Italy

And so my trip ended

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And so a trip comes to an end, after mowing the lawn (YES, she made me work) at Zia Livia’s house and having a great meal…

There are still two more things I wanted to tell you guys about this region (for now).

A little town that I want you guys to visit, is  Cividale. Cividale is another picturesque little town , filled with lots of history. This town was actually founded/ created by Julius Caesar around 50 BC. And after that lots and lots of tribes have concurred this little town….When entering this little town you do this walking over the “Ponte del Diavolo’ or devils bridge….

Ofcourse being close to the sea, I really should speak about where the beaches are 🙂

When you have children and you want to see wild Dolphins (YES, dolphins) you could have to go to Grado. Grado is a peninsula surrounded by beautiful azure colored water where you can find around 30 wild dolphins that life here whole year round. Why I also advice this spot for people with children, first of all because you can walk  10 minutes before you’re finally in deep water, but also because the beach of Grado is full of natural iodine… which is good for children’s’ bones . I like to go there for the great Ice cream salons 🙂 + it has a nice little town and harbor .

Me and my parents (when my brother and I were younger) we always went to Marina Julia. It is nothing special, not as beautiful as Grado or the other beaches nearby… but the best place to do windsurfing and/ or Kitesurfing! too bad I didn’t take a picture, there were really at least 50 of them

If you prefer swimming in Deeper water or diving I would advise you to either go to Duino, a little harbor near Trieste or Sistiana, as there the water is immediately deep.  When my brother and I were older we preferred  going to these two beaches.

There are still many more places to visit in this region, but I have to stop somewhere 🙂

Maybe I’ll post something about the local dishes… only if you guys want me to? Let me know

And so our trip continues

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Sorry for delay, but here the story continues…

It seems like I did nothing else but eat during this trip 🙂

Let me maybe tell something more about the wonderful region Friuli Venezia Giulia. When you ask people which regions in Italy do you know, 90% will answer Tuscany and maybe Umbria… But there are so many other beautiful regions in Italy, like Piemonte (as you could see on my previous posts) and Friuli. Friuli is a region that not too many people know, they might have heard talking about Trieste , which is the capital and most important city in this region, but that’s about it…  I’ve been travelling to this region whole my life, I can guaranty you that this region has a lot to offer. Like Illycoffee, this coffee is original from Trieste :-). Also some of the Italian white wines are from Friuli.

Maybe I should first start by showing where Friuli is actually located:

Trieste is  a city that has really one of the most beautiful front views ever…  If you look at the picture right above, this is a view you have while driving with your car towards Trieste. As’ Illy’ is the local coffee brand, you really have to drink a ‘Illy’ or another  local coffee in Trieste! My favorite spot would be “Cremcaffè’ at  Piazza Goldoni 10. But there are ofcourse many many bars where the’ Barista ‘will let you taste why Trieste is the city of coffee.  Not so long ago ( a few years) Trieste’s façade has totally been renovated, which resulted to an even more spectacular view (to my modest opinion)  and the fact the city is right next to the sea, makes this city a ‘must see’… If you would go to Trieste and you are standing on the “Piazza Unità d’Italia” you’ll know what I mean!  If you are a sailboat fan, Trieste is really THE place to be the first week of October, as in that week there is a regatta called ‘Barcolana”. A really magnificent thing to see. Another ‘must see’ is the beautiful ‘Castello di Miramar’ and its gardens. The story behind the castle is a bit tragic…  

 

Udine would be the next city I would recommend to visit. I like this city because it is not too big and not too small, just right 🙂, with the most beautiful picturesque squares. You really think of being inside a painting  like ‘piazza matteotti’, that to my opinion one of the most beautiful squares! (especially when the open air market is there). If you re into design and/or furniture, you have to go to the town  ‘Manzano’, which is still part of Udine. This town is not for nothing  called ‘the Capital of  chairs’, it is. One of the most famous designers from this town is Calligaris. This town also has a GIANT wooden chair standing on a square before entering the town! See picture below. If only I were a better photographer, then I would be able to really show the beauty…  

For all you hungry people out there, San Daniele is a ‘must do’. I could keep eating that ham. For me this is more tasty the Parma ham. Up to you to decide. The pest period to go would be during the ‘Festa del Proscuitto’ (in June) mmmmmmm, just the thought of being there.

To be continued, tomorrow more about this great region.

