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Author: The Smalls

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Famiglia Furia at Villa del Brolo

Written by The Smalls on . Posted in Activities, Hotels, Ultimate Travel Experiences.

Just beyond Verona, where the city gives way to the vineyard-covered hills of the Veneto, Villa del Brolo offers something far more personal than a traditional winery visit.

This is the home of the Famiglia Furia experience, created by a historic Valpolicella winemaking family who have opened the doors of their vineyards and beautifully restored country estate to share not simply their wines, but their way of life.

Mirko, Giovanna, Carloalberto, Margherita, and Ludovica are the family behind it. For them, wine has always been connected to something larger: family, food, conversation, the land, and the pleasure of bringing people together. Their philosophy even has a name—Vivere il Vino®, to live the wine.

Villa del Brolo is where that philosophy comes to life.

Set among the family’s vineyards in Mezzane di Sotto, the property has lived many lives. It was once a military barracks and munitions depot, and before that a sharecropping house and stable. Rather than erase those layers of history, the family restored the property with remarkable sensitivity, preserving its stone, architecture, and agricultural character while transforming it into an intimate agriturismo and destination for wine experiences.

The property is divided between two distinct spaces: the Villa, refined, bright, and quietly elegant, and the Stalla, the former stable, whose more rustic character is complemented by large windows opening toward the gardens and panoramic terrace.

But the reason to come is to understand the wine through the people who make it.

A visit can begin among the vines, learning how the landscape and growing conditions shape the wines before moving into a guided tasting. Famiglia Furia produces across a surprisingly broad spectrum—from Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, Lugana, and expressive white wines to the reds at the heart of Valpolicella: Valpolicella, Ripasso, and Amarone.

For a deeper experience, the family’s Vivere il Vino tasting moves through six wines, allowing guests to understand both the range of the family’s production and its relationship with the Veneto.

And then there is the option that transforms a wine tasting into an Ultimate Travel Experience: stay at Villa del Brolo.

Wake among the vineyards. Breakfast is intentionally homemade and local from cakes, muffins, and croissants baked each morning, to seasonal fruit and yogurt, fresh bread, and cured meats and cheeses from nearby producers. Walk the property, return to the vines, taste the wines where their story begins, and allow yourself to experience Valpolicella slowly rather than driving away after the final glass.

This isn’t simply about tasting Amarone.

It is about meeting the family behind the bottle and, for a little while, becoming part of their world.

Airelles Château de La Messardière

Written by The Smalls on . Posted in Hotels.

High in the hills above Saint-Tropez, Château de La Messardière offers a completely different perspective on the French Riviera.

Set within a magnificent 13-hectare estate of umbrella pines, cypress trees, Mediterranean gardens, and vineyards, the 19th-century château overlooks the Bay of Pampelonne and the surrounding countryside. Despite being only minutes from the village, arriving here feels like retreating into a private Provençal world of its own.

The château began with a love story. Built in the 19th century, it was given as a wedding present by wealthy cognac merchant Gabriel Dupuy d’Angeac to his daughter Louise and her husband, cavalry officer Henry Brisson de La Messardière. Following Henry’s early death, Louise transformed the family home into a luxury hotel, and by the Roaring Twenties it had become a fashionable retreat for Parisian aristocracy.

In 2019, a new chapter began when the historic property joined the Airelles collection. Importantly, Airelles preserved the Château de La Messardière name and identity, recognizing that the château was already part of the history of Saint-Tropez rather than attempting to reinvent it under a new name. Following an extensive renovation, it reopened in July 2021, its heritage intact but transformed into the extraordinary resort it is today. Château de La Messardière now carries both its historic name and the distinctive Airelles approach to hospitality and holds France’s prestigious Palace distinction.

There are 86 rooms and suites, many opening onto terraces overlooking the Mediterranean, gardens, or surrounding hills. Yet La Messardière is less about staying inside your room than surrendering to the estate around it.

Days unfold between beautiful pools, vast gardens, tennis, yoga, electric bikes, and the 1,000-square-meter Spa Airelles overlooking Pampelonne Bay. When the Mediterranean calls, guests enjoy privileged access to Jardin Tropezina, Airelles’ private beach club on Pampelonne, where the Provençal cuisine is overseen by Chef Jean-François Piège.

Dining is almost a destination within the destination. Matsuhisa brings Nobu Matsuhisa’s Japanese-Peruvian cuisine to the château; Palladio celebrates Mediterranean flavors overlooking the sea; La Table de La Messardière stretches from an extraordinary breakfast into relaxed Mediterranean dining; Bar 1904 handles cocktails; and Jardin Tropezina takes the experience directly to the beach. Cédric Grolet’s celebrated pastry creations add yet another reason to stay on property.

