In which we visit a salt flat

When I thought about going on a food tour of Italy, I thought of wine, and pasta, and seafood, and olives and olive oil. I did not think about salt. And once I knew we were visiting a salt flat, it did not occur to me that our visit to the Saline Culcasi salt flats…

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On the Road for Thanksgiving

  As I write this, My Own True Love and I are preparing to leave town for Thanksgiving. We’ve wrapped a road trip around a holiday visit to family in Atlanta. We expect to enjoy historical stops along the way, BBQ somewhere in Tennessee, and a rowdy, laughter-filled Thanksgiving feast. I have a lot to…

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World War II in Sicily

We spent one night in a renovated vineyard/ “farm stay” hotel that dated from the eighteenth century. The vineyard operated continuously through World War II, when it was abandoned. It was reopened in 2000. When I asked our Sicilian tour leader why it had been abandoned, he shrugged and said “So many possible reasons.” The…

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