Bits by Alban (page 2)

We only discovered this place a couple of months ago and already we've been there three or four times. My personal opinion, as somebody who has lived in Italy for 5 years, is that Vago tries to be faithful to the original taste of Italian cuisine...

Read the rest of: "Vago in Westmount"»

If you want to understand Siena and its people, you should attend the Palio at least once in your life. The Palio of Siena is a basically a twice yearly horse race during which the usual nightlife trinity of sex, drugs, and rock and roll is replaced by wine, drugs for the horses, and medieval songs...

Read the rest of: "Palio di Siena: Medieval Tradition Brought to Life"»

On your tour of Italy you may have reserved a day or two to see Florence. The names are probably already echoing in your mind: Piazza delle Signorie, Palazzo Pitti, Giardini di Bobboli, Galleria degli Ufizzi, Il Duomo, Davide, Dante...

But even if you've been running around Italy trying to see and do everything, I advise you to take it slow once in Florence. Relax and enjoy the city at the heart of Tuscany...

Read the rest of: "Slow Lane in Florence"»

"Luba Lounge" is gone, and we've been mourning the loss. The next step in our grieving process was to visit Vinyl, which has taken its place on Bleury St. just below Sherbrooke. After a Friday night film fest at Cinema du Parc we decided to check it out. 

Read the rest of: "Vinyl Bar"»

Take a walk around Siena and you will be amazed at every grocery store's insistence on displaying prosciutto (jambon), wheels of cheese, and many other buon di dio (as the senese say), meaning "everything good there is". Naturally, you'll get all euphoric and hungry.

The next logical stop for you will be a restaurant. Unless you're accompanied by someone who knows the town a little, however, I'd be very careful about where to go. Of course, since you're in Siena, surrounded by Medieval Tuscan ambiance, everything will taste good, and nothing particularly bad will happen to you if you choose to eat any-old-where, but wouldn't you rather avoid the possibility of ending up unsatisfied, torpid, and irritated with a uselessly inflated check to boot? Wouldn't you rather have a good experience, leaving the restaurant well-fed and invigorated? (I hope this is a hypothetical question for you.)

Read the rest of: "Where Not To Eat In Siena"»

I am happy to recommend this cosy, hip (but not slick) wine bar, which despite being located in a place not conducive to any kind of nightlife (with the lights of the Provigo supermarket intruding through the large plate glass windows), offers quite something in other regards.

Read the rest of: "Pullman Bar"»

The most celebrated holiday in Albania is New Year's. It seems that one thing Muslims, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians can all agree on is fireworks. On New Year's Eve in Tirana the streets are rife with explosives, nothing is planned but everyone has a vague idea of what's going down, and the feeling of a good-natured revolution is in the air.

Read the rest of: "New Year's Eve, Albanian Style"»

Whoever likes good wine and good food should go to Siena, a little town in the heart of Tuscany. It has something magical that you don't fully realize until you've left the town. Everybody who has been there once will return sooner or later because of the medieval spell that follows you as you roam through the narrow streets lined by red brick walls, giving you a sense of safety and carefree-ness that you might have lost.

Read the rest of: "Siena - a Little Town in the Heart of Tuscany"»

Butrint is an ancient Roman city not far from Saranda, overlooking a river valley. To my untrained eye, it appeared quite well-preserved.

Read the rest of: "Ilyrians and Romans and Greeks, oh my! "»