Lake Como

Our first stop on Lake Como was in Cernobbio where we caught our first glimpse of the beauty and charm of this lake area. There are gorgeous villas and gardens everywhere, and the hills are dotted with pretty little churches. We chose a beautiful one, converted to a hotel with gardens.  We walked the gardens, climbed some ruins in the hill and ate.

Day two started with a drive along precarious narrow, curvy roads hugging the hillside on our way to Bellagio, the last stop of our trip. Lake Como looks like a wishbone with a triangle of land between the two arms of the lake. Bellagio is at the tip of the triangle; standing on the point you see the snow capped Alps to the North.

We met Dave's brother Hugh and wife, Georgia at our hotel and prepared to spend our next three days enjoying the countryside together. On day one we met our guide, Brian, who took us on a wonderful walk through the historical center of  Bellagio, up and down the hills of its hamlets, and through the gardens of the elegant Villa Melzi.

We stopped for a lovely interlude at Villa Crella looking at the spectacular views of the lake with church bells ringing nearby. The Villa has recently been restored by a young local family who host wine tastings. It was hard to tear ourselves away from the cheese, brasciola, and bread that accompanied three delicious Italian wines.

Afterwards, the remainder of our walk up and down the hillsides gave us the exercise we needed.

We met Brian the next morning for another wonderful day, this time to explore the central lake area by boat. Hugging the coastline, we passed picture manyperfect towns and hamlets, again dotted with exquisite villas. This villa was where Edward and Mrs. Simpson honeymooned.  Brian had wonderful stories to tell including the one about the convent on the opposite shore which, in the 1600s, was closed by the cardinal because it had many pregnant nuns.

At the Villa Balbianello, perched over the water, the villa and impeccably groomed gardens are stunning. Originally the residence of the noble family Giovio in the 1700s, it was purchased in 1974 and tastefully restored by Guido Monzini, who furnished it with English and French furniture, numerous collections of art, and the relics and memories of his travels, in particular one to the North Pole and the first Italian ascension to Everest. 

This visit was followed by lunch at Isola Comacina on the only island in the lake. Sitting under the trees on a sunny day with the soft wind blowing, we enjoyed a course of marinated local vegetables with warm bread fresh from the oven, followed by a course of fresh lake trout drizzled with local olive oil and lemons, followed by a course of light butter lettuce salad and roast chicken, followed by hunks of Parmesan cheese dug from the wheel, followed by homemade vanilla ice cream with sliced oranges drizzled with banana liqueur, followed by liquor laced coffee. Oh, did I mention the endless bottles of local Soave wine?

We're all resting now. NO dinner tonight!!

Lake Garda and Verona

Lake Garda is the first of two lakes that we will be living by in the next week. Our hotel is situated at the top of a big hill, right on the lake, reached by driving on a tiny road with multiple hairpin turns. It is a rather new hotel and spa that is oh, so environmentally correct. The setting is idyllic and the views are spectacular.

We're enjoying this special oasis for a couple of days before we go on. Meanwhile, we spent yesterday being driven by a charming man on an all day trip that included lunch and sightseeing in Verona and a visit to a Valpolicella winery.

Verona is a town that was not on our itinerary, but the more we heard about it, the more we knew we had to fit it in. There are three concentric walls, the first Roman, the second Medieval, and the third Renaissance.  Like all other medieval Italian cities and towns, it is a warren of small charming streets that wind around historical sights, cafes, and shops.  There is a classic Roman coliseum that they call the arena which is still used for summer operas because of its excellent acoustics.

Just wandering down one little street, we saw a sign that said Romeo's house. Further on, we saw another little sign declaring Juliette's house. Upon entering the dooryard, we were looking up at Juliette's balcony! What fun.

Next our driver took us through Valpolicella country.  We stopped at Mazzi, a small family run winery that produces 50,000 bottles a year, 80% of which are exported. We were treated to a tour by one of the sons and then sat with him to leisurely sample five of their wines, learning about the intricacies of the different varieties. Fascinating. Like the apricots in Wachau Valley, we had to take some with us to enjoy on the rest of the trip.

