An Edible Voyage

September 2021 Having hiked 166km across the Apennine mountains on the Via Degli Dei, I was in dire need of excellent coffee.  Fortunately, two places in Florence came up trumps, both handily in the city centre and with only a short walk between, it was easy to get my caffeine kick!  First up, Coffee Mantra on Via della Mattonaia serves Gearbox coffee, roasted just down the road in Florence.  The flat white was expertly crafted and there’s also a selection of hand brews on offer. Next up, Melaleuca, an Australian owned café and bakery alongside the Arno River, serving up bagels, avocado toast on sourdough and tortillas, cakes, cinnamon buns and great coffee.  I was really looking forward to sampling beans from another small-scale local Florence roaster, D612 Coffee Roasters, and they didn’t disappoint.  The homemade cold brew was refreshing, flavoursome and exactly what I needed on a warm day, deliciously citrusy served with a slice of orange.  As well as...

September 2021 If there’s one requirement that has to be fulfilled during any trip to Italy, it’s visiting at least one gelateria, and I firmly believe I found the best one in all of Italy.   And not just because I’d hiked 166km across the Apennine mountains to get there! As soon as we stepped off the Via Degli Dei in to the outer reaches of Florence, we had one mission, and one mission only.   Gelato.   Google Maps reliably informed us that there was a gelateria just a couple of minutes walk away.   Unassumingly tucked on a residential street, away from the throngs of tourists and seemingly frequented mainly by locals, it was love at first sight! With all of the Italian classics – Stracciatella, Hazelnut, as well as juicy fruit sorbets and rich chocolatey offerings of various darkness, it was a tough choice.   Rarely do I have two scoops but this felt like a two scoop occasion, plus it meant I could go for the winning combination of pistachio and dark choco...

April 2021 A friend who recently moved to Bollington has excitedly been telling me about No 74 Delicatessen whenever she embarks on a trip for treats (which seems to be at ever decreasing intervals during lockdown!), so it was inevitable that during my post-lockdown visit to the Peak District, No 74 would be on the agenda.   This is one of those places that's excellent at everything - milk is expertly steamed for the espresso based coffee; interesting sandwiches are fresh, flavoursome and served on chunky rolls advertised as made from flour, water, salt and nothing else; cakes are exquisite - towering layers of airy sponge sit alongside zesty lemon squares and Malteaser tiffin; and Happy Belly supply delicious sweet potato and feta scotch eggs with soft, golden yolks. Turn up with several bags! No 74 is the kind of place where you go in for a coffee and come out with all manner of local produce.  Beers from Manchester micro-breweries, black garlic ketchup, bean to bar cho...

January 2020 Patagonia. Home of jagged mountain peaks, mirror lakes, ice fields, and miles and miles of steppe under huge, ever-changing skies. El Calafate The main activity in El Calafate is a trip to see the Perito Moreno glacier.  I was a little unsure whether to go as I feared it may be a tiny, tourist packed boardwalk with a glacier in the distance and a lot of standing around.  I'm so glad I went as it was incredible, exceeding my expectations by far.  Several kms of walkway at varying heights that get close to the glacier, and a beach with rocks, drift wood and miniature icebergs to explore meant a fairly active day.  As one of the few advancing glaciers in the world,  the anticipation builds as the afternoon sun beats down on the ice and you can hear the ice splitting and shifting.  Then with a crack as loud as thunder, a huge chunk crashes in to the lake.  It's an impressive sight and a thrilling experience.  El Chalten The wea...