Tag Archives: sicily

Best Hotels of 2015

Posted on 2015-12-26 by tikichris

My list of favourite hotels veers toward the luxury end of the spectrum. But there are some budget friendly considerations included. In large part, hospitality and appreciation won out over bling or lavish excess. Continue reading →

Posted in Barcelona, Best of 2015, Best of the Best, Food, Hotels, Italy, Luxury, North Carolina, Restaurants, Sicily, South Africa, Spain, Travel, USA | Tagged Albergo Ristorante Pizzeria Del Viale, barcelona, Best Hotels of 2015, Best of 2015, Best of the Best, Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill North Carolina, Earth Lodge, Earth Lodge Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Food, Generator Barcelona, Generator Hostels, hostels, Hotel Arts, Hotel Arts Barcelona, Hotel Del Viale, Hotel Majestic, hotels, Italy, kruger national park, Lodges, luxury, North Carolina, Palazzo Adri, pizza, restaurants, Sabi Sabi, safari, sicily, south africa, spain, Travel, UNC, University of North Carolina, USA | Leave a comment

Best Restaurants of 2015 (Excluding London)

Posted on 2015-12-20 by tikichris

The tikichris of 2015 series continues with a look at some of the most amazing restaurants I visited this year. Continue reading →

Posted in Best of 2015, Best of the Best, Drink, Food, Hotels, Italy | Tagged Abbaye de Montheron, american food, Antico Forno Roscioli, BBQ, Best of 2015, Best of the Best, Best Restaurants of 2015, BISTRO, brockenhurst, Caltagirone, Carolina Inn, Cerniat, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill North Carolina, Crossroads Chapel Hill, Dallas, england, Fearing’s Restaurant, france, french food, Gruyere, Gruyeres, hampshire, Hotel Relais Saint Germain, hotels, Il Locandiere, italian food, Italy, La Pinte des Mossettes, Le Comptoir du Relais, Le Zie Trattoria di Perrone Anna Carmla, Lecce, luxury, Montheron, new forest, North Carolina, O Zé Da Quitéria, paris, pizza, portugal, PORTUGUESE FOOD, Pronto A Comer Zé Da Quitéria - Jose Cardoso, puglia, restaurants, Ristorante Il Locandiere, Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Dallas, rome, Saint Germain de Prés, seafood, Setúbal, sicily, SO42 7QL, Swiss food, switzerland, Tejo, texas, The Pig, The Pig Hotel, Travel, UK, UNC, University of North Carolina, USA, Vaud | 2 Comments

The Best of Sicilian Cuisine for Christmas

Posted on 2015-12-15 by tikichris

Come Christmas time, Sicilians get busy planning the feast they will be preparing and sharing with families and friends. They love their food and they are proud of their culinary culture. During the holidays is one of the best times to visit the place because the atmosphere is cheerful and you will find the aromas of food waffling through the air in every corner you go. Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Food, Italy, Sicily | Tagged christmas, italian food, Italy, sicily, SPONSORED POST | Leave a comment

Find Sicily’s Tastiest Spots with the Free Agromobile App (OneTravel)

Posted on 2015-05-20 by tikichris

A recent and delicious visit to Sicily was made all the more juicy, fruitful and scenic with the Agromobile app. Agromobile is a website and a free to download app sharing food and wine related itineraries in Sicily. Interested “land … Continue reading →

Posted in Apps, Drink, Food, Freebies, Italy, OneTravel, Restaurants, Shopping, Sicily, Travel, Wine | Tagged Agromobile, apps, free, freebies, Italy, OneTravel, restaurants, Shopping, sicily, Travel, wine | Leave a comment

Le Vie della Zagara: Zestful and Juicy Sicily

Posted on 2015-05-07 by tikichris

I hope you’ve enjoyed this online tour of Sicily’s via Le Vie della Zagara. I certainly had a wonderful time discovering this distinctive destination for myself and sharing the most zestful bits of that journey with you. Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Sicily, Travel | Tagged addison lee, Citrus, Citrus District of Sicily, Distretto Agrumi di Sicilia, ficuzza, Food, Gusto di Campagna, Italy, kolymbetra, Le Vie della Zagara, palazzo reale ficuzza, Sicilia, sicilian, sicily, Travel, valley of the temples, Vie della Zagara | Leave a comment