And yet we went to another vineyard

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Today my aunt asked my something I have never heard before… she wanted to invite us to a restaurant???? She never did this, as she makes everything better herself. So not accepting it is not an option. Apparently lately she does this more often together with some friends 🙂 (which is really great)  She invite us to this very nice restaurant near the Slovenian boarder, Azienda agricola Stanig aka “Al vecchio Gelso” Which is also a vineyard 🙂 (I like). She actually wanted to take us to Stanig, as she had already been here a couple of times and liked very much. But also because she knows my brother is really crazy about the local wine called “Ribola Gialla” which you have in the form as a regular white wine and as a kind of spumante that I actually didn’t know also existed. So she wanted us to taste it and when maybe even take a few bottles for my brother. When I arrived at this restaurant I immediately knew this was something I liked, surrounded by vineyards, apple trees, etc…. lovely.

We first got offered a glass of this famous “Ribolla” or as they call it “Ribollicine”, and I can guaranty that it was indeed good. The grape has a realy nice smooth taste with tones of citrus in it. Really worth trying!!

But ofcourse we didn’t only come to drink :-)!We also had some delicious food. Do you remember my blogpost from Piemonte when I talked about restaurant Gemma? Well this was the same kind of restaurant, everything homemade, with love, very friendly people and more food than you can eat. As an antipasto, we started light with some San Daniele ham and some local cheese. We then took a Trio from pasta (as we couldn’t choose) Orzotto with the first broccoli from the season (like risotto, but with orzo instaid of rice), a kind of lasagna with pork sausage sauce and tagliatelle with porcini.   To accompany this we had a local red wine “Schioppettino“, an interesting taste, a more herbal kind of wine… I don’t think it would match with everything, but the bottle was empty at the end, so it couldn’t have been bad. (btw if you don’t finish your bottle, they give it to you to take home) We didn’t finish eating yet 🙂 as ‘secondo’ or main course we took the ‘involtini di’anatra’ (duck roll), roast and rabbit. They all came with a slice of white polenta and for the whole table we took some “zucchini”, “potatoes baked in the oven with rosemary” and some spinach. There was NO more room for dessert, only for a coffee.

As we were at the vineyard and I had wanted to take a few bottles of “Ribolla” for my brother I also took the liberty of buying an extra box of wine for me and my brother with an assortiment of the regional wines… And may I just say that the wines from Stanig have a nice tase. One of my preferred red wines from this region would be “Merlot’ (more than Cabernet’, for the white wines my preference would go to the Tokai Friulano (previously known as Tokai), but the Malvasia and Sauvignon are also very nice.

And may I also add that I like the look of the bottles (I know what is in it is more important, but they really look nice)

After our diner and wine purchase we did a little walk across the vineyard and set sail to go back home (to eat some more in the evening) after having a wonderful and tasty lunch.

FYI, as this is an agriturismo they also have rooms available…. Just a suggestion

My Zia Livia

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So finally we arrived in ‘Monfalcone’ (where my aunt lives) and the first question she asks me ‘Hai fame?’ (are you hungry)hahaha, really unbelievable. But I think even if I would say NO, she would still start preparing something, just in case. Anyhow, in this case I was indeed hungry 🙂

So lucky for me she had brought all lot of ingredients from Torino and started cooking immediately.

Zia had brought the biggest paprika’s I had ever seen! Apparently the ones from Piemonte are much better than the ones you buy elsewhere. When you peel them, there is still a lot of flesh left on them …

So with those ones she made peperonata. To accompany this, she made a ‘arrosto’, that nooooobody else can make like her. It is so soft and tender, no fat and the best gravy with it …. As primo she made some fresh pasta (she had made it before leaving for Torino, as she knew we would be joining her home) with a fresh ‘salsa pomodoro’. She didn’t make dessert 🙂 we just had some fresh peaches … Why does everything taste so much better in Southern Europe???

 

When I stay at Zia Livia’s house the n°1 concern every day is what will we eat 🙂. As I’m her favorite nephew, she always makes ALL my preferred dishes 🙂lasagna with asparagus (she had put some fresh ones in the freezer to be able to make the lasagna when I would come), cannelloni, faraona , and the list goes on and on 🙂ok ok, I’m spoiled, especially knowing she goes to farmers to get me the best ingredients and makes all the pasta herself. You might not think this, but she is 78 years old!! (and she is more active than me 🙂 )

I so love my Zia Livia!! So my first day at her house ended in a way I like very very much 🙂 (tooo bad you guys can’t taste all this food, but trust me it was good!)

