Milan may not have the rolling green hills of Tuscany or the beaches in Puglia, but the first weeks of December in Milan are one of the most exciting times of the year. Everything is decorated, market stalls selling interesting gift ideas are everywhere, samples abound, and there are people everywhere! Reminder: Two contests in [...]

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I read about an “unsettling” photo on YumSugar, the object of much discussion, consisting of a roasted pig’s head being served at a buffet. That same weekend, I was snapping pics at my local market, of something I can see every Tuesday and Saturday. Porchetta Maremmana. Porchetta is a young pig, left with the head [...]

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Aperitivo is one of my favorite reasons to live in Italy, right behind gelato and pasta. Also known as aperitif in other parts of the world, it comes from aperitivus or aperire, Latin meaning to open. Open your palate before your meal! Aperitivo is one of the things Milano does best, and it makes the [...]

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Stop the presses. We’ve just found our new, absolute favorite gelateria in all of Italy. Yes we’re ready to go that far to claim it as such. Before I go on, make sure you check out other stops on the Tour del Gelato – we’ve had several new ones in the past few weeks, just [...]

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Last year I attended a 4th of July barbecue-aperitivo organized by various expat groups. I didn’t partake of the buffet but I was there more for the company than anything. This year the BBQ was on a Sunday and I was out of town, so I was lucky enough to be invited to a small [...]

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