Exploring Emilia-Romagna

June, 2009

The Italian region of Emilia Romagna (north of Tuscany) is known for parmesan cheese and prosciutto (Parma), pasta Bolognese (Bologna) and balsamic vinegar (Modena) in addition to mosaics (Ravenna) and fast motorized vehicles that Danny loves (Ferrari, Ducati). Thus, it warranted more than a weekend trip during the academic year- it needed 5 whole days.

It’s pretty far from Bologna, but beautiful, friendly and affordable, Agriturismo Piana dei Castagni was a nice place to lay our heads- due more or less to the friendly hostess Valeria. We put about 2000 km on our car during this trip, each night heading back to our personal farm house in the Apennine Mountains.

I’ll be honest, we didn’t really see any sites; we just walked around each town and ate. I’ll give you the breakdown nonetheless.


Day 1: Pit Stop in Arrezzo on the way to Bologna

Arrezzo is a cute Tuscan town that I call little Siena. It’s a perfect Rome-Florence midway autostrada stop because it is right in the middle and about a 5 minute detour from the monotony of the free-way. Its charming qualities have not gone unnoticed- it was the location for the movie La Vita Bella (Life is Beautiful).

Day 2: Ferrara and Bologna

Although the entire region of Emilia Romagna was more bici (bike) friendly than any other Italian region we have seen (you have to be pretty brave to ride a bike in Rome) the smallish town of Ferrara is known as a bike town. While in Rome, businessmen, students and grandmas ride their motorini, in Ferrara they ride their bikes.

A smart way to see this town would be to rent a bike and do it like the locals. Seeing as we were moving at a mile minute, we opted for lunch instead at the overly craft store decorated Antica Trattoria Volano (0532 761421) where we dined on Cappelachi di zucca (pasta filled with pumpkin) and passed on the donkey.

“Where are we?” Danny “We’re here. Live in the moment.” Autumn

In Bologna we church hopped and walked around until we could catch a glass of wine and people watch until sundown. Most restaurants were closed for dinner on Monday night, but Serghei (051 233533) could accommodate our request for an early seating in order to do the windy drive back to the farmhouse. Eating early changed the experience for us a bit, since in Italy restaurants don’t really get hopping until around 8:30.

There is only one menu in the whole restaurant and it’s in the window so take notes before entering if you want to seem like you know what you are doing.

Day 3: Parma and Modena

The birthplace of parmesan cheese and prosciutto, Parma is a pilgrimage for foodies. While many of the towns in Emilia Romagna have similar qualities, Parma stands out as being both modern and classic with a lot to offer. There were lots of bikes here too but those on motorinos had a notably polite manner. Drivers drove slowly by outdoor cafes and waited to accelerate until after passing eaters. Smokers even walked out of the seating area to smoke! Actually I couldn’t believe it- they really do take food seriously here.

We were treated to this polite behavior at Trattoria Sorelle Picchi (0521 23 53 28) where you can buy your meats, cheeses and balsalmico and you can order your meals. We made a special point of ordering the plate of parmigianino reggiano and paid homage to the city’s most famous export.

“I know you love your artisanal products.” Danny

On our way to Modena in the afternoon we stopped off at Acetai Malpighi to try their Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena among others. Tasting balsamic vinegar is a unique, lip puckering experience and learning about what makes the traditional traditional is pretty interesting. Now those expensive vinegars on supermarket shelves in the states will look a little different and I won’t think twice about laying down some dollars (when we make dollars again, that is).

After a walk around the town of Modena we headed out of the city again to the Ferrari Factory and Gallery in Maranello. The whole town basically serves as the Ferrari Gallery given the sheer volume of the expensive automobile gracing the streets. When we couldn’t find the gallery Danny exclaimed out of frustration, “the whole town in Ferrari. It’s confusing!”

“This is what $100 is supposed to taste like.” Danny

In the most unlikeliest of places we found our favorite meal in Italy (second to our wedding meal of course, but nonetheless, this is huge). Da Amerigo in Savigno, about 31 km southwest of Bologna was Da bomb (bad joke). The restaurant, store and small hotel get Slow Food’s snail, wine bottle and cheese recognition, deeming it pretty impressive. Seriously, we are planning all future trips to Italy around at least one meal at this place.

