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SASSO Chapter 2: One Last Supper But
can you imagine eating a fresco right from a wall, what that would do
to your cheeks and to your chin, to your nose and your teeth, if you gnawed
at the cave until the soft rock filled your mouth like a granitey dollop
of mashed potatoes? Inside the cave where the two dead teenagers were
found, the peach of the frescoes – angel heads, bishop arms, and
the dwarfish hands of cherubim – mixed with blood from the two teenagers'
faces and mouths. Then the tufa walls of the cave sucked back the paint
like a sponge. The colors left on the walls were astonishing. Especially
the reds: bloody and passionate. |
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ITALY: THE BEST TRAVEL WRITING FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES Castle Country Since
the 12th century, the lush terrain of Alto Adige, a 3,000-square-mile
stretch of the Tyrol in Italy's farthest north, has been studded with
a king's ransom of castles, manor houses and monasteries. There are
more than 350 of them today, overhanging rocky cliffs or lying, half-concealed,
in primordial pine forests. Dozens are open to daytime visitors; some
are ruins while others have become museums, hotels and restaurants. |
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BEST FOOD WRITING 2007 Meat: The Pleasures of Flesh A
man in Wyoming calls his lover in New York. It's been 11 days since
he has seen her, and it feels long and terrible because their relationship
is new. "It's midnight here," he says, "so I know I
must be waking you. But I have to tell you about my dinner. Are you
there? This is important." He cradles the receiver to his cheek,
sitting on the hotel bed with his socked feet rubbing against carpet. "We
went to dinner, and I need you to know about the prime rib I ate. It
was swimming in a gully of juice. I mean, sopping and red, and..." He
catches his breath now, recalling the bites and the texture, the moments
of flesh. "It could only make me think of you," he tells
her. "I was the only one at the table without boots or a cowboy
hat," he starts laughing. "I was supposed to be talking about
raising capital, and about getting it into Cheyenne fast. But I was
thinking of you between each swallow, and all I could think of was
your body." |