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Taormina: Beyond The White Lotus
This Sicilian gem was famous long before season two of the HBO hit The White Lotus. But has the flood of tourists since the show ruined Taormina? I sent contributing writer Kevin Raub to find out. Rooms at the San Domenico Palace, a Four Seasons Hotel, start at around 3,100€ a night. Kevin found a historic hotel with the same views starting at just 150€ a night, and he tells you exactly which room to ask for. He also steps off the tourist path to visit a home filled with Sicilian folk art and the villa where Hemingway wrote his first short story. Then he eats his way through town from a cheese shop where a husband and wife sell nearly everything from their own farm, a pistachio shop run by a man from Bronte (the world’s best source for pistachios) and a hidden restaurant with a sea creature theme. This is authentic Taormina!
Move Over Portofino, Meet Laigueglia
Most Italians don’t know where this seaside village is and aren’t even sure how to pronounce it. That’s exactly why you need to go. Just 50 miles from the French border, this is the Italian Riviera that isn’t crowded. It’s one of fewer than a dozen of Italy’s I Borghi Piu Belli with a medieval center right on the sea. The sandy beach isn’t packed with beach clubs. Up in the hills, there’s a Michelin-starred restaurant that skips Bordeaux and Burgundy and pours only its own wines. Who does that?
Charming Italian City Escapes
Every room at one of these hotels has a “Press for Champagne” button. Another feels like your own secret pied-a-terre in Milan. Editor Kathy McCabe checks into six city hotels in Florence, Milan, Turin and Bologna, from a romantic splurge steps from the Duomo to a luxury apartment with a rooftop pool. She also returns to the Bologna hotel where she stayed while filming her PBS series. It’s still her favorite place to sleep in the city. If you want the inside scoop on Italian city escapes, we’ve got you covered.
Cape of Senses: A Lake Garda Dream
Arriving at this lakeside Paradise at Golden Hour, Kathy couldn’t help but burst into tears at the absolute beauty of this peaceful resort set in an olive grove on the shores of Lake Garda. This adults-only resort is the best Italian hotel she has visited in the past year and she tells you what sets Cape of Senses apart from all of the other new resorts popping up on Lake Garda and should be on your list for a honeymoon or any kind of healing journey. Kathy also takes you to the town of Torri del Benaco and other special places on this part of the lake.
Dream Day: Balsamic Vinegar Tasting in Modena
Modena is synonymous with balsamico and it is well worth a day exploring and tasting this local culinary speciality. Why do so many families in Modena start a new set of barrels when a daughter is born? Where can you taste a balsamic vinegar aged for 50 years? Kevin spends a day chasing Modena’s “black gold” through family-run vinegar houses. In one showroom, thousands of barrels age to the sound of Pavarotti. Just as importantly, he tells you where to eat in between tastings!
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