To start we had tigelle (thin focaccia cooked in special molds) with parmesan ice cream topped with aged balsamic. Primi dishes included ravioli of ricotta with parmesan and scallion and the chef’s special award winning minestrone soup. As a second we split their roast rabbit in aged balsamic along with a reasonably priced local wine. Finally it was topped off with cherries and pasito. I give it the first ever Autumn and Danny, “eat here as soon as possible” award.

Day 4: Ravenna, Rimini, San Marino (the country)

Mosaics brought us to the coastal city of Ravenna. One ticket buys admission to most of the major mosaic sites in town including the Basilica di San Vitale and Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo and the Battistero Neoniano. All of these amazing places each presented a stunning show of Byzantine artistry well worth the trip from Bologna. Basilica di Sant’ Apollinare in Classe should also be included on an itinerary of mosaic viewing, but it’s a little outside of town on the way to Rimini so since we were headed that direction anyway, we dropped on down the coast to Rimini for the afternoon.

Rimini is a town that comes alive at night. Our daytime stroll was calm and enjoyable. We stretched our legs for a bit, had a bite of pizza and then hopped back in the car for a drive out of the country.

Country Number … 48: San Marino

San Marino is about an hour or so outside of Rimini. It is one of two separate countries inside of Italy (the other being Vatican City). San Marino is small (26 square km) and the highest point of the country provides views of Tuscany, La Marche, Emilia Romagna and the Adriatic Sea. It’s a long drive and then walk to the top, past an abundance of tax free tourist shopping, but the views are stunning and the experience unique.

After eight major cities in two countries in 5 days, we were tired. It was back to Rome for a mandatory 5 day rest period.

Ciao for now. The summer continues.

Puglia Style

Summer, 2009

Yes. Summer is here. Marked by the first delayed flight of the season and our skins’ more olive (Autumn) and pink (Danny) hues.

One day after work let out for 80 glorious days (61 of which we are traveling) we hopped on Easyjet (delayed on both ends) flight down to Bari in the region of Puglia. In Bari we picked up a rental car and drove an hour south down the heel of the boot to Brindisi where we, along with 7 of our colleagues, had rented a villa for 6 sun filled days.

The region of Puglia is pretty sparse. The wheat fields here actually account for an incredibly large percentage of the world’s pasta production. We came for sun, pool, beach and sun so most of our days were spent poolside but the region does offer stunning opportunities for sightseeing.

Highlights

Bari and Brindisi are mostly port towns. So if you want to catch a ferry to Greece, Croatia or Turkey you can post here for a meal at Pantagruele (0831560605) Restaurant in Brinidisi where there are no menus, just fresh fish. This great port location makes it an excellent pre-ferry departure choice and if you are in the mood for lobsters, theirs are huge.

Alberobello is a mystic city known for Trulli houses- cone shaped fantasy invoking small dwellings constructed originally because they were easy to dismantle in order to avoid paying taxes. These houses dot the landscape in this area but Alberobello has the largest concentration of them. To lunch in one, head to L’Aratro (0804322789) a charming and unique restaurant in and surrounded by Trullis. Good fresh pasta with a reasonable price tag, this is a nice place in a touristy city.

Matera is actually in the region of Basilicata but is an easy trip from Puglia nonetheless. Matera is a UNESCO protected site thanks to its hundreds of sassi, ancient homes carved directly into the rock. Due in part to film making here (think Mel Gibson epics) the town is experiencing a boom in tourism, but is not overrun- yet. See it soon.

Lecce is sometimes called the Florence of the South thanks to its incredible Baroque architecture made from tuffa stone. The city makes for a great evening walk on way to dinner at Alle Due Corti (0832242223) where their half boiled half fried pasta gave great relief to tomato and basil overload. The menu is a bit of an adventure, but lends itself toward comfort foods.

Open Cantine: La Marche

May, 2009

Italy is broken up into 21 regions. Wanna know how many we have visited? Our May weekend in La Marche makes 11.

