Lara Dunston 
Our home away from home in Tokyo is a smart little studio apartment in Akasaka. There’s a school on the corner and in the tiny streets behind us there are neat weatherboard houses tightly packed together. There are leafy lanes between the houses, bicycles parked out front, and rows of shoes at the entrances. It’s … Read more
Lessons in Venice on wines of the Veneto was a priority for us during our two week stay. The wines found in Venice are as misunderstood by most travellers as the city’s cuisine – which is probably why we see more Sicilian chardonnays than Veneto soaves on restaurant tables. Of course wine isn’t produced in … Read more
When you visit Venice you can easily buy a Venetian mask, ‘Murano’ glass made in China or an I love Venezia t-shirt from any one of the souvenir stands that dot Venice and line Campo San Marco and the route to the Rialto Bridge. But explore the backstreets of San Polo and Dorsoduro and you’ll find hidden … Read more
Bookbinder Paolo Olbi and his typesetter Beppi may be Venice’s last great artisans, making every component of their beautiful products by hand in Paolo’s atmospheric workshop in Castello, Venice. We met these generous Venetians when we settled into a Grand Canal-side palazzo apartment for two weeks to get an insight into how locals live in … Read more
“The most important thing to Venetians has always been money,” social historian Monica Vidoni tells us as we begin her Venetian Renaissance walking tour. It’s something we’re hearing often – even by Venetians – but it especially resonates as we stand on Campo Santi Giovani e Paolo where Venice’s riches are on display here, as … Read more