Le Vie della Zagara: Ceramic Dynamic Caltagirone

Posted on 2015-05-06 by tikichris

Caltagirone was one of those places where soon into my time there I started wondered about the price of local property. Could I afford to chuck it all in and relocate? How could I make such a transition work – and what kind of work would I even be able to do if I actually did settle there? Such a feeling of immediate attraction to a place often used to overwhelm me when travelling in my 20s and early 30s. It’s a less frequent – but much deeper and more exacting – experience when it hits me these days. No, I don’t think I’ll actually up and move to Caltagirone (and I very much love my life here in London), but that possibility lingers still in my thoughts as I remember it. And I sorely hope I’m don’t have to wait too long to return there for further exploration. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Drink, Food, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Museums, Restaurants, Shopping, Sicily, Travel, Wine | Tagged Art, Caltagirone, ceramics, contemporary art, Drink, Feudo di Santa Tresa Wine, Food, Il Locandiere, italian food, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Caltagirone, museums, Ospedale delle Donne, restaurants, Ristorante Il Locandiere, Sammartino e Delfino, Santa Tresa, Scala Santa Maria del Monte, seafood, Shopping, Sicilia, sicilian, sicily, Travel, wine | Leave a comment

Le Vie della Zagara: Palazzo Adriano

Posted on 2015-05-06 by tikichris

Okay. I’ve covered the citrus side of my Sicilian excursion – with bits about Ciaculli mandarins, Ribera oranges, blood oranges, Interdonato lemons and Syracuse lemons – and now I want to talk about some of the other equally fruitful aspects of my trip. So in the next few posts of my Le Vie della Zagara series I’m going to highlight a handful of the more remarkable sights encountered while touring Sicily. First up is the quaint and scenic mountain village of Palazzo Adriano. Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Hotels, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Movies, Pizza, Restaurants, Sicily, Travel, Video | Tagged Albergo, Albergo Del Viale, Albergo Ristorante Pizzeria Del Viale, Cinema Paradiso, Del Viale, hotels, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Movies, Palazzo Adriano, pizza, Sicilia, sicilian, sicily, Video | Leave a comment

Le Vie della Zagara: Limone di Siracusa

Posted on 2015-05-06 by tikichris

A fertile coastal plain stretching between the mountains and the sea with plenty of sea air and consistent year-round sunlight make conditions right for growing Limone di Siracusa, aka Syracuse lemons – some of the juiciest and zestiest on the market. Such conditions add up to a gorgeous place to visit too. The last of the low hanging PGI fruits picked along my journey across Sicily, here’s why I’m a sucker for the aroma and flavour of this mighty if diminutive squirt! Continue reading →

Posted in Drink, Food, Hotels, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Shopping, Sicily, Travel | Tagged agriturismo, Agriturismo Pozzo di Mazza, Citrus, Drink, Food, IGP, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Lemons, limone di Siracusa, PGI, Pozzo di Mazza, Shopping, Sicilia, sicilian, sicily, Siracusa, Syracuse lemons, Travel, Vie della Zagara | 1 Comment

Le Vie della Zagara: When Life Hands You Lemons Make Granita!

Posted on 2015-05-05 by tikichris

One of the zestier episodes during my zip across Sicily’s Le Vie della Zagara was a visit to the seaside town of Alì Terme in the province of Messina. Here and along the Valle del Nisi, aside perhaps from the tourist trade, the locally grown Limone Interdonato is the main draw – whether on its own with a skin so sweet you can eat it raw or transformed into one of many refreshing delicacies at the local bar/pasticceria/gelateria/bomboniere. Continue reading →

Posted in Drink, Food, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Restaurants, Sicily, Travel | Tagged Citrus, Drink, Food, IGP, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Lemons, Limone Interdonato, Pasticceria Bar Todaro Carmelo, PGI, Shopping, Sicilia, sicilian, sicily, Travel, Vie della Zagara | 1 Comment

