Our pleasure in arrival in Venice soured by an accommodation of a modesty verging on meanness, a flight of stairs up from the foyer, properly floor one-and-a-half, with low heavily timbered ceiling, as if an overcautious builder had decided to throw several trees at it, just to

Leaving Manarola difficult in the brilliant sunshine, our airy and light-filled ‘typical’ Ligurian house – missed in retrospect. We explore a little more of the town before setting out, finding at its limit where the streams from the surrounding hillsides come together to cascade under it and they would’ve

Every statement I make herein should be subject to revision. And so, having today visited both Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare, my overall impression of the Cinque Terre has changed. In regard to how old it is. The name was in use before the fifteenth century. And in regard to

This morning the minimart, Coop, for alimentary necessities, that is, self-catering, was open, thankfully. Last night when we went past it had been shut. It had been Sunday. Dominica. The peaches looked delicious. I asked the lady in charge if the price was per kilo. As has happened repeatedly,

I ought to add, after the fact, that the question of Rome’s postmodernity only arises in the light of the Berlusconi effect. Part of which, a major contributing part, has been and is his reliance on the media by way of a controlling influence if not always outright ownership

On the way home from the evening airing we give ourselves to try and beat the jetlag, a brilliant gypsy band playing by the Trevi Fountain: percussionist, with bass drum slung around his neck supporting wood block, cymbals, hand drum and snare; tenor sax man; bass sax man; upright bassist,