Italian Afternoons 2007

Compliments of Il Conto.  Venezia, October 2007.
1988 Chateau d'Yquem.  My first.  2007 February,  Milan.  

Il Conto's bacon smuggled from the butchers of Peck in Milan.  
Montrerosso, 2007 February.

The Haggle Rewarded

Few encounters with my fellow man make fierce negotiation a truly pleasurable experience. This could not be less true in the spice bazaars of Istanbul, where that ancient Bosphorus ritual is cathartic conversation-ballet. After emotional purgation, it is right that the senses be rewarded exquisitely.

A Bosphorus bounty. Istanbul, December 2005.

Iranian fished Caspian Beluga purchased in Istanbul's Mısır Çarşısı, 31 December 2005. Two days later, the United Nations placed a year-long embargo on its export to guard against over-fishing.

Tea at a gorgeous madrasa that is now a hookah cafe. Istanbul, December 2005.

Warming coals at the madrasa-turned-cafe before they are placed on the tightly wrapped Egyptian tobacco. Istanbul, December 2005.


The craft of Turkish coal. Istanbul, December 2005.