Author Archives: suseturbie

Marnie’s Lemon Perfection

The idea for this delicious, no-bake dessert – a sort of cross between lemon parfait and cheesecake – came partly from inspiration, partly from a mistake.  I was making my half-sister Dinah’s lemon mousse and was running late so put it in the freezer to speed up the setting – then forgot about it. WhenContinue reading “Marnie’s Lemon Perfection”

Paris’s Most Illustrious Dead: Luc’s Cemetery Tour – Part 2

Montmartre, Montparnasse & Charonne Montmartre Miles smaller than Père Lachaise or Montparnasse, Montmartre Cemetery is the perfect “starter cemetery.” Located near Pigalle and Place de Clichy, it opened in 1825 on the site of a former gypsum quarry which was used as a mass grave during the French Revolution. Famous residents Notable residents include leading names fromContinue reading “Paris’s Most Illustrious Dead: Luc’s Cemetery Tour – Part 2”

Paris’s Most Illustrious Dead: Luc’s Cemetery Tour

Part 1: Père Lachaise Paris’ largest (43 hectares/106 acres) and most famous cemetery merits a separate outing as there’s just so much to see. I used to live nearby (quietest neighbours, EVER), and it was my local park: I used to come here all the time for a stroll, or just to sit and read.Continue reading “Paris’s Most Illustrious Dead: Luc’s Cemetery Tour“

Marnie’s unfeasibly easy smoked mackerel rillettes

Guests are always impressed when I whip this up to graze on with pre-dinner drinks, and yet it’s preposterously easy and quick. Serves 6 Ingredients Method Suggested wine pairing Ideally, dry white or sparkling wine, but it goes well with pretty much anything you serve for pre-dinner drinks: ice-cold beer, dry sherry, spritz, etc.  

Rome Caravaggio Experience Day 3: Palazzo Barberini & Capitoline Museums

To kick off the last day of our Caravaggio trip to Rome, we’ll visit the Palazzo Barberini, one of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica’s two sites – the other being Palazzo Corsini, which we visited on Day 1. At the Palazzo Barberini you can see the stark, haunting St Francis in Meditation, the wistful NarcissusContinue reading “Rome Caravaggio Experience Day 3: Palazzo Barberini & Capitoline Museums”

Rome Caravaggio Experience Day 2: Santa Maria del Popolo & Galleria Borghese

Standing on Piazza del Popolo, a 10-minute walk from the Spanish Steps, is the Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo. As this is a Caravaggio pilgrimage, we’ll be making a beeline for the Cerasi Chapel, located in the left transept of the basilica, named after Monsignor Tiberio Cerasi, a wealthy lawyer and Treasurer-General to theContinue reading “Rome Caravaggio Experience Day 2: Santa Maria del Popolo & Galleria Borghese”

Rome Caravaggio Experience Day 1: Centro Storico & Trastevere

The first leg of the tour will take you around the Centro Storico or historic centre. Start by visiting the delightful Palazzo & Galleria Doria Pamphilj. Behind the rather unprepossessing facade on Via del Corso is one of the city’s most dazzling private art collections.A nice personal touch: the audio-guide is narrated by the PamhilijContinue reading “Rome Caravaggio Experience Day 1: Centro Storico & Trastevere”

Marnie’s Rome Caravaggio Experience

Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, was the original bad boy, the enfant terrible of Italian painting. Born in Milan in 1571, seven years after the death of the other Michelangelo, for whom he was named, he revolutionised religious painting, often shocking the establishment and the Church by using prostitutes as models and depicting everyday, oftenContinue reading “Marnie’s Rome Caravaggio Experience”