We chose La Marche for the Movimento Turismo del Vino Cantine Aperte (Open Wine Cellar) weekend. For this weekend, all of the participating wineries of Italy open their doors to tastings- all for the initial 5 Euro wine glass purchase. With all of Italy to choose from, we opted to venture to a region we had yet to see- it doesn’t hurt that La Marche serves up some lovely D.O.C varietals.

La Marche is northeast of Rome, just above Abruzzo and just east of Umbria and Tuscany. It has both beach and mountain and offers some main jumping off points for Croatia and Greece. While it is technically a 3.5 hour drive from Rome, on a normal day it takes more like 4.5 hours, which is about the reach of a weekend excursion by car.

We stayed inland at Villa San Rafeallo- a wonderfully restored farmhouse owned by an ex pat couple from London. Their quaint 3 bedroom apartment is a steal for a group traveling together. It’s close to Sarnano, and other cute hill towns but overall La Marche is so large that virtually everything takes an hour.

We lunched and dined in Ancona on our first winery visits. First lunch at La Rocca Verde (0712906183) who offered up an eclectic selection of antipasti- with truffle crepes and polenta being the highlights. The twist top house red was decent, paired with fried cream topped with deep fried lamb chunks. Odd but good.

After hitting up a few of those open cantine (only downside to this, one has to drive from place to place, limiting the experience a bit) we ended at Moroder, a winery in Ancona that also is home to an on-sight restaurant called Aion. The atmosphere at this place was incredibly charming and the wines were delish. The service was super slow but it was in the slow food guide so … Our group enjoyed both the truffle gnocchi and chingale pasta and left nearly three hours after we had arrived.

For lunch the next day we headed back south to Ascoli Piceno, a town close to the La Marche-Abruzzo border. Corso (0736256760) warned us when we arrived that they served “only fish” but the heaping fish antipasti, fish pastas and grilled and fried fish platters were some of the freshest any of our group has ever had in Italy. Heed their warning if you don’t like fish, but get there fast if you do!

My only regret was that we didn’t spend any time on the beaches. Seeing that La Marche is a bit off the mainstream tourist radar, it seems like it would be a great place to spend some sun time.

The 14 Country Summer*

Bean is not happy about us leaving so much, but ...

Summer is almost here and soon we will be embarking on a pretty epic journey. Here is a sneak preview of the travels to come.

1. Italy (Rome, Puglia, Emilia-Romagna)
2. U.S.A (New York, California)
3. Ireland (Dublin, Galway)
4. Scotland (Edinburgh, Inverness, Glasgow) (I know its part of Great Britian)
5. Germany (Dusseldorf, Cologne)
6. The Netherlands (Amsterdam)
7. Denmark (Copenhagen)
8. Norway (Fjords, Oslo)
9. Sweeden (Stockholm)
10. Finland (Helsinki)
11. Russia (St. Petersburg)
12. Estonia (Talin)
13. Latvia
14. Lithuania

*Subject to change. Ha!

Sardinia on the Quick

“My linguini has crabs.” Danny

Sardinia is close and Ryan Air is cheap (just buy the priority boarding so you won’t get an elbow to the eye whilst embarking) so we used a three day weekend to see Alghero, Sardinia’s beaches, old town and fascinating Neptune’s grotto- and we did it all by scooter!

Sleeping

Alghero was not the easiest place to find accommodation but we ended up finding a steal at Il Giardineto. It’s most easily booked through Hostelworld (but its not a hostel, don’t worry we left those days behind us long ago) but Hostelworld charges a commission that the owners never see. Instead, email the place directly. The friendly, English speaking owner is happy to personally take your reservation and let you try his homemade wine as a bonus.

The location of the apartment (with kitchen) is within easy walking distance to everything in Alghero (they even offer bikes for free) and getting there is easy with the local 70 cent bus ride from the airport.

We mostly used our feet as transportation in town but once we decided to venture further afield we hired a scooter to get around. Our first stop on the scooter was of course, lunch. Although we kinda needed a car to carry us away from the epic meal that awaited us.

