Corinna B September 22, 2017

How To Make A Charcuterie Board.

When I am in Italy with my Glam Italia Tours we often come back to our apartment or villa after a long day of sightseeing and wind down with a crisp, cold glass of prosecco and a platter of snacks, otherwise known as a charcuterie board. It is the perfect way to welcome the evening ahead in Italy.

When I’m in Paris (if you are reading this blog post the week it went live, I’m there right now) I adore going for picnics. We go shopping on a food street like Rue Cler, and pick up a baguette, a bottle of champagne or wine, and then wander in and out of cheese shops, fruit shops, meat shops, and build the bits and pieces needed for a chic, Parisian picnic. Which looks remarkably like a charcuterie board!

charcuterie board accompaniments

When I am home from my trips and want to re-live the glorious nights on our balcony overlooking the Amalfi Coast, or the early evenings in San Gimignano, I whip up a charcuterie board and pop an ice cold bottle of prosecco. When I am pining for soirees in Paris, or maybe just need a break from the realities of real life, a charcuterie board dinner with a glass of Sancerre is the perfect escape.

charcuterie board for two

My travelers always take photos of the spreads I put out and tell me they try to duplicate them when they get home.

To help both them and you spice up any gathering or any evening, Gifts.com compiled a guide on how to build the perfect charcuterie board. Mix and match meats, cheeses and accompaniments for the ultimate hors d’oeuvre. You can use this guide to help you choose your meats and cheeses, and to put the whole thing together.

charcuterie pairing chart

Not only will your guests be impressed with the selection, they’ll be excited to customize their appetizer to their liking.

charcuterie Board cheese options

charcuterie board meats

Bon appetit!

I do not have affiliate marketing with Gifts.com, this post has not been sponsored and they have never even sent me products to try. This post is not a review. It is hopefully an inspiration!

Corinna B September 14, 2017

How To Make Italian Coffee With A Moka

If you have traveled in Italy you have probably seen one of these coffee making devices. The device is called a Moka and it makes strong little cups of coffee that I recently heard referred to as stovetop espresso.

Italians don’t drink the big, long cups of coffee that we do, theirs are smaller and stronger. When I’m using my moka I make a coffee that is somewhere in the middle. Be advised that coffee made in a moka, or stovetop espresso, is strong!

The first time I rented an apartment in Italy I couldn’t for the life of me figure this thing out. The apartment’s cleaning lady had to come over and show me how to do it!

Saturday morning coffee and cupcakes with my dear friend, photographer Kristina Wood.

Traditional mokas come in an octagonal shape. Mine is a little more modern looking, and was a gift from my dear friend Anna Maria, when I was staying at her beautiful home in Varese.

A moka breaks down to 3 pieces.

The base, a funnel looking filter basket, and the body or caraf of the moka.

The first step is to fill the base with water.

Next put the filter funnel into the base.

Put a couple of table spoons of coffee into the filter basket, and don’t pack it down hard. I let it sit loosely in the basket.

I recommend using Italian coffee. I use Illy or Lavazza Crema E Gusto . Normally I buy Illy Moka, but I couldn’t find any in the local stores today, so had to buy Espresso instead. You can order both coffees here and here on Amazon.

The body or carafe of the moka screws onto the base.

Now sit it on the stove over a medium high flame.

The water in the base is going to boil, and push up through the funnel, through the filter in the base of the top section of the moka, and will fill up in the top section.

And now we wait…

I periodically check it so that it doesn’t end up spitting out over the stove.

I normally find the handle gets quite hot, so I use a cloth when I take it off the stove and pour it. I’m sure I just run the flame on the stove too high, but old habits die hard, and this is just how I do it!

I cheat quite often, putting it in a medium sized cup and adding a little boiling water, so that I can have a slightly longer coffee. Just don’t tell my Italian friends….

Once you get the swing of this you will be hooked. Moka, or stovetop espresso is so incredibly good!

Where to buy a Moka

You can find Moka coffee makers online: The Alessio Moka and the Bialetti Moka are in my Amazon store here (Amazon.com/shop/corinnatravels), Bialetti Stovetop Espresso Maker at Amazon.com here and the Primula Stovetop Espresso Maker at Target, here.

Where to buy Italian Coffee

Find illy Medium Roast Ground Moka Coffee for Stovetop Coffeemakers here
and Lavazza 2 Pack Crema E Gusto Ground Coffee here

All images in this post are courtesy of KristinaBeth.Photography

Related posts:

How To Order Coffee In Italy

10 Things You Absolutely MUST Do in Rome

10 Things You Absolutely MUST Do In Florence

10 Reasons To Visit Puglia

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This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from one of these links a very small commission will be paid to this blog, which will go towards the running cost of the Corinna B's World blog.

Corinna B June 30, 2017

Venice Looks To Address Overcrowding

The overcrowding in Venice drives me crazy.

Venice is the most unique city on earth. We’ve known forever that it has been sinking, so it would make sense to do everything possible to slow the process down, build up the lagoon, and keep the cruise ships out. The cruise ships, in my opinion, are the devil. They push the water level higher, then vomit out thousands of bodies who put undue weight on the bridges and walk ways.

Afar.com recently posted this story about how Venice plans to address overcrowding. I wish they would prohibit the cruise ships….

Venice Looks to Address Overcrowding

The city has taken measures to ease crowds and make locals’ lives a little easier.

MATT VILLANO

5.7.2017

With the 57th annual La Biennale art festival set to begin in Venice on May 13, the Italian city has rolled out a series of initiatives to address unsustainable tourism and overcrowding at top attractions.

The new initiatives include people counters at some of the city’s most popular spots and a website that tracks wait times at various locations. The city also plans to produce and distribute new maps that spotlight lesser-known attractions—in an attempt to encourage visitors to fan out from established tourist centers.

Most of the initiatives went into place this month.

Specifically, Venice now will monitor the number of visitors at sites around the main tourist zones, including Piazza San Marco, Doge’s Palace, the Ponte degli Scalzi, the Ponte di Calatrava, and the three old stone bridges crossing the Rio Nuovo.

A story on The Local, a popular local blog, said that while there will be no specific cap on visitor numbers to start, the figures will be shared in real time through the city’s website and social media.

That same article said the city’s transport ticket will be updated to cover the whole metropolitan area, and the new maps will pinpoint facilities such as picnic areas and public restrooms to deter tourists from using monuments for such purposes.

Additional stories on the new policies suggested still other changes.

One, from the Independent, a U.K. newspaper, cited reports from local Italian-language newspapers that indicated the city soon may charge admission to Piazza San Marco.

Another, from HuffPost UK, hinted that officials also reportedly are mulling limits on the number of new hotels and accommodations, starting with a serious crackdown on apartment shares and vacation rentals through services such as Airbnb.

Read 15 Things You Need To Do In Venice here

The push for European cities to manage overcrowding and tourism growth is nothing new. Travel Weekly reported on the issue at the beginning of the year. Last month, Barcelona enacted new restrictions on apartment shares and other tourist accommodations and promulgated a plan to more evenly distribute tourist crowds around the city.

In Venice, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has spoken publicly since his election in 2015 about “cracking down on the tourism industry” and said last week that the new measures were designed to make tourist flows “compatible with the everyday lives of residents.”

Brugnaro’s crusade began formally last April, when the city introduced a locals-first boarding policy for water buses and launched a separate queue for tourists.

Last summer, Venice was plastered with fliers that said, essentially, “Tourists go away!”

The takeaway: Keep exploring, but be respectful. Places like Venice are one of a kind. The only way to keep them that way is to follow the rules.