Le Vie della Zagara: Sicily’s Beautiful Blood Oranges

Posted on 2015-05-04 by tikichris

The three varietals of Sicilian blood oranges include the deeply crimson Moro, the Tarocco (a great all rounder and Italy’s most popular orange), and the sweet and succulent Sanguinello. During my time travelling Le Vie della Zagara, I got a taste of all three blood oranges (and more – keep reading!) while visiting two places involved in the production of aranchia rossa: the lavish San Giorgio Estate with its upscale luxury Aranjaya villa and the more pragmatic but nonetheless impressive processing facilities of Pannitteri & C. Both are located in the eastern area of Sicily within the province of Catania and bestowed with jaw-dropper views of smoking and snow-capped Mount Etna. Continue reading →

Posted in Drink, Food, Hotels, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Luxury, Shopping, Sicily, Travel | Tagged aranca rossa, Aranjaya, blood oranges, Citrus, DOP, Drink, Food, hotels, IGP, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, luxury, oranges, Pannitteri & C, PGI, Ribera, Ribera Oranges, Rosaria, San Giorgio Estate, Shopping, Sicilia, sicilian, sicily, Travel, Vie della Zagara | 1 Comment

Le Vie della Zagara: Balanced and Scenic Ribera

Posted on 2015-05-04 by tikichris

The world’s only orange with PDO certification (protected designation of origin, DOP in Italian) grows in Ribera, Sicily. Belonging to the family of yellow navel oranges, it’s not all that different in appearance to any run of the mill orange you’re apt to come across at any supermarket anywhere in the world. But bite into a Ribera or drink some of its juice and what sets it apart becomes clear. It’s a juicy fruit with a balanced ratio of sugars and acids – not too sweet or tart – with a firm and smooth flesh and no seeds. Continue reading →

Posted in Drink, Food, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Shopping, Sicily, Travel | Tagged Citrus, DOP, Drink, Food, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, oranges, Ribera, Ribera Oranges, Sicilia, sicilian, sicily, Travel, Vie della Zagara | 2 Comments

Le Vie della Zagara: Ciaculli and its Anti-Mafia Mandarins

Posted on 2015-05-04 by tikichris

First stop on Le Vie della Zagara was the Palermo suburb of Ciaculli, home of the juicy Mandarino Tardivo di Ciacualli, where land once owned by the Mafia has been confiscated and converted into citrus groves by the locally run Consorzio il Tardivo di Ciaculli. Continue reading →

Posted in Drink, Food, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Shopping, Sicily, Travel | Tagged addiopizzo, Ciacualli, Citrus, Consorzio il Tardivo di Ciaculli, Drink, Food, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, mafia, MandarInArte, mandarinello, Mandarino Tardivo di Ciacualli, Mandarins, palermo, Sicilia, sicilian, sicily, Slow Food, Travel, Vie della Zagara | 2 Comments

Le Vie della Zagara: Experiencing Sicily with Gusto!

Posted on 2015-05-03 by tikichris

Le Vie della Zagara is a new initiative encouraging visitors to Sicily to take at least a little time of their beach bound holiday to explore the island’s surprisingly diverse landscape and enjoy its equally varied bounty of citrus and many more treats along the way. Continue reading →

Posted in Apps, Food, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Sicily, Travel | Tagged addison lee, Agromobile, apps, Citrus, Citrus District of Sicily, Distretto Agrumi di Sicilia, Easyjet, Food, Gaia Barcellona, Gusto di Campagna, Italy, Le Vie della Zagara, Ryanair Business Plus, Sicilia, sicilian, sicily, Travel, Valentina Guerrera, Vie della Zagara | 3 Comments

Vini di Famiglia Wine Festival at Carluccio’s (Londonist)

Posted on 2009-06-27 by tikichris

Vini di Famiglia Wine Festival at Carluccio’s Londonist, June 27, 2009 12:37 PM Among the offerings, the Planeta Alastro (a fruity Grecanico/Chardonnay blend – £12.50 for a bottle) was especially easy to drink; indeed, the evening started and ended with … Continue reading →