SLEEP HERE
The luxury hotel brand, the Four Seasons, has just announced that it will be opening a property in Puglia. They already have properties in Florence, Milan, and Palermo, Sicily. I have been watching the Puglia market for many years now and have been saying for a while that it’s the next Tuscany. Get on this trend early — a trip to the south should be on your radar. As I mentioned in previous emails, I’ll be hosting a “look for real estate in Italy” trip coming up and Puglia will be one of the regions we’ll be touring. Send us an email at ciao{@}italianfix.com if you would like to be put on the special notice list.
MANGIAMO
An unfancy and just delicious meal at Osteria della Mattonella in Naples. That’s me and my daughter in the photo. Alessandro snapped this from across the table. We’re jetlagged and it was our first night in Naples for the first time. I told my daughter Flora “order anything … we’re on holiday so let’s celebrate”. She poured over the menu inspecting each item and finally settled on the octopus in white wine sauce. A normal meal for a 10-year-old, no? The waitress raised her eyebrows, zipped away, and was back in a flash to plonk a whole octopus down on her plate, simmering in a heaping portion of wine sauce. Flora sat in silence, carefully slicing and eating until she finished the whole thing (she came out like that — she stopped ordering off of the kids menu at 2 years old, and at 3 years old, she started asking for king crab legs and champagne). We still laugh about that night and that poor octopus. The waitress might still be chuckling as well. What’s your most memorable meal in Italy? Let us know!
WHAT WE’RE LOVING RIGHT NOW
It just opened in Milan this week — the very cool brick and mortar boutique LaDoubleJ. No need to set foot on the Milan cobblestones — it’s all available online. I have been watching this brand with love on Instagram for a while now. The founder used to sell vintage clothes, and she spun her ideas into a phenomenal lifestyle brand. The beautiful quality Como silk dresses are my fave. The maximalist ceramics are my second fave (I have a hard time picking between the goddess series and the pineapple plates). If you do go shopping, I’m dying to know what you get. Send us an email and share!
WISH WE WERE HERE
Second in our “Sunsets on a Boat” series: Sunset in the Cinque Terre. Departing from the town of Riomaggiore, the family-run Get Away Boat Tour is the perfect way to experience the Cinque Terre from the water. You’ll be bathed in beautiful golden hour light as you float past all five of the villages, take a dip in the salty soothing Mediterranean, and maybe even catch a glimpse of the aquatic locals (I’m talking dolphins, whales, etc.). Oh, and did I mention that this tour also includes fresh focaccia and unlimited prosecco? Sign me up!
SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER
This is a brand new feature we launched last month! It’s a way for you to share Italian Fix, and be rewarded with groovy things.
Wanna play? Click to share our newsletter, and we’ll send you gifties in the mail. Not lame cheap crap, but handmade, thoughtful and useful things to make your life more beautiful.
Share with 7 people, get an art print. Share with 17 people, a beautiful candle made in Florence. Share with 27 people, we’ll send you a skincare kit from the fanciest apothecary in Italy. Cause we’re crazy like that.
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With love + lemon gelato,
Bianca
PS: There are rumblings that the European borders will be open this summer. If you want to be on our special list to hear about what trips we have planned — send us an email and write “trips” and we’ll send you more deets. We’ll be filling all trips from just this email list. Very limited spaces already.
