Safety First

This Venetian restaurant provides a safety lid on their grappa so it doesn't splash in your eye and blind you.

What Happens at Carnevale Stays at Carnevale

Gettin' crazy with the gavotte!

Carnevale!

Treviso

Today is the last of our two days in Treviso, a sort of mini Venice without the gondolas,

La Dolce Vita

Lest our posts give the impression that life in Italy always runs according to script, that each morning we rise, eat a sumptuous breakfast as attendants give us neck rubs and wash our feet, glide effortlessly to our first appointment with nary a missed turn,

Amphora

Just a quick post this morning, as today is a travel day. We leave Friuli and our new love, the Collio, to head southwest toward Venice for two nights in Treviso. Along the way we hope to stop in medieval Cividale del Friuli. More on that later.

More on Grappa

Several days ago, I posted my definitive guide to grappa, having visted the purported birthplace of this semi-toxic beverage. Thank you to alert reader Jeff Gilleran of Alexandria, Virginia (apologies Dave Barry) for pointing out a grievous omission to my story.

Trieste

As we continue to tear pages from our calendar, we welcome our new readers - thanks and welcome to both of you! You are joining an elite fraternity of people dedicated to the enjoyment of all things Italian. And when I say elite, I mean dozens!

Enoteca

Over the past week we have, as is our habit here in Italy, been eating and drinking our way across the country. From Trento to Riva del Garda to Bassano del Grappa to Maristoca to Capriva del Friuli to Gorizia. From salmon carpaccio to bigoli all'anitra to pork with horseradish to frico to bear. From muller thurgau to grappa del Trentino to aperitivo to tokai friulano. It has indeed been a heck of a week. And that doesn't even include the German portion of our trip.

Grin and Bear It

I was barely able to contain myself when dinner was served.

What wine do you drink with bear?

Tooth Be Told

An unexpected bite at breakfast this morning lands Suzy at the dentist for some emergency restorative work. Amazing how similar Italian dentistry is to American, right down to the screams of pain. The major difference? The cost!

More photos upon request (or subscription fee).

Salute

A view from the Endrizzi winery

These are the sorts of experiences we come to Italy for.

Enoteca Dinner (live)

Having a small dinner/snack at the regional enoteca in the nearby town of Cormons. The wine, a Friulano (formerly called Tokai) from a very small producer (Vosca). What a treat. Great nose and complex taste.

Prosciutto di San Daniele

A softer version found in Friuli. We're enjoying this small plate at lunch. Good thing we ordered just one!

Grappa

In addition to being the home of Italy's best white wines, northern Italy is also the home of, if not the birthplace of Italy's most famous (or infamous) distillate - grappa. Unlike just about everyone we know, we have been lovers of grappa since our very first first sip.

Day One in Friuli

Pork with horseradish (kren)

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Friuli wine and grappa

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chocolate

 

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Felice

Onward to the Veneto

Captain, I think we need a bigger car.

It is time to leave Trento to head an hour and a half east from the region of Trentino to the Veneto. Unfortunately, after three days in Italy we realize that maybe we should have bought a larger car.

Buon Giorno

The best part of waking up is not Folgers in your cup.

Bassano del Grappa

Arrived today in Bassano del Grappa, birthplace of grappa. The pilgrimage begins.

Trentino

Piazza Duomo in Trento

Gotta say it. We really like Trentino. I know it is extremely superficial to make such sweeping generalizations based on a couple of days' experience  and a limited number of personal encounters. But to us (so far), Trentino is the best possible combination of Italian charm, warmth and taste (both stylistic and culinary) and German/Austrian efficiency, cleanliness and purposefulness. Getting that combination right is fortuitous. It could have turned out like Hell in the famous joke

Benvenuti

It's time to say auf wiedersehen Deutschland and benvenuti Italia.

Bier

Munich is going to force us to rethink what we think about Germany.

Fahrvergnügen

It's our second day in Germany and as we begin to shake off the effects of jetlag (this will likely take two or three days) we begin to make those keen insights that our readers have come to expect. I hope it won't seem too presumptuous of me to be making sweeping generalizations and authoritative statements about a country that we have been exposed to for less than 36 hours, but that is why my readers pay me the big euros.

Willkommen!

Mein Gott! Never would I have imagined that I would restart the chronicling of our Italian adventures from Germany. But this morgen as we landed in fog shrouded Munich, our five week adventure, most of it to be spent in Italy, began in earnest. Or perhaps in Ernst.

The Month in Food

Wow! What an incredible last 30 days!

In early January we were visited by our good friend Simone Proietti-Pesci, the chef-owner of the fabulous restaurant le Delizie del Borgo in Bevagna,

Mobile blogging

Just testing the new android mobile blogging app. Looking forward to using this on our upcoming trip to Italy.