But one of La Messardière’s greatest luxuries is how effortlessly Airelles connects this secluded world with Saint-Tropez itself. Guests can be transported by Rolls-Royce or Mini Moke between the château, Jardin Tropezina, and Airelles’ Salon Messardière in the center of town—an especially valuable privilege when summer traffic and parking can transform even a short Saint-Tropez journey.

This is not simply somewhere to stay while visiting Saint-Tropez. Château de La Messardière can easily become the reason for the trip.

GLACÉ by Cyril Lignac

Written by The Smalls on . Posted in Activities.

In the heart of Saint-Tropez, just steps from the port, Chef Cyril Lignac has turned one of summer’s simplest pleasures into something decidedly more indulgent.

GLACÉ is Lignac’s dedicated collection of artisanal ice creams, crèmes glacées, and sorbets, created with the same attention to ingredients and technique that defines his celebrated pâtisseries. More than 20 flavors rotate through the Saint-Tropez boutique, ranging from beautifully executed classics like vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, lemon, strawberry, and passion fruit, to playful combinations that feel much more like composed desserts.

Think chocolate and vanilla with brownie, strawberry with vanilla and meringue, or vanilla layered with cookies and soft caramel. These aren’t simply flavors added to an ice-cream base; many bring together different textures and familiar pastry elements, blurring the line between a scoop of ice cream and one of Lignac’s desserts.

Everything is made artisanally, with ingredients selected for quality and recipes designed around generosity rather than restraint. It’s sophisticated enough for serious food lovers but deliberately joyful and approachable. The kind of place equally suited to an afternoon treat, something sweet after dinner, or an entirely unnecessary second visit later in the week.

And the location makes it particularly Saint-Tropez. Grab a cone or cup and continue toward the port, wandering through the village as the ice cream inevitably begins to melt faster than you intended.

Pizzeria Bruno

Written by The Smalls on . Posted in Restaurants.

In a town famous for glamorous beach clubs, celebrity restaurants, and tables designed to be seen, Pizzeria Bruno offers something increasingly rare in Saint-Tropez: simplicity, history, and a genuine sense of the village that existed long before the international spotlight arrived.

Tucked along Rue de l’Église in the heart of the old town, just steps from Saint-Tropez’s unmistakable bell tower, this family-run pizzeria has been serving locals and visitors since 1959.

The specialty is exactly what you hope it will be: pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven. There is nothing overly complicated about the experience. The pizzas arrive crisp and blistered from the fire, alongside traditional Mediterranean and Italian dishes in an intimate setting that feels refreshingly removed from the spectacle found elsewhere in town.

And that’s precisely why we love it.

Pizzeria Bruno reminds you that beneath the yachts, designer boutiques, and legendary nightlife, Saint-Tropez remains an old Mediterranean village. Wander away from the port, disappear into the narrow streets surrounding the church, and you’ll find a restaurant that has been feeding people here for more than six decades.

There is also a wonderfully old-fashioned house specialty worth saving room for: warm fruit tarts prepared on pizza dough and baked in the wood-fired oven.

In warmer months, a handful of tables outside allow you to dine directly within the old streets of Saint-Tropez, while the small interior retains the convivial atmosphere of a traditional neighborhood pizzeria.

No reinvention is necessary here. Bruno’s appeal is that it has remained unmistakably itself.

Hemingway Cocktail Bar

Written by The Smalls on . Posted in Bars.

Hidden down a small lane in Como’s historic center, just off Piazza Volta, Hemingway Cocktail Bar feels like a discovery, even though it has become one of the city’s most established destinations for serious cocktails.

The bar is the creation of veteran mixologist Omar Vesentini, who revived one of Como’s cocktail-bar icons and transformed it into a deeply atmospheric homage to Ernest Hemingway. Dark woods, warm lighting, vintage photographs, exotic objects, and colonial influences evoke the places and eras associated with the legendary writer without turning the room into a theme bar.

The real reason to come, however, is what happens behind the bar.

Vesentini and his team approach cocktails through storytelling. The menu changes each year and draws inspiration from Hemingway’s life, travels, and novels, interpreting classic cocktails through contemporary ingredients and technique. The connection isn’t superficial: the story behind each drink is intended to be part of the experience.

That commitment to mixology has earned Hemingway considerable recognition. The bar won the 2024 Como Lake Cocktail Week and was included in the 2026 Identità Golose guide to Italy’s noteworthy cocktail bars, with Vesentini recognized as Bar Manager.

Despite those credentials, Hemingway remains intimate and refreshingly unpretentious. There are only a limited number of seats inside, including the coveted stools directly at the bar. During warmer months, the experience expands outside toward Piazza Volta, where a seasonal second bar and outdoor seating create a livelier counterpart to the cocoon-like interior.

It is sophisticated without feeling precious. The kind of place where one cocktail can very easily become two.