One little note on the drive back to our hotel...this is marble country. The hillsides in one particular area are quarries for the many different colors and designs of marble. All along the road are hugh squares of the marble and slabs already cut for export. They go on ad on. Other than Carrera, this is the largest marble producing area in Italy.

A drive that pictures can't describe

     We have had 2 spectacular days of driving.  Yesterday we drove East parallel to the Alps across Tyrol in Germany from Innsbruck to the castle of Neuschwanstein.  It was rolling dairy land with beautifully kept fields in the process of the first hay cutting.  On our left the whole day were the Alps.  We were on smaller roads so every 20 km or so we went through another small farm town that may have one restaurant.  We were frequently slowed down by farm machinery moving down the road.

     The end of the trip was the fair tale castle of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.  Perched high on a mountain top on the North edge of the alps looking over the beautiful country that I have just describe, was the model for the castles at Disneyland and Disney World.  Then a beautiful, but now common drive to Innsbruck, where from the city you can touch the mountains.
     The drive through the Brenner Pass from Innsbruck to Italy on a sunny day in spring was absolutely the most beautiful drive I have ever had.  Pictures couldn't show it  because the distance doesn't seem to show the detail and the contrast.  We were also driving on an autobahn and could not stop.  These mountains are still snow capped but the valleys and even the passes have early spring growth with the bright light green of early tree leave against the dark green of the pines and the starkness of the snow covered mountain peaks. On anything short of steep there were beautiful meadows and small towns with sharp tall steepled churches.  There were white billowy clouds overhanging it all.  It was a remarkably easy drive of about 3 hours on good roads with speeds of 65 to 80 mph (100 to 130 km/hr).  Now we are back in Italy where the views are good but the food is great!   Dave.

On to Salzburg

On our way to Salzburg we drove  along the banks of the Danube through the picturesque Wachau Valley, stopping along the way in Durnstein, a cute small town along the river known for its apricots and apricot products. I had read an article in the New York Times and was eager to try some of their products.

Entire shops were filled with nectars, spirits, candies, jams, soaps, etc. We bought some dried apricots and chocolate covered apricots to eat in the car, and I wished we could bring home more products but everything bought has to be carried again and again. Sigh.

In Salzburg, the old town is divided by the river. We were housed in the older part and were surrounded by quaint little streets with shops, cafes, and historical buildings winding around plazas.

The shops, cafes, etc. all had beautiful old signs that hung out over the walking street. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this particular restaurant's sign. Don't the golden arches just follow you everywhere! Just down the street from our hotel was the house where Mozart was born which would have been hard to miss except for the throngs of tourists photographing it.

Our tour that morning took us all through both parts of town. One particularly memorable site was a graveyard on the St. Peter's Monastery property where plots are rented, and cared for, by families of the deceased. They wind along walking paths and are beautifully planted, the whole area looking like little gardens.  The plots are rented by the monks to the families and when a family ceases to pay the rent the contents are removed and the plot rented to another party.

 On the other side of the river in the newer 'old' section, we enjoyed Mirabelle Gardens, site of one of the scenes in The Sound of Music. The movie was filmed in and around Salzburg. Our last evening we attended a very nice Mozart dinner and concert.

More music in Vienna

Our last night in Vienna, in an ornate baroque hall, we attended a Mozart concert with a chamber orchestra and two singers, all in period drees, performing arias from some of Mozart's operas.


The following morning, we went to mass at a small chapel in the Hapsburg Palace where the Vienna Boys' Choir sing. It was truly a memorable experience hearing those lovely voices in such a setting. The choir is out of sight in a loft three levels above the floor, but at the end of the service they come down and sing once more for the the guests. It was unbelievable to see how such a small group, about a dozen boys and some so very young, could produce the magnificent sounds we just heard.