Eating
“They’re not even playing around.”
Danny on the lunch menu at Sa Mandra

Sa Mandra Agriturismo (079 99 91 50) is a little intense. First, it’s out in the country so you need transportation to get there. Second, its an all you can eat spleen filled extravaganza so you need a nap afterwards. In retrospect, its better to book a room here too.

“That’s not beef, that’s spleen.” Autumn

The meal was like 5 courses but with multiple selections at each course. The 35 Euro per person price tag included alcohol. As a lunch pick it was rough, since we still needed to function the rest of the day. I recommend booking for dinner and a night’s stay.
“We thought it was monkey.” Spanish couple asking about the donkey on the menu.

Trattoria Cavour (079 9738479) was a rec from our apartment owner in Alghero. It’s where the Spanish couple asked us with a little charades action whether donkey was indeed monkey on the menu.

“Lamb chunks!” Autumn

Scooting


Despite being totally overstuffed we managed to site see via scooter all the way out to Neptune’s grotto- a super cool nearly 700 stair walk down (and back up I might add) to an ancient (like, fossils and all that) natural grotto. You can take a boat, but I guess we needed the exercise.

Alghero’s old town is also a charming place to spend a few hours. It’s pretty lively and there is a lot of ice cream to be enjoyed. All in all, this city makes for a fun and easy weekend “city break” (I hate that term).

Happy Anniversary

Spring 2009

Second honeymoon? Well we kinda live it. So call it what you want, we returned to Siena for our one year wedding anniversary.

Has it been on year already? No there is no bambino in arrivo (baby on the way) as every Italian female in Siena asked when we told them we were returning to Siena for our first wedding anniversary. However there are many trips in arrivo (bad joke. Sorry).

Villa Catignano was just as we remembered it- ideal in every way. It speaks a lot to the perfection of the place that it can live up to the memories that we have in our nostalgic minds. We stayed in their cheaper rooms this time- the huge 40 person villa just wouldn’t feel the same without our families.

Maybe we were trying to relive it a little too much because we ate at all the same restaurants that we patronized for our wedding:

Tuscany = Eating

Ristorante Vecchia Osteria (0577/356809) which is right in the town closest to the villa and is run by a super friendly, some English spoken hostess Roberta and her husband the chef, Gianluigi. She remembered us from the year prior which made us feel oh so special.

La Taverna Di Vagliagli (0577322532) is a little farther from the villa, down a long dirt road, but the quality of food is worth the drive. We ate a group dinner here with our 22 person wedding party, but it was just as good for the two of us. They remembered us here too.

Hosteria Il Carroccio (057741165) was a new addition to the wedding itinerary and we chose it from our Slow Food Guide. It was a little empty on a Friday lunch but the place filled by 2:00 with a mix between locals and tourists. We selected picci pasta with fungi and tagliateli with ragu (meat sauce) and confirmed that overall it was a good lunch pick. Its location right off of Campo is excellent as well.


Il Preludio. I didn’t pick up a card for this place so I don’t have the phone number, but its in Cortona. Cortona is a long way from Siena just for dinner but these are the guys who catered our wedding so we had to make the pilgrimage. Some of our servers were serving when we visited which made the journey worth it. Cortona is a lovely city as well, so a detour out here for an overnight would be worth it.

Tuscany = Exploring

We were admitted to the Siena Commune (City Hall which is also a museum) for free when I asked for a discount because we had been married there one year earlier. It wasn’t quite the same without the families, music, flowers and stomach butterflies but it was stunning nonetheless.

We gave ourselves 30 minutes and 30 Euro each to split up and find anniversary presents in the traditional one year anniversary gift of paper. Danny found an antique map of Siena and Autumn a Slow Food Wine Guide.

The wine guide was put to use right away on our drives through Chianti, hitting all the major cities along the way: Greve, Castellina, Radda, and a favorite, Montefioralle. We discovered Montefioralle back in 2006 and have remembered it fondly ever since. As luck would have it, this perfectly circular fortified hill town was having a Chianti festival on the day we visited. Lucky, lucky us.

Ciao Siena. Until next year …

Lyon and Provence

Lovely Lyon
Wine Me and Fine Dine Me (Cote Du Rhone)
Exploring the Luberon
The Cities of Provence