The Queen of Taste

Written by The Smalls on . Posted in Ultimate Travel Experiences.

For two days each September, Cortina d’Ampezzo celebrates the extraordinary culinary talent of the Dolomites with The Queen of Taste—an intimate gastronomic experience that turns the Queen of the Dolomites into a journey through food, wine, people, and place.

Created by Cortina For Us together with the Chef Team Cortina, The Queen of Taste brings together some of the region’s most accomplished chefs, visiting culinary talent, winemakers, producers, and pastry chefs for an experience designed around one fundamental idea: discovering Cortina through its cuisine.

We had the privilege of experiencing the 2026 edition firsthand, beginning with the heart of the weekend: the Cortina Chef Tour, an exclusive progressive lunch limited to just 200 guests.

The afternoon began with an opening aperitivo at the newly reopened Hotel Ancora before guests separated into small groups and embarked on a five-stop culinary journey through Cortina. Rather than spending several hours at a single table, we moved between five of the town’s distinctive restaurants—Baita Fraina, Tivoli, Al Camin, Villa Oretta, and the newly opened 1224 Restaurant Cortina.

The caliber of culinary talent gathered for the afternoon was exceptional. Tivoli, led by Chef Graziano Prest, holds a Michelin star, while Baita Fraina and Al Camin are recognized by the Michelin Guide. At 1224, Chef Federico Rovacchi brings an extraordinary pedigree of his own, having spent nearly six years working under Norbert Niederkofler at the legendary three-Michelin-starred St. Hubertus in San Cassiano before later leading the kitchen at Baita Piè Tofana. Bringing this concentration of talent together for only 200 guests made the experience feel remarkably intimate and exclusive.

At each stop, resident chefs collaborated with fellow members of the Chef Team Cortina and visiting chefs to create a course specifically for the event, accompanied by thoughtfully selected wines. What we particularly loved was that the experience became as much about discovering Cortina as eating—being transported by luxury bus from one restaurant to another, meeting the chefs, tasting their individual interpretations of the mountains, and seeing just how varied contemporary Dolomite cuisine has become.

The journey ultimately returned to Hotel Ancora for a grand finale devoted to pastry.

And the experience didn’t end there.

On Sunday morning, guests ascended the mountain to Rifugio Col Druscié at 1,778 meters for Colazione in Quota—a high-altitude breakfast devoted to contemporary pastry. Master Pastry Chef Massimo Alverà was joined by visiting pastry chefs for a final morning of exceptional sweets, conversation, and extraordinary views over the Dolomites.

Having experienced the entire weekend ourselves, what distinguishes The Queen of Taste is the access. There are no endless exhibition halls, anonymous tasting booths, or crowds separating you from the people creating the food. Instead, a limited number of guests are welcomed directly into the restaurants, kitchens, mountains, and culinary community of Cortina.

It is intimate, sophisticated, distinctly Dolomite, and exactly the kind of experience worth planning a journey around.

The Bar at Aman Venice

Written by The Smalls on . Posted in Bars.

Behind the discreet doors of Palazzo Papadopoli, The Bar at Aman Venice offers one of the city’s most extraordinary settings for a cocktail.

Set on the piano nobile of the 16th-century palazzo, the bar occupies the magnificent Red Room, once known as the Salone Galleria and used to display contemporary paintings. Look upward and you’ll find an original fresco by Cesare Rotta depicting Olympus, surrounded by elaborate stuccowork celebrating the arts and sciences. Silk-lined walls, soaring ceilings, and centuries of Venetian history make having a drink here feel more like being invited into a private palazzo than visiting a hotel bar.

Leading the experience is award-winning Bar Manager Antonio Ferrara, whose cocktail program draws inspiration from the art, architecture, personalities, and history of Palazzo Papadopoli itself.

The signature collection interprets six of the palazzo’s most emblematic rooms through flavor, presentation, and design. Details from frescoes, stucco ceilings, textiles, and family history find their way into the drinks—even the menu incorporates Rubelli fabric from the palazzo. The result is playful and inventive without losing the elegance of the setting.

There is also a nod to Lord Byron, the famously unconventional poet and Venice resident whose personality provides inspiration for the bar’s creative spirit. Seasonal menus evolve throughout the year, with special creations appearing around events including Venice Cocktail Week and the Biennale.

But in warmer weather, another side of The Bar reveals itself. Aman Venice possesses something exceptionally rare in this densely built city: a private garden directly on the Grand Canal. From May through October, aperitivo and cocktails move outdoors, where a garden bar, wisteria, passing gondolas, and the Grand Canal create an entirely different Venetian experience.

You do not need to be staying at Aman to experience it. The Bar welcomes non-resident guests, subject to availability.

