Genoa http://www.trifter.com/tags/Genoa New posts about Genoa Six Interesting Attractions in Galway: The Cynic's Choice http://www.trifter.com/Europe/Ireland/Six-Interesting-Attractions-in-Galway-The-Cynics-Choice.327705
  • Visit the church where Columbus knelt in prayer before setting off into the great blue beyond that turned out to be America (however a church is a church is a church and this one isn't much different from any other). The people of Genoa presented the city with a memorial to the fact so it must be true.
  • Marvel at the Spanish Arch that was built by Spanish traders whose ships were often plundered while trading in the harbour in the fifteenth century, when Galway was the third busiest port in Western Europe. (For Spanish Arch read “stones cleverly piled on top of each other to form a protective wall.”)
  • Walk around the narrow, pedestrianised streets of the medieval part of the city and drink outrageously overpriced coffee in trendy or pseudo-traditional coffee houses
  • Check out a Galway hooker or two (they were fishing boats, part of a fleet of some three hundred that sailed out of Galway yonks ago)
  • Stroll along the long promenade in Salthill. Even on a wet and windy day this is worth the effort if only just to watch some brave souls plunging into the freezing waters of the Atlantic from the diving board specially built back when such was the only free entertainment on offer to the poor. This was (is?) also good free entertainment for the rich who sit in the warm houses and apartments built across the road to watch.
  • Take a day trip to the Aran Islands by "plane or boat and soak in the culture that bored the pants off countless fifteen year old school children who have been forced to read John Millington Synge"s “The Aran Islands” as part of their education. Most of those children have now squandered that hard-won education by becoming bank clerks, insurance salespeople or teachers of John Millington Synge's books.

    • Sorry Galway. I know that every city tries to market itself to tourists, and you've done a splendid job, better than some other cities I know, but any traveller worth his salt will be able to nose out these delights on their own without you printing brochures about them. I love Galway, it has a lot to offer, and maybe I'll turn my hand to an article more generous when I recover from my visit. Watch this space.

    ]]>     Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:41:16 PST     The Trattoria: Italy's Most Economical and Authentic Eating Spots http://www.trifter.com/Europe/Italy/The-Trattoria-Italys-Most-Economical-and-Authentic-Eating-Spots.74768 An Italian trattoria is what the beloved café is to the people of France, its gastronomical heart and soul. Webster's Dictionary defines a trattoria as an “inexpensive restaurant or tavern serving simple Italian dishes.” The trattoria is not to be confused with the ristorante, which is a fancy dining establishment and provides the customer with a much more formal dining experience.

    The trattoria holds no pretensions for what it offers to the diners who walk through its doors, as service is simple and straightforward. There are generally no printed menus and the wait staff is there to feed you, not to fawn over you. However, the food that is served in a trattoria is some of the best and authentic food you will encounter in Italy, while at inexpensive prices and generous portions.

    The trattoria's chief success has always been the retention of repeat customers. Instead of continually changing its menu, the trattoria sticks to what it knows best, modest dishes but all with incredible tastes. Trattorias can be found in any Italian city or town. Try the ones that are on a random side street, away from the tourist attractions and the mobs of people who spend a good deal of their Italian vacation standing in line, instead of experiencing the real la dolce vita, Italian for the sweet life.

    The number of trattorias in Italy is innumerable. Frommers Guide to Italy describes Maria Mante, chef of the Trattoria da Maria, as “something of a local legend in Genoa who has turned out delicious meals for decades.” Maria's trattoria is the epitome of this ubiquitous dining experience in Italy, good food at incredibly low prices. While any meal in Italy is bound to be a memorable one, the trattoria meal is what will be the most vivid in your mind.

    (Frommers review of the Trattoria da Maria)

    ]]>     Wed, 16 Jan 2008 07:26:47 PST