Londoner now eating my way around Italy
FUD is the sort of place you should hate but can’t help love. It’s got a silly name, it’s perennially busy and it’s full of the sorts of beautiful people who look too slim to indulge in burgers.
It is, to date, the best burger I have ever eaten.
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Picture says enough really.
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I’ll be frank. I’d assumed my trip to Naples would entail a semi-joyless few days of inhaling tomato infused stodge, running around Roman ruins and artfully dodging both Italian gangs on the look-out for unfastened handbags and disappointed tourists in large hats regretting their decisions to venture out of well-trodden Sorento.
I was wrong.
Read MoreLake Como is beautiful, a proper patch of Italian idyll. It's also a place which rewards the planners of this world, the list-makers, the forward thinkers, the sorts of people who don't miss trains and those who buy guidebooks. For the spontaneous, Como is not.
Read MoreBasilicata. Heard of it? Perhaps not. It is, after all, as The Telegraph described it, ‘the forgotten corner of Italy’.
Basilicata makes up the instep of Italy, flanked by Calabria in the toe and Puglia in the heel. Whilst the terrain is largely mountainous, the region is equally famous for its great swathes of white sand, turquoise waters and grandiose archaeological parks.
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A wild, uncultivated archaeological park nestled next to white-washed ancient grottos dating back to B.C, makes Matera feel rather biblical. It's the weirdest, most wonderful city I've ever visited
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Monopoli smells like olive oil and sea-salt. It’s a proper seaside town: buckets and spades, pastel front doors and a port full of fishing boats.
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It’s just what your Instagram feed needs. White-washed buildings perched precariously on limestone cliffs, set twenty metres above the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic. There's also a collection of pretty pebble beaches and restaurant carved into a cave (Grotto Palazzese).
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Everybody has an idea of the Italy they want to visit. Essentially, we all want to visit Italy in the 1960s. Do not be disheartened my fellow Italophiles. You just need to find yourself an Agriturismo.
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Nobody is very good at selling Brindisi, which is why it has essentially become a well-worn motorway to other places. It’s not everybody's cup of tea, but it’s certainly authentic. Here's a quick guide to this pretty port in Puglia.
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The Beehive Ho(s)tel - note the (s) - is an eco-conscious boutique hostel, or ‘poshtel’ if you will, located in the heart of Rome. It has all the amenities you’d expect from a modern boutique guesthouse, and more, all for the price of a hostel.
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Puglia isn’t exactly the impoverished hinterland it once was. They’re used to tourists here now. That doesn't mean its necessarily tourist friendly. Some useful tips for trip to Puglia
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According to the most official looking survey I could find (welovedates.com), Rome does not make the Top 25 Most Romantic Cities in the World. She’s been pipped to the post by smaller, more manageable cities like Florence and Venice, and is currently lagging somewhere behind Dublin.
Perhaps it’s because Rome is so hot and busy, and full of so many ancient artefacts that sheer visual fatigue makes it hard to look at anything at the end of the day, let alone your good-looking partner.
But, Rome can be romantic. Think of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant navigating their way through small back streets on a vespa. Think of Anita Ekberg frolicking about in the Trevi Fountain.
To prove it, I've provided a little guide to the best views in the Eternal City:
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Rome is a daunting city for someone with chronic FOMO, like me. It is essentially a giant pit of ancient ruins, huge museums, world-class art, insane food, loads of booze and many, many tourists who know this. Which is precisely why I teamed up with Walkable Rome to learn all things Roman.
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Campanella 3 is the sort of treasure you find and immediately want to keep to yourself, for fear others will spoil it.
I’m afraid I became a bit like Gollum from Lord of the Rings after my stay here.
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Everything you (probably) didn't know about Rome
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Call me boring (you’re wrong) but is there any greater joy than that which when, you throw open the door to your new home for the night/weekend/fortnight, sweating profusely and dragging 20kg of luggage behind, you are greeted by the site of a beautiful hotel room, fitted with things (unlike your own house) which actually work and look fabulous at the same time?
I think not.
Such was my feeling when I entered my room at The Blue Hostel.
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Lambrusco has made somewhat of a comeback in the UK - served up on the menu of many a trendy pop-up Italian restaurant.
Usually plonked down on the table to accompany a hearty meal, or served as an aperitivo, Lambrusco is the wine of choice in Emilia - Romagna. Read on to find out what happened when I paid a visit to Gavioli Antica Cantina, in the small town of Nonatola.
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Sun, sea and infinite glamour - Liguria has it all. Whether you’re looking for history, fantastic grub, top-notch hiking or an epic suntan, the Italian Riviera has got it covered. Step aside Côte d'Azur, Liguria will tick all of your boxes.
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By virtue of it no longer being the 1950s, most people in the UK know what balsamic vinegar is. It has fast become a staple in many a middle-class household cupboard, whipped out and laboriously sloshed over salads across the nation. Sometimes we might even go fancy and buy a ‘balsamic glaze’, to spruce up a cheese board or a few strawberries because Jamie Oliver says its a good idea.
Actually, we’re doing it all wrong.
I paid a visit to Acetaia dei Cristo, a farm which has been produced this beautifully brown syrupy stuff for over four generations to learn all about it.
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