Libations & Explorations

Loggia dei Lanzi (Canon F-1/ Kodak Tmax400) To say that Florence has 'earned it's place in history' would be a bit of an understatement.  Originally a Roman garrison on the river Arno, Florence would grow into a mediaeval commune and eventually the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. In 1301, Dante would be exiled to there. In 1504, Michelangelo's statue of David would stand there. And in 2023, I would have the best pizza of my life there. Doina, my travel wife, and I arrived in Florence on a Trenitalia train from Milan (Business Class seats, naturally).  Being only 2 hours from Milan, we decided to take on Florence as a day trip.  As always in Europe, be prepared for a bit of walking! As Doina and I are utterly predictable, our first mission was to secure a cup of coffee.  Unbeknown to us, we would be having that coffee in the oldest cafe in Florence.  Cafe Gilli was founded by Swiss immigrants in 1733.  In 1917, it moved to it's current location i...

  The Grand Canal (Canon F-1/ Kodak Portra 400) While in Milan my travel companions grew tired of me, and on their suggestion, I took a train to Venice. Exiting the train station of 'Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia', itself a stunning example of 1930s Fascist architecture, the first thing you see is the Grand Canal with the stone 'Ponte degli Scalzi' bridge crossing it. It is such an iconic view that I literally said, "Holy shit, I am in Venice!".  I've uttered it time and time again, it is so bizarre when you go to a place that is literally out of the movies. I had arrived on a Friday morning in February.  This turned out to be unbelievably fortunate as, although it was a tad chilly, there were no crowds there until around mid-afternoon.  Being one of the top tourist destinations in the world, Venice becomes shockingly packed during the warmer months.  Do a quick Google search for "Venice crowds", look at the pictures, then look at my pictures. ...

Negroni at the Hyatt Regency New Delhi, India When I initiate a fellow drinker into the magnificent world of the 'Negroni', I remind them that this cocktail is an acquired taste.  Like many things in life, the first will be awful, but by the third you will be hooked…and drunk. As a cocktail, the Negroni is disarmingly simple: one part gin, one part vermouth-rosso, and one part Campari.  Stir together with an orange wedge to be used as a garnish in a rocks glass.  Never shake. A very posh Negroni at the Park Hyatt Milan, Italy The Negroni is quintessentially Italian.  The tale goes that a descendent of General Pascal Olivier de Negroni, the count of Negroni, asked the bartender in Caffe Casoni in Florence to liven-up the 'Americano' cocktail by replacing the soda water with gin.  The bartender also replaced the Americano's garnish, a lime, with an orange wedge to differentiate the cocktail.   In early 2023 my good friend Doina and I had Negron...

  I'm ashamed to admit it, but I came to the world of coffee quite late in life. Around the age of 25, when going on nuclear-benders at meaningless nightclubs became boring, I needed a new culture to sink my teeth into.  Being an Englishman, I gravitated to tea...specifically Earl Grey tea.  Although I occasionally enjoyed some of the Starbucks 'ice cream drinks', coffee never really appealed to me.   That all changed in 2023 when I went to Italy.  Like many things, the Italians just do it better.  The first cappuccino I had was from the Italian equivalent of a Tim Horton's at the Milano Centrale train station...and it was delicious.  In fact, every cup of coffee I had in Italy was delicious. When I came home, I started exploring the coffee shops in my village, but none could replicate what I had experienced in Italy...except Adesso Cafe.  Run by a gem of a man named Frank, Adesso has the absolute best coffee I have every had outside of ...