List of nice hotels and restaurants in Piemonte

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Let me list some nice address in Piemonte. Because otherwise you’ll have to always read through my posts…

ALBA Region:

Hotels, Agriturismo:

–          Il Boscareto 5* L (if you really want to spoil yourself)

           Strada Roddino, 21 – 12050 Serralunga d’Alba (CN)

–          Ai Tardi

Via S. Sebastiano, 81  – 12055 – Diano d’Alba (CN)

–          Casa Ressia (Agriturismo)

          Località Altavilla, 42 – 12051 Alba (CN)

–          TorreBarolo

           Via Gioberti ,4 – 12060 Barolo (CN)

 

Restaurants, Osteria, etc…

–          Osteria Da Gemma (A MUST!!!!)

          Via Marconi 6 –  12050 Roddino (CN)

–          Ai Tardi

Via S. Sebastiano, 81  – 12055 – Diano d’Alba (CN)

–          Ristorante RossoBarolo

Via Roma, 16 – 12060 Barolo (CN)

–          Trattoria della Posta

Località Sant’Anna –  12065 Monforte d’Alba (CN)

–          La rosa dei vini

        Località Parafada, 4 – 12050  Serralunga d’Alba (CN)

–          Ristorante Bovio

         Via Alba, 17bis – 12064 La Morra (CN)

 

TORINO

Lunch spots

–          Eataly

        Via Nizza, 230 – 10126 Torino

–          Mood libri & caffè

         Via Cesare Battisti, 3 – 10123 Torino

–          Pastificio Defilippis

         Via Lagrange, 39 – 10123 Torino

–          Brek self service

          Piazza Carlo Felice, 22 –  Torino

           Piazza Solferino, Via Santa Teresa, 23 – Torino

I can also suggest to look in the Guide from L’espresso (Italian newspaper) not only for Piemonte, but for whole Italy.

One of the reasons I like travelling through Italy

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You  know what I look forward most when travelling in Italy (or in this case to Trieste)?? Well it is eating at Autogrill and drink the best coffee to my and I think most Italians’ opinion. I usually try to stop in them after 1pm, because  between 12 and 1 it is fuuuuuuull of Italians enjoying some good lunch.

This time we just went for a rusticella. But when I’m in the center of Milan or Rome, I usually also stop in an autogrill (in city center) for a salad, or a whole Italian meal (Primo, secondo and dolce)…. And everytime I have to admit that the price-quality they serve is great!

And now they are even expanding to other countries 🙂 jeeeeeej

Have you guys ever visited or had lunch at an Autogrill restaurant?

Aaaaah, Torino….wonderful Torino

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I really don’t understand that people would prefer going to Milano? Since years and years Torino has always been in the shadow of Milano, although this city has so much more to offer. When you walk through this city, you can immediately see the rich history this city has had. I would say that this city is a mix of Rome and Paris.

When it would start raining, no fear, most of the shops are located under the ‘galleries” and you can always rest on one of the many plazas or parks the city has. Another thing to see are the many “gallerias’ like the “galleria Vittorio Emanuele” in Milano (smaller, but not less impressive)

Not many people know that Torino previously was the capital city of Italy and that the Royal family lived here…. Visiting the Royal Palace is a real must.

Maybe some of you might remember Torino from the winter Olympics some years ago?

Even for shopping I can really suggest Torino. And you always discover new streets filled with shops (food and clothing).

 For lunch (what did you expect, that I wouldn’t eat??) we went to this spot called Mood. It is a bookstore where you can also have lunch 🙂

I had the ‘Trofie al pesto’ and my girlfriend a Mood Salat (with tuna). Below the result

Some other great lunch spots:

Ristorante brek, pastificio delfilipps and eataly.

 For lunch I normally don’t go to too fancy places… I prefer going to an ‘Autogrill’ (in Rome and Milan I do this) if there is one in the neighbourhood. The reason for this is that you don’t spend a lot of money, the quality is good and you don’t lose too much time.

What you should really do, is visit the “Mole’, this is the big pointy tower you see sticking out on the picture above. This used to be a Synagogue, that now got transferred into a museum about the history of cinema. It is really amazing 🙂  At some point you’re even playing in a movie without knowing it and you only discover it few moments later. They also have some original movie sets (décors) from famous movies. If you like nice views, you can take the elevator to the top of the Mole tower and you’ll overlook whole Torino.

