It’s that time of year again. With everything else that’s going on, gift shopping can be stressful or exhilarating. Here are my holiday gift-giving tips to help make the experience more pleasurable and memorable. Shop local. Support small, independent businesses to keep our neighbors economically…
Hankering for an inexpensive way to be transported to the south of France? Close your eyes and inhale a whiff of herbes de Provence. That’s what the scrubby vegetation (“la garrigue”) in the hills smells like. And that’s the herbal aroma of Provençal cuisine. Of course,…
I’m recently back from a trip to Provence, a region in the south of France that I know well and love. The first part of my journey, purely vacation with my husband, started in Marseille and wended through remote villages. At the start of the…
Loud as a clarion call, the deep purple hues of irises trumpet the arrival of late spring…and, concurrently, the re-opening of many outdoor farmers’ markets. In Boston, where I live, cold weather grips us in its clutches for more than half of the calendar year….
I overheard snippets of conversation in Spanish and Russian, and English drenched in accents British, Bostonian, and Brooklyn. Those looking to spruce up a home or office come from far and wide to check out the eclectic items at the Brimfield Show – the largest outdoor…
Andalusia may be Spain’s second largest region, but it has been high on my list as a destination for architecture, history, sun-drenched beaches, and occasional but fascinating markets. The best-known cities in Andalusia (Andalucía to the Spaniards) are Córdoba, Seville, and Granada. As one ventures…
El Rastro is the largest weekly flea market in Spain. Perhaps the most compelling reason to go is to soak up a local cultural experience. When in Madrid, it’s as much a ritual to stroll the market stalls hunting for treasures on Sunday as it is to enjoy tapas…
I’ve had to curtail my travels the past couple of months to take care of my dog. Oscar is a sweet-souled, short-haired collie going on 14 years. His main challenges are managing the indignities of aging: diminishing strength and wobbly balance. Every day at this…
Winter farmers’ markets might sound like an oxymoron, but they are sprouting up all over. One of the best in my area is the Winter Farmers’ Market in Somerville, Massachusetts. Only 2 miles northwest of Boston, the city of Somerville used to be predominantly blue-collar…
We tend to think of winter as an off-time for local produce and farmers’ markets. But in fact there are plentiful cold-weather crops and, increasingly, opportunities to buy them directly from the growers. The options vary region by region. In New England, where I live,…