There are two markets in Zakopane, a small market of wooden shops in the main pedestrianised street in the heart of the old centre, and another larger market that sprawls along the route to the funicular that goes up to Gubałówka hill. Here are my tips to shopping for Zakopane folkloric souvenirs Most of the … Read more
The best Vienna chocolate shops in Austria’s capital range from Demel, the former royal court confectioner, loved by Viennese for its decadent chocolates as much as its Sachertorte to Austria’s more innovative, smaller, boutique chocolatiers, such as Tiroler Edl, available at enormous gourmet emporium of Julius Meinl. Vienna’s chocolate history is long and rich and … Read more
When we mainly stayed in hotels when we travelled we rarely went to supermarkets. Perhaps just to pick up bottles of water and some cold beers, maybe some snacks. But hotels became increasingly strict about what you could take into rooms, many installing mini-bars with sensors so that the moment you shifted something to clear space … Read more
It’s rare that I devote an edition of Take-Homes to one shop. In the eleven months of our grand tour, I’ve done it just three times before, in Ceret (La Boheme, a shop keeping traditional Catalan fabric alive), Bali (Threads of Life, a fair-trade textiles and crafts co-op), and San Miguel de Allende (Ave Maria, … Read more
Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, or Kapalı Çarşı in Turkish, at Beyazit, near Sultanahmet, is undoubtedly touristy, so it’s going to have to be my guilty pleasure on this ‘living like locals’ grand tour of ours. Because as much as I love the brilliant shops at Beyoğlu, nothing beats shopping the Grand Bazaar. Why Go to the … Read more