Palazzo Albricci Peregrini

Written by The Smalls on . Posted in Hotels.

Hidden behind an unassuming entrance within the medieval walls of Como, Palazzo Albricci Peregrini is one of those rare places that feels less like checking into a hotel and more like being invited into an exceptionally stylish Italian home.

And in many ways, that’s exactly what it is.

The Galli family opened the doors of their 15th-century palazzo to travelers, bringing together centuries of history with a deeply personal approach to contemporary Italian hospitality. Just a short walk from Piazza del Duomo, the property feels remarkably removed from the activity of the city once you step through its doors.

The palazzo itself tells much of the story. Its historic courtyard retains a fresco dating to 1503, while centuries-old architecture, original details, natural materials, local craftsmanship, contemporary design, and objects collected during the family’s travels coexist throughout the house.

Nothing feels conventionally decorated. Rooms are individual and layered with personality rather than designed to conform to a hotel formula. The six Suites overlook the Italian-style garden and incorporate pieces from the family’s travel collection, while the four Privè rooms occupy the noble portion of the palazzo, where frescoed ceilings, Venetian terrazzo floors and beautifully imperfect walls preserve an entirely different sense of history.

But Palazzo Albricci Peregrini is as much about how you live here as where you sleep.

Breakfast is treated almost ceremonially. Owner Lidia Galli drew inspiration from years of traveling and experiencing hotels around the world to create the property’s signature breakfast, with the kitchen sourcing genuine, seasonal, locally produced ingredients. Later, tea beside the fireplace might turn into an aperitivo in the secret garden, followed by cocktails as evening settles over the palazzo.

Dinner is even more intimate: the restaurant is reserved exclusively for overnight guests, with traditional Italian cooking served either within the historic rooms or outside along the palazzo’s green garden pathway.

This is Como at its most personal—historic, sophisticated, slightly unexpected, and wonderfully removed from the conventions of a traditional luxury hotel.

Pescheria I Masenini

Written by The Smalls on . Posted in Restaurants.

In a quiet little piazza near the Adige River, Pescheria I Masenini offers something slightly unexpected in a city better known for risotto, Amarone, tortellini, and hearty Veronese cooking: an excellent restaurant devoted almost entirely to fish and seafood.

The location couldn’t be more appropriate. Piazzetta Pescheria was once home to Verona’s old fish market, and it was here that I Masenini opened in 2009 with the idea of bringing exceptional fresh fish back to the tables of Verona.

Chef Michele Montolli keeps the quality of the seafood at the center of his cooking, combining recognizable Italian preparations with more creative touches. The menu moves easily from beautiful raw fish, tartares, scampi, and red prawns to spaghetti alle vongole, squid-ink gnocchi with lobster ragù, whole and grilled fish, shellfish, and a particularly inviting mixed fritto from the pescheria.

The crudo deserves attention. Depending upon the current menu and market, sea bass, tuna, dentice, scampi, red prawns, and other seafood may appear raw or only delicately dressed, allowing freshness and texture to remain the focus.

The dining room is intimate and polished without becoming formal, with warm wood paneling, a small mezzanine, and an open kitchen. In warmer weather, tables spill outside into Piazzetta Pescheria, transforming dinner into one of those wonderfully atmospheric Verona evenings when the setting becomes part of the meal.

Wine is equally well considered. The cellar ranges from excellent Veronese and Italian whites to Champagne and French wines, with enough depth to make pairing part of the experience rather than an afterthought.

I Tamasotti Cucina

Written by The Smalls on . Posted in Restaurants.

Hidden among the vineyards and rolling hills of the Mezzane Valley, just outside Verona, I Tamasotti is the kind of restaurant that makes the idea of farm-to-table feel wonderfully literal.

This is a working agriturismo, winery, family home, restaurant, and intimate country relais surrounded by seven hectares of vineyards, olive groves, cherry trees, and woodland. At its heart is Luisa and her kitchen, where the menu follows what the land and the season provide.

Much of what reaches the table begins right here on the property—from vegetables and herbs grown in the garden to fresh eggs from the family’s chickens, fruit from the surrounding land, olive oil, and wines produced from their own vineyards. What isn’t produced on the estate is carefully sourced from the surrounding region. The result is cooking that feels inseparable from the place in which you’re eating it.

Menus change with the seasons rather than forcing ingredients into a predetermined format. Luisa’s cooking is rooted in the countryside and the traditions of Veneto: genuine and comforting, but presented with enough refinement to make dinner feel special.

The setting completes the experience. Depending upon the season, dinner might unfold in the elegant, intimate dining room beside the fireplace, beneath the romantic veranda, or outside on the panoramic terrace as the vineyards and valley roll away beneath you.

This isn’t simply a restaurant in the countryside. It is a chance to taste the countryside surrounding you.