Author Archives: Shasti Walsh

The Life of Wonderful People: Place Names and Food in Ukraine

September, 2018: I love the names of things in post-Soviet places, and Kyiv is an absolute treasure trove. I’m sure it’s partly translations, but it can’t be just that…. Not when I went out for cheesecake and cocktails at Life of Wonderful People (pictured here: the Eruca Smash, with gin, lime, sugar syrup, arugula leaves,Continue reading “The Life of Wonderful People: Place Names and Food in Ukraine”

Milan: Skulls, Bones, and Masks

31 July, 2018: We spent the last few days of our Italian adventure in Milan, enjoying the architecture, art, and cocktails. We had a lovely apartment, in easy walking distance to everything, and although we were sad to leave the mountains, it was fun to be back in a city with lots and lots toContinue reading “Milan: Skulls, Bones, and Masks”

Rainbow Lakes and Sparkling Springs

28 July, 2018: We left the dairy cottage and drove through the mountains past some lovely examples of Bavarian architecture, on our way to return the rental car and spend the last few days of the trip in Milan. We made two stops along the way — one at San Pellegrino (which, spoiler alert, turned outContinue reading “Rainbow Lakes and Sparkling Springs”

Hiking in the Dolomites, part 5: Lago di Sorapis

27 July, 2018: Before we left the Dolomites, we had one more chance to do a proper hike, and we didn’t want to miss it. We chose Lago di Sorapis; a lake rumored to be quite pretty at the top of a ~5.5k trail. I knew no more than that, and hadn’t looked at anyContinue reading “Hiking in the Dolomites, part 5: Lago di Sorapis”

And then there was that time we lived in an 18th century dairy cottage

27 July, 2018: After the wine tasting, we drove through the mountains from Brixen to our next destination on the outskirts of a very remote farming village called Trichiana. Not only were we staying outside the already-remote village, but we also went back in time — Alex somehow managed to find a stone dairy cottage forContinue reading “And then there was that time we lived in an 18th century dairy cottage”

Three Festivals in the Südtirol

25 July, 2018: We attended three surprise festivals in two days in Brixen, and wrapped up our stay there with a wine tasting. First I found a flyer in the Brixen tourist office advertising a wine festival with live music in the nearby village of St. Magdalena on July 20, so we decided to checkContinue reading “Three Festivals in the Südtirol”

Hiking in the Dolomites, Part 4: Seceda Summit (Val Gardena)

24 July, 2018: time for the hike that started it all! I have an established habit of seeking out Windows 10 lock screen images as travel destinations (see also: Plitvička Jezera in Croatia) and it was a lock screen image that made me first decide to visit the Dolomites, too. The Seceda Summit has a largeContinue reading “Hiking in the Dolomites, Part 4: Seceda Summit (Val Gardena)”