Throughout history the fascination with The Templars has carried many an imagination from Crusades, to the Holy Grail, to their final demise and the circumstances of their persecution. It would be hard to estimate the amount of literature – academic, popular, historical – that has been written about them,...
I have just finished ‘consuming’ John Dickie’s wonderful book Delizia – The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food and I was almost sad to have finished it, much like a fine bottle of wine or a meal in a special location that you don’t want to end....
I must admit that I’ve not quite got swept up in the new fad of adult colouring books, although I have indulged in a couple and admit that there is something therapeutic about sitting down and forgetting you are an adult for a while with a bunch of coloured...
After much consideration of all the cookbooks I have bought this year, I have decided that NOPI by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully is my most highly recommended as an addition to your cookbook library ( or as a start to your cookbook library). NOPI is a visual feast....
When it comes to iconic images that grab the heart and soul of every one who has travelled to Italy or has longed to travel to that destination, the first one that must come to mind is that of the Ponte Vecchio, Florence. Whether you have walked it...
As an avid reader of Renaissance history I am constantly on the lookout for something new and different to read. As anyone who is also be familiar with my blog will know, I am also fascinated by the historically unusual and when travelling I like to able to seek...
I have several gardening books tucked away in my library, and many of them focus on European garden designs, so it was a natural curiosity when I saw Louisa Jones book Mediterranean Gardens – A Model for Good Living in a local shop, to add it to my collection. It...
If you are a lover of reading but are time poor, you probably revert to the genres which give you the most pleasure, a natural tendency for most of us. Occasionally we may venture outside our favourite genres on the recommendation of a friend or a book review,...
I have just finished reading Jane Gleeson-White’s book Double Entry, a book which delves into the invention of double entry bookkeeping by Venetian merchants and then proceeds to examine the 500-year history of double entry bookkeeping, which is the basis of modern accounting. I originally came...
It was with sadness that I heard of the recent death of P.D. James, the iconic and much celebrated British writer of crime fiction. I cannot remember when I first discovered her crime novels but it seems like they have been with me and part of my literary ‘history’...
Welcome to my love affair with the food, wine, history and culture of the Mediterranean, past and present. Here you will find not only recipes, drinks and fabulous products, but the history of the food and culture of the Mediterranean.
My purpose is to get you to explore and experience new tastes and along the way to immerse yourself in the wonderful history of this diverse and wonderful region – from Venice to Istanbul, Rome to Dubrovnik, Athens to Crete and all places in between and in the surrounds. Be prepared to be surprised, delighted and enthralled as you take this trip with me.
