Category: Flavors

Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Architectural and actual gems of Monreale

postcardsfromsanantonio1 Comment

Above: Monreale offers a sweeping view of Palermo from the mountains to the sea.

The immensity of the 12th-century Benedictine cloisters adjacent to the Cathedral of Monreale is best grasped when viewed from the church roof. Walking around the monastery’s inner courtyard, graceful arches supported by pairs of delicate columns evoke a sense of intimacy.

The craftsmen erecting these did not apply a cookie-cutter approach to their construction process. I don’t believe the figurative designs of a single capital is repeated, and many columns boast colorful mosaic inlays. Perhaps these were meant to entertain restless monks not always keen on completing the requisite number of daily contemplations.

Continue reading “Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Architectural and actual gems of Monreale” →

Postcard from London, England: Italian, Philippine, seafood and cheese, please

postcardsfromsanantonioLeave a comment

Above: All-you-can-eat cheese on conveyor belt at Pick & Cheese Seven Dials

Restaurant listings arranged alphabetically might not prove user-friendly in a city as sprawling as London, but I’m stubbornly persisting in that practice. As in the earlier part one, these are scattered all over the map.

Continue reading “Postcard from London, England: Italian, Philippine, seafood and cheese, please” →

Postcard from Bilbao, Spain: Heart of Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz

postcardsfromsanantonioLeave a comment

Above: Detail of mosaic portion of “Eskuz Esku” in Basque, or “Hand to Hand.” Lead artist John Pitman Weber and assistant Alicia Vallejo Sanz, a 2010 project of Itinerario Muralistico of Vitoria-Gasteiz.

While Bilbao with the Guggenheim and San Sebastian’s Running of the Bulls have made those cities well known in the United States, Vitoria-Gasteiz is the actual seat of government of Basque Country. With a population of about 250,000, the Basque capital lies only 40 miles outside Bilbao. The hyphenation reflects the duality of Spain’s sometimes dueling cultures: Vitoria is Spanish while Gasteiz is the Basque half of its name.

Continue reading “Postcard from Bilbao, Spain: Heart of Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz” →