Greece/ Italy- Seafood markets

Do you know the website viator? You can find plenty of eating and cooking experiences in Italy there. I’ve used it earlier in the year to book a cooking session with a local woman in Bologna, we cooked ragu in her kitchen together. This was very low key and local, she did not speak English well but we found our way with some broken Italian from my side. But there are also lots of slick organised tours on the site. Check the reviews!

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I took the regional train to Ravenna from Venice. The mosaics are beautiful.

I’ve also taken the train from Bari to Bologna in the past.

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We did a lot of research before our trip to Uzbekistan. I found his site after we got back - He found a lot of good places, that were on my list but less accessible as well as a couple of FISH places I wish I had known about. I think he does his homework and got help from regional authorities as part of his work. In Istanbul, we went to a couple of the same places as he did - they were both really excellent. So I find his enthusiasm a bit hard to take (and facee-stuffing appalling) but its worth finding out where he goes. I believe his wife is thai and is based there so think his SEA reccomendations are probably worth considering tho I have never made it to the region. Im now eagerly anticipating hearing about your travels.

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Damiano, that looks like an interesting way to add quality experiences to a trip. I am going to take a longer look at that! I took a cooking class north of Chiang Mai and it was a lot of fun. Nothing like it recently though.

Phoenikia, i do love to travel by train so you got my attention there. Where were the mosaics, in Venice’s train station?

Jennifer, I think you are right about him being married to a Thai woman. I watched part of one of his shows where he visits a guy that goes by the name Hanuman and they were touring their host’s home. He does get out and do interesting things! I will follow your advice and look for shows of his in areas i am likely to visit. I have been watching Tucci’s Searching for Italy and he seems to try too hard to be “with it” but he does interesting stuff and goes to interesting places. So there is that…

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The mosaics are in several Byzantine churches. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/788/

They are from the Byzantine Period.

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Empress Theodora
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@digga did you make it to Lucca? We are planning a trip in July after not having been there for a decade. I know my favorite “I Santi” is gone, and it appears Girovita is now Undici Undici. Any recommendations?

We aren’t going to the dismay of my BIL. The proposed trip with my BIL is scheduled for mid-April (he’s still going) and we decided that Spring Onion wouldn’t find it fun but we could be very wrong. The 3 of us are going to be in Iceland and instead of Italy afterwards, we are heading to the Canary Islands for a couple of weeks.

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If you’ve not made the trek to Montecarlo for a visit to L’Osteria Il Vecchio Olivo you must. Don’t let the tourist buses fool you. Fabulous food & a beautiful view.

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One of our favorite trips to Lucca was when our spring onion was around 6. We rented an apartment inside the walls for a week. She loved the daily constitutional circumnavigating the wall. There are adjacent playgrounds just often enough to keep her entertained.

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The setting looks lovely.

I was really skeptical when I saw tour buses full of tourists, but the food was fab: an asparagus flan with pecorino starter comes to mind, and very good pasta. And the prices are super budget-friendly.

I also had the best salted pistachio gelato in Lucca.

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