Having a nice ombra by a canal in Venice

"Ombra" means "shade" or "shadow" in Venetian. Back in the day, there were wine sellers in Venice's Piazza San Marco. Locals would buy a glass of wine in the middle of the day, then find some shade with a friend to drink it. So even today, locals will tell a friend: "Let's go grab a shade" -- an "ombra." They visit bars called bàcaros, and also get a cicchetti, which is a kind of Venetian tapa. Because wine is so much better with a little food. Join us and I'll show you

What is it about Provençal cuisine that makes it so irresistible?

Great farmers, highly skilled chefs, a long tradition of country cooking, a brilliant Mediterranean fishing coastline in the South of France, the world’s greatest farmland and the double influences of French cooking specifically, and Mediterranean cooking generally. And truffles! 

Provence is also one of the world’s great wine countries. 

Like Italian and Greek food culture, Provençal gastronomy is a “cuisine du soleil,” a profoundly Mediterranean cuisine based on seafood, olive oil, beans, herbs and plenty of vegetables. 

Provence dishes favor the world’s tastiest lamb; most amazing produce like tomatoes, cherries, berries and more; a delicious salmon-looking trout called the Sorgue trout; and many other incredible ingredients. 

But it’s also specifically French, with the world’s greatest cheese, wine and bread.

But here's why the food of Provence is so amazing