We were also looking for a gift for my little nephew, funny thing is that we searched for it in whole Torino to finally buy a gift from a Belgian brand in Torino 🙂

 In the evening we went back to La Morra,  to eat at nice restaurant I had already visited in 2005, Ai Tardi, and it was as good as I remembered it. The wine this evening: Barbera vigna carzello Eduardo Sabrino (diano d’alba).

Today we’ll just be staying a ‘Bofani’ and won’t go anywhere, as tomorrow we’ll be picking up Zia Livia and going to Trieste….

Beni di Batasiolo

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As you could read in my previous posts, I’m currently visiting a longtime friend (Fiorenzo) from my father, who owns together with his family the ‘Batasiolo’ vineyard. But that is not the only reason this wine house is close to my heart, also for products they offer and produce.

Already being the 3rd generation (4th and 5th are also already ensured), you can be sure that the Dogliani family knows what they are doing. The name Batasiolo was only given to the ‘Azienda’ or vineyard around 1978, before they used to call it “Cantina Chiola”.

What really keeps surprising me is that eventhough Batasiolo is exporting to more than 63 countries worldwide, they are still able to keep the same high level taste and still have the same respect for the traditions of making wine.

MY personal favorite Batasiolo wines are:

La Corda della Briccolina, Barolo DOCG (red)

Sovrana, Barbera d’Alba doc  (red)

Bricco di Vergne, Dolcetto d’Alba doc (red)

Langhe Doc Rosso (red)

Granée, Gavi DOCG (white)

Bosc dla Rei, Moscato d’Asti docg (dessert)

Langhe Chardonnay DOC (white)

Ofcourse the most famous wine they are producing is without any doubt the Barolo (and I’m sure everybody knows this wine) that is a monovitigno wine. The reason for that is that they only use 1 kind of grape, the Nebbiolo. Barolo is also one of those wines you keep in your winecellar for years, 20 years easily. As you might already expect, this is a stronger kind of wine J not your every day table wine 🙂 .

The other day I had a tour around the ‘factory’ to see how the wine gets made, because what better moment then during the vendemmia??

Staying right in the middle of the vineyards, I got to see the workers picking the grapes.

But being a bigger wine house and making sure being able always stay at the same level, Batasiolo searches for the best new techniques and machinery to make this possible.

What I didn’t know (and I already know Batasiolo a lot of years), is that they also make special “Kosher” wine for the local Jewish people, who at the moment I was there were checking if the making respected the Jewish traditions. And as Batasiolo is already doing this for some years I think they are indeed respecting them 🙂

Basically first the grapes get squeezed to get the juices out (for the precious Barolo Nebbiolo grapes, the machine even separates the fruit from the pit and for the white wine it even peels it??? Wow, what a machine.

I just needed to add the next picture, because I really like engraved wood.

And as I said I really really find it amazing the machines like the one on the below picture, that clean the bottle, fill it, label it, close it, put it in a box, but the box on a pallet, etc…. I admire the person who invented this!!

And I’m sure it will not surprise that I tasted wine that morning (yes, at 10 o’clock), we tried 3 Barolos, from different vineyards from Batasiolo… and they all 4 tasted different… what could be seen a strange,, as they are from the same grape and treated in the same way… but in fact it is nature who helps a hand to give them all something different. I also tried the Sovrana (that I really like a lot) and the Barbaresco… (I just had a sip from the wine, I didn’t drink it all 🙂

If you have the chance, you should really taste the Batasiolo wines as they are really Worldclass!! (let me know when, then I’ll join you guys 😉

And so also the second day has come to an end…

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For some reason I’m never able to sleep late, I’m always awake around 7 o’ clock and when I see the sunshine it is even more difficult to stay in bed. The first thing I did yesterday (same as today) is write the next post. After doing that, this morning I went to a little town called Boves (btw, my girlfriend doesn’t have my problem, so she kept sleeping). Boves is a small town near Cuneo (the capital from this region). I needed to go there to buy the ‘Bovesine’, these are chocolates filled with cognac, grand marnier, etc… and are a specialty from this region (in Cuneo they are called Cunesi). Not that I like them that much (I don’t like alcohol and chocolate together), but my favorite Zia Livia asked me to buy them for her 🙂 :-). To get there (about 60km from where I’m located for the moment) I took the regular way and not the highway… as then at least I can enjoy the view.

The below picture was one of the first views I had on my ride.

