Alpabzug or Désalpe? Swiss cows come home
Every autumn, Swiss cows in their droves leave the high pastures of summer to return to the valleys, collared with bells and with bouquets...
Living the Covid-19 pandemic in Portugal
Portugal's state of emergency in the face of the global Covid-19 pandemic was lifted at the beginning of May, and on May 4th the...
Tasting Porto in a time of lockdown
On 18 March, Portugal declared a national emergency, and shuttered restaurants, bars and wine shops across the country. Through the weeks in lockdown, Tom...
Simplesmente Vinho
Simplesmente Vinho, Porto’s alternative wine festival, recently concluded its eighth outing. The festival at Cais Novo, on the banks of the Douro River, featured...
Anita’s Feast celebrates ten years
Anita’s Feast began around a table with our neighbors in Basel, Switzerland, as we unpacked the Swiss ritual of raclette to a background of...
Celebrating Pongal in Tamil Nadu, India
“Please join us!” the woman in a gold-trimmed green sari exclaimed, waving a wooden spoon in our direction. Sweet smoke wafted from hundreds of...
In Basel, Switzerland, the antics of Vogel Gryff
A resounding boom from a raft on the Rhine, and the “only in (Klein)basel” ritual known as Vogel Gryff is underway. When Tom and...
Tamil Nadu’s kolam art tradition
One of India’s most distinctive art forms is that of rangoli, in which patterns are created on the floor or the ground using materials...
In Cartoceto, Italy with cheese master Vittorio Beltrami
We walked past Gastronomia Beltrami—twice—before we spotted the entrance, partially hidden behind a leafy tree. Inside, a heady aroma of cheese greeted us,...
Educating girls in Solukhumbu, Nepal
The young girl appeared as if in a dream, walking uphill through dense fog. She stopped to watch as our group made its slow...
