It shouldn’t have come as surprise. A quintessentially American holiday has swept parts of the world including Australia. Carved pumpkins in shopping centres, Halloween cakes and sweets in shop windows, adults in party costumes, trick or treat in the streets and taking candy from strangers. Bah-humbug… I hear the popping of fireworks in my quiet [...]

You can easily spot Isola Comacina from the ferry ride across the lake. It’s the only island you’ll encounter in Lake Como. Unless you are dining at Locanda dell’isola Comacina, you may not consider a stop at this small but significant island that has been cursed for centuries. But it is worth a look and [...]

Listen… You can hear the tranquility. I am at one of the most beautiful restaurant locations in the world. Locanda dell’Isola Comacina is situated at the tip of Isola Comacina, a small island in the middle of Lake Como that holds a mysterious curse. The restaurant boasts a stellar clientèle of the rich and famous, with [...]

Gourmantic recently celebrated its second anniversary, and with nearly 400 articles under its belt, it’s time for a little navel-gazing. The purpose is not to ascertain how much weight has been gained from delectable food and drink experiences but to review the progress and reminisce about good times in travel writing. My 7 Links is [...]

A bouquet of ceramic lemons hangs on a wall in the Kasbah of the Sicilian town of Mazara del Vallo. Curious, I turn the corner and spot a woman in a white coat standing in front of a shop. In the distance, I mistake her for a chef or a cook on a short break [...]

The first glimpse of Villa del Balbianello from the ferry as it glides across Lake Como is a stunning sight set to capture the imagination. The eighteenth century villa stands majestically at the tip of the town of Lenno, surrounded by manicured trees and gardens. View from the lake Built in 1787 for the Cardinal [...]

There is more to the Veneto region than seeing Venice and the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello. The area in the north of Italy is home to several towns that can easily be explored on day trips. You could either base yourself in Venice or stay just outside of it as we did in [...]