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Art in Bloom: The Sequel

An exuberant spring festival at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts offers guided tours, workshops, and high tea. A little stodgy, a little corny, and very Boston, Art in Bloom inhabits a deeply old fashioned groove with garden clubs and floral designers from across New England creating arrangements inspired by MFA collections and exhibitions.

An arrangement of yellow sunflowers sits beside Dos Mujeres

“P” is for Paris

In the smoky wake of Notre Dame’s calamitous fire, I re-post this love letter to La Ville des Lumieres — the City of Light, Love and Art. Peonies Pompidou  Pâtisserie Petits bibelots Pique–nique Pouting a la moue Ponctualité Protest

Pont des Arts @$#%& Prix Fixe

Pernod Picasso

Petite Jolie

Paul

          For Flannery — bon voyage!

Boston: Art in Bloom

Spring Green

As endless winter slides into dreary mud season, I plan a Boston getaway in search of signs of spring. I begin my odyssey at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). First stop: Henri Matisse’s Geraniums. 

Neil Welliver has his own room at the MFA. I love to sit in the mossy blue-green serenity of his forest.

A dazzling green portal opens to the dense collection of ceramics, textiles, toys…

My pal theater boy somehow scores tickets to Bruce Springsteen on Broadway. Magic, sleight of hand and surprise are just a few of his many gifts. We arrive rumpled and in need of a recharge. It is not quite noon.

Glory Days

We head to il Pescefor grilled octopus, blackened sardines, and crusty bread with a lush pool of olive oil. With the help of a dry rosé, we bask in the wonder of our remarkable…

Sustainable Urbanism By Design

Originally published © the Portland Press Herald 2012, photos by Derek Davis

Intrepid homesteaders ascend Portland’s Munjoy Hill reviving once-neglected neighborhoods with creative housing concepts.

Sometimes it’s co-housing. Sometimes it’s a condominium.  It’s often collaborative living, but doesn’t quite conform to that definition. And it’s not an “intentional community,” a term that Portland…

Portland Maine’s Rising Tide

Bon Appetit Magazine recently named our little town of Portland, Maine, “Restaurant City of the Year 2018.” Suddenly, we’re a world-class destination for all things yummy and wondrous – a somewhat frenzied big deal.

Here is my humble townie perspective:

Breakfast

From the sublime to the ridiculous, Portland has it all. Enjoy an early morning jolt at Speckled Axe, where they’ll serve your…

Montreal: Off the Beaten Track

Oh Canada

It is July 1, Canada Day, and we’re basking in the grace and civility of this world-class city despite the surprising heatwave — it’s 95 degrees and climbing.

We walk the riverbank in Montreal’s Old Port stalking a cool river breeze and a whiff of the multifarious food trucks just getting started in the shimmering heat.

Way too hot for poutine, we amble to patisserie Christian Faurefor…

Saveur et Savoir: Montreal Jazz 2018

Our stylish neighbors to the north give a spectacular party every year, and we are all invited. The last weekend in June and first week of July always brings us to the Montreal Jazz Festival. We love skipping the promiscuous display of red, white and blue at home and are ecstatic to be going rogue.

Get Festive

In the upscale province of Justin Trudeau, musical surprises abound. With over 500…

We’re in the heart of downtown Como on via Dante, across from the imposing peaks that characterize the lake. We watch the changing light from our expansive, columned deck.

Our apartment is a comfy version of Italian modern — upscale, sleek and bright. This is good in case we’re stuck inside for a couple of rainy weeks. Like right now.

Villa Dante is part of an ancient urban cluster of in hues of…

In Sicily I often wonder, “Where are the women?” Sometimes it seems they’re behind closed doors, as men stroll the streets in affectionate pairs and groups. At last, we find the mother lode of Sicilian women in Catania at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

There are women sitting.

Women standing.

Women floating.And women using cellphones.

Women with big warm color and big eyes.

Chilling portraits of…

Sicilian Chocolate: Savory and Sublime

Chocolate is a sublime experience. My brother-in-law Stevie has eaten chocolate all around the globe, and he will tell you, there is nothing like a superb piece of chocolate.

Here in Sicily, morning cappuccino is always served with little bite of chocolate nearby. In Avola, we are served these lovely valentines of chocolate with our caffé — ooh.

As an epicurious traveler, I’ve been drawn to…

Here in Sicily, whatever the season and no matter where you are, there is a festival gearing up somewhere. Lucky for us, our little city of Noto is no exception.

Every town has a patron saint — Palermo has Santa Rosalia, Catania has Sant’Agata, and Noto has San Corrado. Each saint is celebrated with processions through the streets, special goodies and treats, and a day off.

Noto’s San Corrado…

In case you think all we do here is eat and drink, you are only half right. Here are images from a day among the astonishing mosaics in the Villa Romana del Casale, in the very small town of Piazza Armerina. My favorite is the Palestrite Room’s “Bikini Girls” who add uncanny perspective to our ongoing international infatuation with sport.

(Top: 4th century AD weight training; discus throwing;…

Esperio Diavolo

The historic centro of Noto is easy to explore on foot. Its two main streets, Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Cavour, run through this baroque jewel box and reveal many of her treasures. But sometimes straying off the beaten track yields wonderfully tasty surprises.

Esperio Cinque Formaggi

We discover EsperiaPizza on the downhill side of town. Esperia’s creative menu features…

This extraordinary vaulted space is refined and sophisticated, yet somehow manages to be welcoming — a bookish hipster paradise. Anche gli Angeli features a bar, bistro, “concept store,” bookshop and live-music venue. The back walls of this soaring space are lined with wines; its front space is lined with books. Perfect for vinotasting, casual fine dining, literary browsing, meeting for tea and…

This sun-drenched sleepy corner of Sicily is our home for a month. When we’re not pinching ourselves, we walk the ancient streets at a leisurely pace. We live here and are not in a hurry. We have coffee, dawdle over books, and study Noto’s growing food scene.

A great place to start is one of our favorite haunts, Noto’s cheerful artisanal chocolateria and café, ChoccOfficina. Rosella and Sebastiano…