One thing you'll never have to ask, if you are ensconced-and I might add, you will be ensconced very happily and very pleasantly-in Hotel L'Orologio Roma, is what time is it? The hotel's name is a dead give-away: L'Orologio, or the clock.
I woke from a deep, coma-like sleep. Not entirely sure where I was…the celestial-looking ceiling above me seemed to ooze Heaven. Nimbus poufs of feathery clouds loomed languidly over my head…hints of statuary, or Cupids, or angelic cherubs, sketched in sorbet colors,floated gracefully on the canopy above my head. Jet lag being what it is, it took me a few minutes to realize I was in a different kind of Heaven on Earth. I was in the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese, floating on its signature-branded Sofitel MyBed, my body a limp whirl of protoplasm atop a bowl of weightless cotton candy!
I have a great affection for swimming pools. Jumping into refreshing, crystal clear waters in Southern California has always had a way to soothe my senses. I've noticed when my Seattle friends realized that I had a swimming pool in my backyard in Burbank, they appeared to be envious, wondering why someone like me should actually have pool. I would remind them that having a pool down here is not uncommon. In fact, due to the heat, our pools are often not heated. So, I would invite them to join me for a dip into my pool, as I invite T-Boy readers to enjoy my below prose.
Ever heard of a Sgroppino? Well, it’s a lemon-flavored, creamy-smooth, frothy alcoholic beverage. More a digestivo (digestive) or liquid dessert than an aperitivo (cocktail), the Sgroppino was created by the inventive and masterful Venetians back in the 16th century.
Milano, one of Europe’s celebrated destinations with fashion, architecture, and fine dining at the forefront, and conceivably one of the world’s distinguished twofold travel destinations with Lake Como a short 40-mile jaunt, is blessed with 13 NH hotels, one in the town of Lecco in Lake Como, and all positioned in unsurpassed settings. Spanish owned, small to mid-sized boutique properties, tabbed as four-star, we booked three Milano NH hotels for convenience of locality while on a fashion assignment in Milano, and in a way in which to become acquainted and connect with Milano neighborhoods on foot and possibly enjoy some jazz and dancing.
I am planning my first trip to Italy. I want to see Rome, Florence and Venice. I plan on arriving in Milan. Friends have told me to quickly bail out of Milan and use it as a place to head out to more historic places. Should I ignore the city and go on my way? --- Susan of Portland, OR
In Palermo, Arab craftsmen carpeted the Norman palace with glittering mosaics and 18th-century artisan Giacomo Serpotta fashioned fanciful scenes from stucco in chapels around the city. Few interiors in the exotic, enchanting, and at times exasperating capital of Sicily, though, are as enchanting as the stately dining room of the Palazzo Lanza Tomasi.
Well, I’m still basking in the memories of my cruise experience aboard Holland America’s ms Veendam. At the end of each day’s illuminating tours of the ports of call – Lucca and Pisa, Malaga, Barcelona, Monaco and Gibraltar – I would excitedly rush back to the vessel to my favorite lounge, the Crow’s Nest, where I’d compile my notes over a crisp, full flavored Budweiser Budvar (circa 1245).
It’s almost impossible not to fall under the spell of this dreamscape where round, domed houses known as trulli rise from gentle hillsides. Alberobello will make you feel like you’ve stepped into the pages of a fairy tale, but this small town in Italy’s southeastern Puglia region is decidedly of this world, fashioned from limestone, surrounded by centuries-old vineyards and olive groves, and home to 11,000 residents.
How was your journey? The Gambardella family, several generations of whom are usually on the scene, have been asking this question ever since they began welcoming guests to their villa-like retreat on the edge of a cliff along the legendary Amalfi Coast of southern Italy in 1904.