant culture and scrumptious foodie experiences 😍

A Guide to My Favorites

25/10/2024

Hey all, this wonderful film about truffle hunters in northern Italy is now available on Amazon Prime (with Starz or to rent).
By directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw who have a sympathy for arts/cultures that may be going extinct. Among the executive producers is Patti Quillin, (wife of Reed Hastings, Netflix founder) who resides in my home town in California.

It follows the maddening cycle of the truffle hunt from the forest floor to the pristine restaurant plate, and includes Italian elders with devilish senses of humor who scour for the truffle at night so as not to leave any clues for others. But, more than truffles, it is perhaps most about partnerships between humans and dogs.

Deep in the forests of Piedmont, Italy, a handful of men, seventy or eighty years young, hunt for the rare and expensive white Alba truffle-which to date has resisted all of modern science's efforts at cultivation.

24/10/2024

Italy is home to four of the world's best bars!

• Drink Kong in Rome
• Locale in Florence (gorgeous, btw!) 😍
• Moebius Milano in Milan
• 1930 in Milan

Have you tried any of these? 👀

Plus, this year's full ranking of bars around the world.

19/10/2024

You need this post if you are new to Italy and don't want to commit a food blooper 😅

I had thought tourists were committing fewer crimes against Italian food culture these days.

11/10/2024

My thoughts on Starbucks and other American conglomerates in Italy. What are yours?

I am appalled to say that a fifth Starbucks is opening in Florence today.

09/10/2024

Ciao! Do any of you have a story about food rules in Italy? What's the biggest blooper you've seen an unsuspecting American do in Italy, that violates Italian food rules? (I know the rules, I don't need edification on those. I am looking for stories where a tourist shocked a waiter.)

I am writing an article explaining Italian food rules for my Substack and I have some examples of bloopers that I've witnessed, but would love to hear more if you've got one!

While we're at it, what's wrong with this picture, according to Italians?

05/10/2024

There's a cool exhibition at Villa Bardini in Florence of artists such as Le Corbusier and De Chirico. It goes until January. This is in the villa in the lovely Bardini Gardens on the south side of the city.

The theme of the art show is the interpretation of urban spaces through painting, photography, architecture, and music.

Closed on Mondays, otherwise open daily from 10:00 with last entrance at 6:30pm. Cost: € 10

L'esposizione, sostenuta da Fondazione CR Firenze e Generali Valore Cultura, riflette attorno al macro-tema della città tra visioni utopiche e distopiche.

04/10/2024

I am appalled to say that a 5th Starbucks will open in Florence on October 11th. This time in the absolute HEART of the historic center on Via del Corso.

Do you know the significance of Via del Corso? When the ancient Romans constructed their towns, the Corso was the principal road running east-west, that crossed the Decumano, which ran north-south. Florence's origins go back to the ancient Romans and in Florence today we still have the same street, bearing the same name, where once the footsteps fell of the Roman soldiers of Julius Caesar.

After the western Roman Empire fell, and after the terrible Gothic wars, when Florence started recovering, the area of the town around Via del Corso grew into the heart of the medieval city. Still today this street, and the charming warren of narrow streets around it, delight the visitor because they retain such a medieval look, making it easy to imagine centuries past.

Until now, there's been a cultural integrity in those streets that we haven't lost.

A big chain conglomerate, that smacks of monoculture and corporate greed, absolutely mares the cultural integrity of those special historic streets in the very heart of this city-- one of the most beautiful, culturally significant cities in the western world.

A Starbucks there is a gash in that integrity-- like slashing a knife into a medieval painting in the Uffizi.

I am both sad and furious.

Così la catena americana ha evitato le restrizioni all'interno del centro

27/09/2024

My subjective list of the best Tuscan locations that combine a castle with a wine estate. All have incredibly deep roots in history, all are committed to sustainable farming methods, and all offer on-site accommodation.
Do you have a favorite castle or favorite winery in Italy? Share in the comments 😃

If you love castles and wine, Tuscany has a wealth of both.