Austria

We've been in Austria for three days now and have adjusted to the German speech all around. It was a long trip from Parma to Vienna so we stopped one night in the town of Velden which is just over the border once you leave Italy. Velden is a resort town on a very pretty lake and the season had just started the day before we arrived, The hotel was not very busy except there was a Tupperware meeting going on while we were there. Go figure. The morning we left, the front drive of the hotel was lined with marvelous sports cars - every European make available. Apparently, there was to be a rally - people coming in all day to drive the cars around the lake.

Once we were settled in our hotel in Vienna, we quickly left behind the pasta of Italy and jumped right into the coffee and pastries of Austria. That first night we went to the opera and it was quite a grand experience. The Opera House is magnificent and the guests are dressed in everything from gowns to day wear. We thoroughly enjoyed The Barber of Seville since we had recently seen it at home and knew the story, although it was fun to have the little translators in several languages on the back of each seat. After the opera we went to the cafe at the Sacher Wien Hotel and had the original Sacher Torte with champagne for me and espresso for Dave. What a special evening.

Our guide met us the next day for a walking tour around Vienna beginning with St. Stephens's Cathedral and on to the Imperial Palace, the former residence of the Habsburgs which included the Imperial Apartments. The Austrians are quite taken with Empress Elisabeth, affectionally known as Sisi, the wife of Franz Joseph I. She was sixteen when they married and was quite a beauty. Her photograph is everywhere and souvenirs of her are most popular. She reminded us of Princess Diana and her effect on the English. Later in the day we went to the Spanish Riding School to see the beautiful Lippizaner Stallions. Unfortunately they do not let you photograph the horses or the interior of the school or the riding ring.

Today took us to Belvedere Palace (in the last picture), originally the summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy which houses a museum that has an impressive collection of Austrian art. At the heart of the displays of "art around 1900" is the world's largest Gustave Klimt collection. I found several that I would love to have in my house. Ha.

Travel notes of Interest

Some interesting travel stories:

When we arrived in Milano, we were upgraded to a Mercedes C class diesel with only 12 miles on it.  I couldn’t have been happier.  However, the car is 10 years newer than mine and the controls are all in Italian and no owner’s manual.  As I pulled out of the garage and stopped at a crosswalk for pedestrians, it stalled.  This happened again several times at lights.  I noted an “ECO” button and indicator on the speedometer.  I turned it off and it stopped stalling.  Four days later we had a guide with a Mercedes and I asked.  He did not have one but suggested that when you stop the engine goes off and when you put your foot on the gas it starts.  Sure enough, it actually starts when you take your foot off the break.  Who knew????  I still have a steaming coffee cup icon on the display that I can’t translate.  We are getting 38 mpg on diesel from 1.45 to 1.74 euro/liter (about $7.90 per gallon).  By the way it takes a lot of conversion because the displays are in liters/100 kilometers.

Driving into Parma on a Sunday, we ran into a street fair that blocked a major street for about a mile.  We spent 30 min trying to get around it with no success so we backtracked and came into town from the opposite side (we were staying on the duomo piazza, dead center).  Well, we got hopelessly lost in the narrow one-way streets of the old town even with GPS.  When we passed a carabineri for the third time we asked directions.  With the language barrier and streets, we ended up with a military escort to the hotel.  Everyone laughed including the solders.

Parmesan, Balsamic Vinegar, and Prosciutto

Yesterday we drove to Parma, a town to the west of Bologna, where we will stay for a few days. Today we became totally immersed in the production of Emilia Romagna's signature food products.

Leaving our hotel at 7:30 a.m., we travelled with our guide to a local dairy that produces Parmesan Reggiano. For the next hour and a half we watched every fascinating step of the cheese production.







The cheese maker and two assistants make twelve wheels of the cheese every morning which then age for eighteen months to three years.

On to Modena, home of the finest Balsamic Vinegars. Here, at the Villa San Donnino, we were taken on a tour of the vinegar process which produces "Aceto Balsamico Traditionale Di Modena" a truly unique product, not simply a vinegar but a seasoning.

