Olive oil, wine, and cork.  Lots of cork.  I know of few places whose story can be so thoroughly woven together by and distilled down to such spare components. Portugal’s Alentejo region is these things and more. But trying to describe this region beyond these finite products is for me a futile exercise. As with […]

If you got here by searching Google for “what the hell to do with a quince?”, you’re in luck.  As the winter solstice approaches and we settle in for several months of short, cold days and even colder, longer nights, thoughts turn to fires cackling away in chimneys, and slowly bubbling pots of stews and […]

La Tournée des Grands Ducs (literally, The Tour of the Grand Dukes) is a common saying in France to refer to painting the town red, Dionysian style, or rather … Russian. The term has it roots in the habits of two Grand Dukes of Russia – Vladimir and Alexei –  the mischievous sons of Emperor […]

It is Friday morning in early December, and I’ve just arrived in Frankfurt, the bustling German metropolis often referred to as Mainhattan for its decidedly un-European plethora of skyscrapers nestled along the Main river. I have the joyous task of spending a long weekend introducing a good friend – and first time visitor to my home […]