Just beautiful! And this was one of the many sights I got to say (really worth doing).

My first task when arriving in Boves was buying these chocolats at Pasticceria Rebecca after that I explored the little town, + there was an open-air market at that moment, so that’s even better 🙂 . A little town close to Boves that is really worth going to, is Saluzzo, a little medieval town…

I was really exited reaching the afternoon, as my Zia Livia is also in Piemonte (Torino) to visit a friend of her and we had planned to meet around 3pm in at Alba.

Alba, is for me one of the nicer towns or I might even say small cities in the neighborhood. I especially like via Vittorio emmanuele (lots of deli shops ), but also for the shoppers, there are some very nice boutiques. And on top of that you get the fragrance of Chocolate! Yes, that’s right, chocolate. The reason for that is that the Ferrero factories are located right in the heart of Alba and whenever they are melting chocolate, you smell it in the whole town (it actually makes one hungry 🙂 ). For all you that don’t k now Ferrero, they are the ones from Nutella, Ferrero Rocher, Mon Cherie chocolats or the Kinder Bueno.

          

And to make a long story short (er) we encountered my aunt and here two friends earlier than expected and one of the friends insisted to invite us for lunch (for her small, for us pretty big). So again we had a celebrative lunch 🙂

Last evening we went to my favorite restaurant in this region, ‘ Osteria da Gemma’. This restaurant is not for small and/or picky eaters, as you don’t have menu, you just have to eat what they serve. And believe you me, they really serve A LOT. As starter or antipasto, we had vittelo tonnato, steak tartare (piemonte style), Insalata Russa, salami and coppa. We then continued with ‘gli primi piatti’ tagliolini and agnolotti al sugo di carne. Followed by rabbit and veal with peperonnata. We finished with a choice of desserts (they just gave them all) Strüdel, Crème caramel, semi freddo. ALL HOME MADE!!! We drank their own Dolcetto wine and water. How much would you guess we paid? 48EUR for 2!!

I had already been to this restaurant with my dad (the picture is still on their wall)

Another perfect end of a perfect sunny day. Today we are going to my mom’s favorite Italian city Torino.

Some call it Barolo, I call it heaven – day 1

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I think the best way to start this post, is by showing you the view I have right out from my chair.

Yes, that’s right, all vineyards! If heaven looks like this, I’m really blessed.

For the moment I’m visiting a friend of my father (Fiorenzo) in La Morra. Which is one of the 11 villages where the Barolo wine can get produced (Yes, lucky me). Every time I come here, I forget how beautiful this region is and how many gastronomical greatnesses it has. Starting with ofcourse the world famous Barolo wine, the Spumante d’Asti (sweet spumante), White Truffles, Nutella or better Ferrero, etc…. Do you guys now understand what I mean with heaven?!

Something I also should tell you, is that Fiorenzo is the 3rd generation of a winemaking family that sells its wine under the name “Batasiolo”, but I’ll tell you more about that in one of my next posts. Usually I visit Fiorenzo with my dad, this time I brought my girlfriend. As I really wanted her to see this underestimated region that is as beautiful as Tuscany (no doubt).

Like every time, we stay at “Bofani” which is a ‘little’ house in the middle of one of Batasiolo’s vineyards.

In the back there are the grapes to make Barolo, and in front of the house to make Chardonnay.

Yesterday was our first day here, and already we got dipped in the Italian way of living.

We had a small lunch right in front of the house together with a few Puerterican and Candian friends from Fiorenzo, who are visiting. I was also very happy that Fiorenzo’s nephew also joined.

What do you guys think about when I say Italian feast? Long tables, lots of food, lots of people, wine more than the eye can see? Yes? Well that’s exactly how it was. I helped to set the table.

After this “lunch” or “Merenda” we went back to have a tour in the cellar’s and see how the wine of Batasiolo gets made… as there is no better moment to see this as now it is the “vendemmia” or grape picking. (more about that in my Batasiolo blogpost).

That night we went for a dinner at Rosso Barolo in a town called Barolo (what’s in a name).

We really enjoyed our meal. We started off with some Melanzane with cottage cheese, followed by some gnocchi and ravioli, to finish with some Brassato. We didn’t have a dessert… but I must admit they looked great 🙂 . I would recommende Rosso Barolo for its great food, romantic atmosphere and very friendly staff that for some reason didn’t want us to go yet 🙂 .

A great end of day 1, up to day 2… who knows what might happen