It comes from Trebbiano grapes which are grown on the farm, boiled, and aged in barrels for twelve to fifty plus years. The farm also produces a six year vinegar which is used for salads.

We sampled small amounts of each of the years to truly appreciate the spectacular product that comes from the aging process. The wife of the vinegar producer took us on a tour of the Villa, a magnificent home that was taken over by the Nazis during WWII. It houses am amazing collection of art, ceramics, beautiful old furniture, and an extensive collection of bronze animals.

Our final stop was at a Prosciutto di Parma processing plant, Salumificio La Perla, where we saw the massive hams in all stages of salting, washing, cooling, and air drying in various rooms of cold, humidity, and temperature.

It take eighteen months to cure the hams which are then each tested by inspectors who insert horse bones in various parts of the ham, and smelling them, to determine whether they are properly cured. In order to be called Prosciutto di Parma, the hams must be made in the Parma area. The pigs are fed special diets in order to be used for this ham curing process. Our guide took us next door to the local 'agritourismo' to have a wonderful lunch, prepared by the owners, of prosciutto, salami, culatella, Parmesan, and, of course, tortelli - raviolis filled with ricotta and spinach.

The owner of the salumificio treated us to some wonderful melt in your mouth 48 month prosciutto. What more could we ask for on such a fabulous day!

Cooking with Luisa

What a fun day! We started the morning off with our guide and translator, Lilia, who took us to the market hall where locals buy fresh produce, meat, pasta, cheese, and fish. So many foods were not available to us at home, like the varieties and different sizes of artichokes: the produce seller described how to pickle the baby artichokes.

At another shop we watched a man making fresh mozzarella.



When they finally dragged me away, Lilia took us to Luisa's home where we were to spend the rest of the day cooking. Luisa belongs to a group of women called Caesarinas who teach Bolognese cooking. She was recently in New York and Miami with some colleagues giving cooking classes. Luisa, Dave and I made fresh pasta, each of us doing our own batch - such pressure! 

Half the pasta was set aside to dry while the other was used right away to make ricotta and spinach tortelloni. Next we cut the rest of the pasta in strips - just the right width or it cannot be called tagliatelle - to go with the Bolognese sauce Luisa had made previously. Lunch was served - tortellini in a butter and sage sauce followed by tagliatelle Bolognese, paired with a local Lambrusco wine. For dessert we enjoyed a dense chocolate cake that we had made when we first arrived this morning. This day is why I came to Bologna!

In Bologna

After three days in Bologna,we knew we had found another favorite place. In the town there are 100,000 students, and the vibe is energetic. The town itself is charming with its winding streets, plazas nestled among the historical buildings, and cafes open to the beautiful spring weather. We spent a day with a guide who shared her knowledge of the museums, libraries, and churches they are so proud. Later she took us to the local markets and told us a out the various pastas, meats and cheeses. We learned that tortellini are very small - the size of half a chestnut and shaped to look like a woman's navel, and are meat filled. Tortelloni are larger - more the size of our ravioli- and they are filled with cheese. Tortellini are usually served "en brodo" - in broth. The larger tortelloni are often served with butter and sage. We ended our little tour with a sampling of local cured meats - prosciutto, salami, and mortadella paired with the local bread - fried puffs of dough that look like beignets. Next came chunks of aged Parmesan with aged balsamic vinegar drizzled over it. This was all accompanied by local sparkling wine. Last we sampled several varieties of their dark chocolate, one a cube of chocolate and hazelnut that was created for the Fiat company when they brought out a new car years ago. The car was not a success but the chocolate was.

The next day we took the train to Ravena, home to many well-preserved mosaics in the churches which were created during the 6th and 8th centuries, the finest in all Western art and the most splendid outside Istanbul. They were exquisite and the work so fine it looked like tapestry. Later we visited one of the modern-day workshops to watch the craftsmen piece together mosaics out of tiny shards of Murano glass.