Plan on a minimum of two weeks here; this is not a place to fast-forward through. In Tuscany, you take your time, give in, and never resist temptation – this is where you learn the true meaning of slow travel. You really need the time to live it, not just visit it, and once you do it properly, you’ll find there’s no place quite like it. Intel Best time to visit: September. Transport: fly into Pisa or Florence and then rent a car – this is non-negotiable. Tuscany has the most beautiful medieval castles and villages, plus the most wonderful country roads. If you can’t freely move between those vineyards…
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wisdom comes in improbable places
You think the Brits don’t have it in their blood, le cool, l’extraordinaire? Think again, you lovers of the avant-garde. Here is some London intelligence that I brought with me from my last outing If the planet was to choose one capital, it should be London I love it every time, each time for the old reasons and for some new reasons. You can never be bored, you can never be wrong in London. It is always worth it, even for a two night stay, a walk and an evening show. Resist and you’ll regret In London wisdom came to me in the most improbable of places. Like this wonderful…
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Bretagne pentru gurmanzi
Pofticiosi suntem cu totii, insa apetitul este de mai multe feluri: lacom, impulsiv, artistic, retoric, disciplinat, cultivat, rafinat sau pur si simplu pasionat. Asa cum nu am nici o indoiala ca fiecare va descoperi cel putin une crepe sau une galette dupa care sa scanceasca de placere si sa-si linga degetutele, tot asa stiu ca, dupa Bretagne, 3 lucruri se vor schimba pentru totdeauna : viziunea asupra stridiilor, asteptarile de la banalele midii, si rolul miraculos al sarii in bucate.
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The Beauty And The Beast: NAZARE
Far enough up the coast from Lisbon, Nazaré is only transited by tourist packs during the day. If you avoid the classical summer rage, you find a blue and white village that has not sold its soul to the devil of leisure just yet. The legend It is an old fishing village, truly ancient. Around the year 700, its inhabitants fought pirates when a legendary duo entered the scene: a monk and a king. The king wielded a sword of bravery, and the monk bore a statue of redemption. Roderic, the last Visigoth king, settled here with his monk and a statue of the Virgin Mary, borne from distant Nazareth.…
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Postcards to the non-believer
I know you don’t believe in wonderland or magic places or fairytales. Yet I, who have travelled through the looking glass and back so many times, dedicate the first dew of this fall to you. It is pure and luminous and ephemeral and it sew priceless jewelry onto the spider webs. This dew was born of the heavy clouds of last night’s storm and it carries the genius of the ocean over the prosaic peace of my garden, showing it completely transfigured. I also dedicate to you the fairytale houses that are undoubtedly inhabited by elves and blissfully winged creatures. And the enchanted forest of Broceliande where Merlin is entrapped into…
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Despre Bretagne, inceputurile
Cum de am ajuns noi sa avem o Creperie? Prietenii stiu déjà, iar povestea, asa pe scurt, a ajuns destul de celebra in presa. Insa rasfoind din cand in cand pe aici veti afla care este legatura intre caramelul sarat, regele Arthur, les galettes completes, casele-insula si dansurile celte. Intr-un cuvant, o nunta. Desigur ca nu orice fel de nunta, ci o nunta cu mare talc si unica pe lume, care a avut loc intr-un catun inconjurat de ape in Bretagne. Pe langa ca nunta asta a adus impreuna o gramada de oameni minunati raspanditi prin toata Europa si a unit o pereche de ti-e mai mare dragul, a fost…
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Teach me, my love
While wandering in Alfama one afternoon, with fado and just the right amount of saudade on my mind, I stumbled upon a poetic wall – literally. The whole world’s poetry was written on that wall: there were a few hand-painted ceramic plates with blue and white verses adorning the wall, but the most brilliant, heart-breaking and dramatic of them all was scribbled in pencil by some anonymous guy who had trully encountered the love of his life. it went like this: into the waves of your hair / You taught me how to swim/ Now that you are bald / Teach me how to skate
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SINEQUANON Andalusia: The Keys to the South
ONE: RONDA There is an unbreakable quality about that place: it’s perfect; not intimidating yet not popular either, not humble yet by no means brassy, audacious yet familiar. Ideally situated in the mountains only 40 minutes drive from the sea, the city is fractured in the middle by an abyss, the two halves united by an old bridge. Ronda hangs over the most magnificent abrupt rocks without being terrifying or cold, it has small paved streets with charming boutiques, a Museo de los Ladrones (The Thieves’ Museum) and the most beautiful Plaza de Torros (the bullfighting arena) in the world. The most spectacular corrida in the world takes place here, the Corrida…
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Vacanta in Portugalia sau Mai e timp pentru revelatii
Soare. Vant. Plaje salbatice, nesfarsite. Oceanul cel mai albastru, rocile nepamantene, hipnotice. Un inegalabil sentiment al libertatii. O revelatie categorica si iremediabila a lucrurilor esentiale. Portugalia devine repede o istorie personala. Nu va fi un concediu, va fi o vacanta. Nu va fi all inclusive cu trei mese, pat si plaja cu sezlong, ci va include tot ce nici macar nu iti dadeai seama ca iti lipseste. Nu va fi doar o calatorie intr-un loc frumos, ci un voiaj uluitor de firesc inspre tine insuti. Si nu va fi descifrabil pentru amatorii de cinci stele la resort, pentru ca aici oceanul, soarele, stancile si vantul au darul sa te dezbrace…
