Good Hotels: The Gritti Palace
Sometimes an indulgence evolves into a ritual—usually a promising development.
Read MoreTHE RECKONING: LETTER FROM VENICE
I’m just back from Italy, where I witnessed firsthand (up to my waist) the floods in Venice. We arrived on Tuesday and the water was already high, but the streets that afternoon were dry. The consensus was that we could make it until the tide went up around ten that night.
Read MoreTHE CITY GUIDE: FLORENCE
Florence is elegant and timeless, a city of churches and squares. It contains some of the world’s great civic architecture that still sets the standard for enlightened proportions. For all its grandeur it’s an intimate city, of narrow streets kept cool in the shadows of ancient walls. It’s full of small specialty stores that do a certain thing very well.
Read MoreA REALLY GOOD LUNCH: TRATTORIA SOSTANZA
A good lunch is a blessing. A good lunch is everything. At least once a month it’s worth removing yourself from the rhythms of the world and taking time to sit down properly and enjoy the midday meal. Dinner is not the same, restaurants at night are a little more full and a little more fraught. To get to know a restaurant go in the day.
Read MoreGOOD HOTELS: BORGO SAN FELICE
A good hotel is both transporting and reassuring. It conveys a sense of imagination that allows you to live, however briefly, an improved version of your life. You have a rare alpine yoghurt and some wild strawberries while sitting on your terrace and find yourself saying “I could get used to this.”
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