Italy ranks No. 1 on America’s 2013 Travel Wish List

NEW YORK – Fly.com announced the findings of its inaugural New Year Travel Resolutions Survey, which identifies America’s most desired destinations for the new year.

At the top of America’s “wish list” is Italy, closely followed by Australia. They are joined in the top five by New Zealand, the United Kingdom and France. However, Italy was the clear standout in Europe, with twice as many respondents indicating that they wished to travel there over the United Kingdom and France combined. At a regional level, a preference for travel to countries within Europe and Oceania resulted in the two regions accounting for nearly 60% of all responses.

Italy ranks No. 1 on America’s 2013 Travel Wish List http://shar.es/h9tL8 via @sharethis

Made in where? Those lies, damned lies and labels

A few weeks ago I was in New York, interviewing the grand fromage – or should that be the Big Pretzel? – of a successful accessories leviathan, when I was asked to turn off my tape recorder. That’s normally the point when you sit back in anticipation of a juicy confession. But this was about manufacturing. Yup, some journalists get all the scoops.

Still, it made me realise how sensitive upmarket brands have become about where their products are made. Ask if they manufacture in China and you get the sheepish/defiant/in-denial or out-and-proud look (Prada has used the “Made In China” tag as a selling point for some less expensive designs)….

Made in where? Those lies, damned lies and labels – Telegraph via @TeleFashion http://ow.ly/gkeEd

Made in Scotland: Chanel, and Made in the UK: Victoria Beckham

Puglia, Italy: readers’ tips, recommendations and travel advice

Go to southern Puglia and use one of the rich variety of towns as a base to make easy trips to the others. See Alberobello in the early evening when the crowds have left, visiting the region’s famous, distinctive cone-roofed trulli in the Rione Aia Piccola, where people live (away from the trulli tourist trap).

Enjoy a steak in local primitivo wine sauce in the lovely garden of Ristorante Fidelio (ristorantefidelio.com). Approach Ostuni, the white town, from the east in the morning sun to appreciate its gleaming splendour. Relish the antipasti at L’Osteria Piazzetta Cattedrale (piazzettacattedrale.it), but do book as it’s very popular. Visit Locorotondo on Sunday morning, view the plateau below, walk the peaceful ‘centro storico’ then, for contrast, watch the buzzing crowd from the public gardens.

Enjoy Castel del Monte and Lecce’s architecture and take lunch at Alle due Corti trattoria (alleduecorti.com), perhaps trying the orecchiette (ear-shaped pasta) with turnip tops – surprisingly tasty…

Puglia, Italy: readers’ tips, recommendations and travel advice via @Telegraph http://soc.li/YyLgwSJ

 

Ostuni is one of several ‘white’ towns in Puglia

L’attesa è finita! Ecco… http://ow.ly/g

L’attesa è finalmente finita! È su Android Market e Google Play Store, e presto anche su Apple Store, SendApp, la nuova applicazione nata dalla collaborazione tra SixPrint e Canon, per trasformare fotografie, scattate o importate sullo smartphone, in vere cartoline da spedire ai propri contatti.

Khalil Gibran scriveva che “il ricordo è un modo di incontrarsi” e la fotografia, sin dalla sua invenzione, aiuta la memoria a restare tale, a racchiudere in un istante tutto l’universo di emozioni che in quel particolare momento ci stanno attraversando. C’è poi la voglia di condividere i momenti più significativi, per restituire a quella persona cara un po’ di noi e della nostra vita. SixPrint ha pensato a te: a mamma e papà lontani che non possono perdersi la gioia del tuo primo incontro con la tua futura sposa; ha pensato al tuo migliore amico che non si vorrà perdere il tuo giro su un auto da corsa. Ha immaginato che volessi immortalare quel meraviglioso tramonto sulla spiaggia e che tu lo volessi regalare alla ragazza che ti fa battere il cuore, magari ricordandole quanto era bello quando eravate insieme. Per tutto questo non basta un MMS o un post su facebook. Serve l’emozione di una sorpresa nella buca delle lettere, allora cosa c’è meglio di una cartolina completamente personalizzabile da inviare direttamente dal tuo smartphone?!?

L’attesa è finita! Ecco… http://ow.ly/giywx

The Insider: Bottega Veneta Bespoke

Traditional craftsmanship has been at the centre of Bottega Veneta since the brand’s beginnings, thanks to the exceptional quality of its workmanship, the focus on innovation in both design and craftsmanship and the appeal of its tactful, no-logo design aesthetic.

Founded by Michele Taddei and Renzo Zengiaro in the late Sixties, the name literally translates as “Venetian workshop”, and today the collaboration between designer and artisan remains very much at the heart of the brand.

The customisation programme is made available to a select few in an event in a chosen city for a few days at a time. This allows the brand’s most dedicated customers to work one-on-one with the leather artisans in Vicenza, in the Veneto region of north-east Italy. It was formed in 2006 to ensure the company’s focus on artisanal output remained, its motto is “When your own initials are enough”.

Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/fashion/the-insider-bottega-veneta-bespoke#ixzz2GImWqlGZ
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The Insider: Bottega Veneta Bespoke – The National http://shar.es/hYmdV via @sharethis