The year I graduated from college and moved to New York, I had a fall ticket series to the New York City Opera with a work friend. I didn’t know much about opera and still don’t, but seeing the magnificent performances of Madame Butterfly and Tosca at Lincoln Center are forever etched in my memory. […]

I really don’t know where to start talking about Limone, a charming village tucked away on the western shore of Lake Garda. We could begin with the beautiful, relaxed setting framed by the mountains towering above… Or I could tell you about the luscious, tangy, smooth, simple Tagliatelle al Limone I thoroughly enjoyed at a restaurant on the lakefront. […]

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know about our planned five day October adventure to tour the stunning Lake Garda region of Italy. And if you’re on Facebook, you saw just a glimpse of this incredible trip with our group of nine adventurous and extraordinarily nice people. With almost 1,000 photos on my camera and […]

If you’re on Facebook, you probably know that I was in Italy for a couple of weeks since I posted a number of photos of my travels. I had a fabulous time with Monica, Cristina and Marisa and visited several beautiful towns in northern Italy while doing some serious research (aka eating and drinking…a lot). […]

“Your cousin owns a gelato shop??!! Are you kidding me??? Of course I want to go!”, I  shrieked  (without hugging her too tightly) when Deborah invited me to Pinguino Giallo (Yellow Penguin) Gelateria in Gardone Riviera, a charming town on the western side of Lake Garda. Owned by Deborah’s Aunt Silvia for the past 25 […]

According to the legend, lemon plants were introduced into the Lake Garda region in the XIV century by the Franciscan friars. The first lemon houses (limonaia) arose on the Brescia (west) side of the lake, mostly in areas of Gargnano and Limone while some were built  on the Veronese coast, where the main centre for the […]

On my first visit to Desenzano, I didn’t know it was on Lake Garda because I never saw the lake. A group of us had been traveling for several days for a factory tour in Germany, a three day meeting and another factory tour near Venice and now we had one more visit the following […]

Driving through the gorgeous Brescian countryside on a magnificent May day, we arrived at Gardalatte in Lonato to see how Grana Padano cheese is produced. Grana Padano is a hard, semi fat, cow’s milk cheese with a rich, slightly salty taste and is one of Italy’s most produced and consumed cheeses. Luigi, the head casaro or […]

In the middle of Lake Garda, there’s an island – actually, not surprisingly there are a number of islands but Isola del Garda is the largest and most spectacular one. Located off of the western shore near San Felice del Benaco, the only arrival mode of transportation is by boat. And only recently the Borghese-Cavazza […]

As I was strolling down the hill from Residence San Rocco to meet Nicoletta for dinner, lovely Signora Graziella Manestrini was walking up, carrying a heavy pot wrapped in a red and white checked kitchen towel.  She had just brought a piping hot dinner down to her husband Signor Manestrini who had been at the […]