Writer-at-large SHARON FEINSTEIN spent an intense night cooking in the kitchen of Do Forni restaurant in Venice. If nothing else, being a chef is an exercise in lifelong sleep deprivation. Every table is full at Do Forni. It’s one of the best restaurants in Venice, the city of magic. The list of famous people who … Continued
During a month’s sojourn in Venice, one writer is not just seduced by the food but lets the physical beauty and rich history of one of the world’s most alluring cities, capture her heart. There is a new wave of travelling that bears a resemblance to The Grand Tour of 18th century Europe, an educational … Continued
There’s a new wave of travellers, harking back to the 18th century ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe, that educational rite of passage for the privileged few. Cultured tourism for those with taste, time and means, where you attempt to like a local, imbibe the history, language and way of life. So I came to Venice for … Continued
When Venice’s only female gondolier, Alex Hai, rows through the meandering canals, she says she feels the buildings are moving away to give her space, everything is fluid and magic can happen at any moment. After 30 years of being on the water in her sleek black gondola, she describes Venice as divided between boat … Continued
Harry’s Bar in Venice became a national monument in 2001. What’s the secret? Harry himself has a simple recipe that keeps everyone, from the famous to the fabulous, coming back. There isn’t even a sign on the door. Unknowingly, I used to jog straight past it on my morning run from the Baglioni Hotel Luna … Continued
Arriving in Rome is surreal, gliding past the ancient world in a taxi, the great spectacle of the Colosseum looming down with echoes of sacrificial screams and lion roars. Today, Morgan Freeman is here for a remake of Ben Hur, with Daniel Craig down the road in Bond car chases. Ancient and modern, Rome is … Continued
I feel like Virginia Woolf on the Grand Tour, arriving in Rome with Venice and Milan to come. The Eternal City is where Woolf said she would come to die. But nothing really dies in this glorious city of ghosts, where centuries are laid bare across the seven hills. There is the huge Colosseum where … Continued
