With a history of rum running, a complete refusal to adhere to the Prohibition and attracting unquenchables like Hemingway, you shouldn’t be surprised to hear that Key West has a bar or two. What follows is a list of the most famous bars in Key West. This is an ideal list if it’s your first … Read more
I’ve drunk Bombay Sapphire gin all over the world. Literally. In that bar in Hong Kong, where the theme was blue, and Bombay Sapphire was the perfect fit. In that tiny mountain town in the USA, where I came across the white label version (mystery behind that uncovered below). I’ve found it on offer in … Read more
A friend: What are you going to do in Malaga this time? Me: Eat. And eat I did. It was my third trip to Malaga, the Andalucian city that keeps surpassing my every expectation and having ticked off most of the sights, I was ready to work my way deeper into the city’s culinary scene. … Read more
I conducted an entirely unscientific survey over the festive fizz period of December – I asked everybody with a glass of Prosecco in their hand if they knew that the Prosecco region was just one hour from Venice in Italy. Results: 100/100 people didn’t know (or some number like that). The ensuing conversations went a … Read more
To say I was jet-lagged when I stepped off the plane at O’Hare airport would be a vast understatement. I’d zig-zagged across the Atlantic twice in two weeks with stops in London, Istanbul, Bologna and New York. Not sure which way was up, I arrived in Chicago on a crisp October morning, craving a week … Read more
Step into any bar in Mexico and the drink of choice is overwhelmingly beer. Which may explain why Mexican wine is barely on the map. However, as the oldest wine producing region in the Americas – yes, that one surprised me too – and with vines that can be traced all the way back to … Read more
Finding good wine in Thailand is a bit like trying to find a unicorn: elusive at best and, according to some, this mythical creature simply doesn’t even exist. And that was how I felt until I discovered Hua Hin Hills Vineyard. For weeks I’d travelled through Thailand, craving a glass of crisp, white wine. It’s … Read more
I’m the kind of person who will find any excuse possible to sup on something bubbly – “What? My second cousin, third removed just found out she doesn’t need a root canal? That requires a celebration.” POP. Whether you’re a woman (or man) after my own heart or whether you prefer save the popping of corks … Read more
Francesco Cetti once said, “There is not in Italy what there is in Sardinia, nor in Sardinia what there is in Italy.” The 18th century zoologist was probably talking about the wildlife. Probably. But he could equally have been talking about Sardinian food. I’m fast loosing count of the number of times I’ve been to Italy, but … Read more
Before I visited the land of the rising sun, my knowledge of Japanese food could be summed up in one word: sushi. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan and I dined out like sushi was in short supply during my month in Japan, but I spent half of that month with my dad who, after … Read more