The idea of small plates has been around for a long time. Only recently--in these days of glorious excess where the number of plates can become astronomical--has it become a fashionable mode of dining. Venice's revival of the once maligned Bàcaro builds a happy social atmosphere around ordering small bits of (mostly) seafood, washed down with a small glass of local wine. How do you go about it as a tourist? Well, we've put together some history, some advice, and have listed three of our favorite places to eat: Cicchetti Bars: Eating Venetian Small Plates in a Bàcaro.
Meersburg, an evocative village on the shores of the Bodensee (Lake Constance) is known for its medieval atmosphere and its fine wine. In summer and fall, wine is the focus of several festivals.
Coming up is the Vineyard festival, 7-8 July 2012, which features a water fountain that runs with wine for the duration of the festival, according to the Meersburg tourist bureau.
Venice is an expensive city for refueling your museum-ravaged body. After all, you must consider the transport of raw materials, high rents, and great demand for food in one of the world's most interesting cities.
You can mitigate the expense by eating in a Bacaro or two, where you'll get your Venetian cuisine in small bites.
That's what we did last night with Monica Cesarato, who gives tours, language lessons and cooking classes in Venice and the Veneto. She spills her secrets on how to plan a proper Bacaro crawl in: Bacaro Tour of Venice.
In a prime position on every "top ten how to save money when visiting Europe" list is advice to purchase pizza by the slice and make it a complete meal, thus saving 14 euros on your 5,000 euro vacation. Well, here in Venice there has been an explosion in pizza arrotolata, a sort of compromise between a wrap and a pizza, a wrap made out of a pizza.
You have to admit, it makes eating pizza on the run a bit easier.
We had a great day in Bologna yesterday. The sun was shining, the skies a deep blue. We had some fanastic gelato and granite at a place called Cremeria Funivia. The ice cream in the cones had such vivid colors I had to restrain myself from sticking my camera in people's faces as they left the shop with their treasures. The grapefruit granite was just what the doctor ordered for a hot day, brilliant in its clean flavors.
Bologna's famed porticoes donated a fine, diffused light to many pictures, as in the picture of a fruit and vegetable market above.
But this morning the temperature plummeted and a light rain has begun to fall. Porticoes to the rescue!
May in the village of Narni, the geographical center of Italy, is a pretty important time; the time of the race for the ring and the race for the Palio (flag).
La Corsa dell'Anello ("Race to the Ring") is no so different from Oristano's Sartiglia. It's a demonstration of jousting skills and horsemanship, and a great many feasts and celebrations surround the event. You can read a fascinating description of the Narni events at Anne's Italy: Narni in May: Medieval Passione Takes Over.
Did you know that you could sit pretty in a fine vacation rental in Vienna for a week or so and take a day trip every day to fascinating places nearby and still not spend as much as a single pair of emperor Franz Joseph's underwear?
In fact, we have an article that shows you exactly what you need to do to spend some time in Vienna and environs: Vienna Day Trips Guide, with lodging recommendations and booking information for Vienna day trips.
Winners of the 2012 World Beer Cup® were announced at the close of the 29th annual Craft Brewers Conference held in Boulder, Colorado recently. Leading the Small Brewing Company category was the lone European winner, Brauerei Michael Plank, a brewery just outside of Regensburg, Germany in the village of Laaber.
Regensburg has been called "the best preserved medieval town in Germany." Pope Benedict was Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the University of Regensburg from 1969-1977. The area has long been devoted to the brewing of beer; just over the border is Pilsen, where the first crock of modern Pilsner beer was brewed on October 5th, 1842.
Regensburg is just north of Munich, so a beery pilgrimage trail could be trod from Munich to Regensburg, to the Michael Plank Gasthous in Laaber, to Pilsen (and the Pilsen Beer Museum) and on to Prague.
Sure, by now you know that you can walk (or bicycle) along the famous walls of Lucca, but Lois Friedland has compiled a list of City Wall Walks from around the world you might be interested in, from Jerusalem to China. Take a look. Do them all.
On Tuesday, the day after Queen's day, new legislation kicked in that requires visitors to the Netherland's famed Cannabis Cafes in the three southern provinces that Border Belgium to carry and display a Cannabis Card for entrance. If everyone cooperates and the legislation isn't overturned, this might mean the end of soft drug tourism in those provinces.
At least one cafe has defied the new ruling, according to the National Post, "and was promptly slapped with a police warning to stop sales to non-residents within 24 hours."
According to the press office of Amsterdam, "The mayor of Amsterdam has opposed these plans, not because he fears that tourists will not come to the Netherlands anymore but because he fears that some of the tourists will seek to buy there cannabis on streets. This would cause both safety and health problems."
Will this turn of events change your travel plans?
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The idea of small plates has been around for a long time. Only recently--in these days of glorious excess where the number of plates can become astronomical--has it become a fashionable mode of dining. Venice's revival of the once maligned Bàcaro builds a happy social atmosphere around ordering small bits of (mostly) seafood, washed down with a small glass of local wine. How do you go about it as a tourist? Well, we've put together some history, some advice, and have listed three of our favorite places to eat: 
Meersburg, an evocative village on the shores of the Bodensee (Lake Constance) is known for its medieval atmosphere and its fine wine. In summer and fall, wine is the focus of several festivals.
Did you know that you could sit pretty in a fine vacation rental in