I dip my paddle and pause in the late morning stillness. A hundred feet away a head emerges, dog-like and sleek, counterpoint to the barely rippled water. Moments later, as if by magic, another head appears. Two sets of dark mud-puddle eyes look at me for a few seconds and then, as quietly and mysteriously [...]
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West of Sienna, sunflowers paint the softly rolling hills as far as the eye can see. The road dips and sways through the Tuscan landscape, with shoulder high banks that rise to either side. Swallows glide on late afternoon thermals in the clear blue sky. At an opening to one field a man holds up cars to [...] Mauro with the woodfired oven at San Carlo on Granby Street in Leicester The following are notes from Sortachef’s recent trip to the UK.
July 21st, Bloomsbury, Central London While walking to Covent Garden after depositing our bags at the hotel, I spy a well-dressed man at a sidewalk table eating what looks like a mighty fine [...] Ancient stands of redwood trees loom majestically, lords of the forest. Clinging to great swaths of land along California’s northern coast, they foster an astonishing density of life – birds, animals, mosses, shrubs, and wildflowers. On entering the forest, you feel exhilarated and at the same time very small. Once you have been to the Redwoods, [...] “No meat!” The Greek proprietor slashed the air with his pointed finger. He bent behind the counter to pull out a large tray, which he proceeded to set before us. We inhaled the wonderful smell of tomatoes mixed with rice, onion and herbs. No meat. A smile spread across the face of my wife the Salad Queen. We had come in from the late afternoon heat to [...] The donkey stopped on the path in front of us and refused to go another step. A tiny woman wearing black clothes and a grey shawl smacked his rump. ‘Ela, eLA,’ she cried as the donkey turned to look at her with doleful eyes. She eyed us with resignation and began with gnarled fingers to [...] ‘I don’t want to go bowling!’ My son stamped his foot. ‘When you’re in France,’ I said in my best, all-knowing fatherly voice, ‘you do what French people do.’ I ruffled his hair and he pulled away. ‘But bowling?’ he howled. ‘Who goes to France to go bowling?’ Well, I guess he had a point. When the Bullhogs [...] The Greeks with their dark, sharp eyes and stoic expressions regarded us as though we were crazy. We danced down the sidewalks of Heraklion, singing. Before us was the port, leading to Santorini, the islands and all parts north in the blue-green Aegean. Behind us, the sun-drenched hills of Crete and the road to Knossos. ‘We’re [...] The woman at the desk was sympathetic but unable to help. ‘Ciao, ciao,’ she said into the phone. ‘Ciao,ciao. Ciao,grazie.’ She put down the phone and looked from my wife’s tear-streaked face to our children who were languishing on an empty trolley. ‘Well,’ she said to me, brightly. ‘You’ll have to go shopping!’ Sure – I [...] |
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