This non-American Life

Merano: best lunch ever

So where were we? Oh yes: Merano, Italy. On our second day there, we asked at the hotel for a lunch suggestion. Lucky for us, the recommended place was closed, and we ended up improvising. We found Castel Fragsburg at the top of a windy road outside of Merano. The posted menu looked interesting, if a bit expensive, so we decided to give it a try. We were led through a large dining room out onto a terrace with a sweeping view of the valley below. Worth the price alone.

Before we can even order the chef starts sending us little ‘greetings from the kitchen’ – tiny dishes of creative deliciousness – a martini glass of cucumber olive oil soup, eggplant carpaccio with cream cheese and flowers, an oyster on the half shell (OK so this last one didn’t interest us, but the others were heavenly).

I order two courses, one of which is an eggplant thing that usually comes with a bit of prosciutto on top. The waitress assures me that it will be no problem for the chef to make it vegetarian.

She was back a few minutes later with a question for me. “The chef wants to know if he may put some burrata on top of the eggplant dish. Is this OK?” I think maybe I have misheard her. The chef wants my permission to put one of very very favorite cheeses, a cheese you cannot properly get in Munich, on top of my main course? Yes, yes he may.

My smile is permanent by this point, and I don’t think I had even seen the bread basket yet.

Course after course of amazingly delicious food came out, including more of the chef’s ‘greetings’, such as this red currant sorbet. It was one of those meals of rare perfection, where the food was creative and interesting and painfully delicious. Every last bite.

The dessert menu looked heavenly, but we were stuffed so we politely declined (actually I agonized over the decision a bit – I’m not usually a dessert person but I was willing to do almost anything to prevent that meal from ending). Somehow our fullness didn’t stop us from downing most of the tiered tray of handmade chocolates and cookies that was presented to us. When the check came I had to stifle the urge to cry, “Here, take all my money, just tell me I can live at this table forever and ever!” On our way out we were each presented with a tiny gold-embossed case holding two chocolate truffles. I still have mine on my desk (sans truffles, natürlich). Every time I see it I am filled with great longing.

I cannot wait to go back.

Tags: Alps, Castel Fragsberg, deliciousness, Italy, Merano, restaurants, South Tyrol, Südtirol, travel

Merano: just another Italian spa town

Merano is a small spa town in an apple-tree-filled valley in South Tyrol, the part of Italy closest to Munich. It is also Italy’s German-speaking part, a fact that confuses me every time I go.

Merano (Meran in German) itself is little more than a cluster of spa hotels around a giant spa complex nestled in some beautiful scenery. There’s a lovely promenade and some hiking trails, a river, trees, and mountains. There’s not much there to do besides relax. So we relaxed.

We stayed at Sonnenhof, a small hotel a short hike outside of town. The outdoor pool, where we spent most of our time, was surrounded by beautiful flowers, with Alpine peaks peeking down at us from a distance. Mmmmmm relaxing.

We loved everything about this hotel besides the food, which ended up being rather disappointing (especially after the rave reviews we had read online). I hate eating disappointing food in Italy, don’t you? It feels like such a missed opportunity. Luckily we stumbled across a place the next day that made up for our disappointment a million times over. I think it’s the kind of meal that will need its very own post.

Tags: food, Italy, Meran, Merano, restaurants, South Tyrol, spas, Südtirol, travel

A quick Italy fix in Udine

On our way back from Croatia we broke up the driving by spending a night in Udine, Italy.

We didn’t have much time there, but we managed to squeeze in two meals, two gelatos, and a lovely aperitivo while people-watching on a busy square (ie, all the essentials of a great Italy trip).

We had dinner at the charming and casual Al Vecchio Stallo, where we learned that Friuli offers up dishes just as yummy as those from Italy’s other regions » Read the full post

Tags: food, Friuli, Italy, italy trip, restaurants, travel, Udine, udine italy

Assisi? I see.

OK, one last post documenting our Christmas trip to Italy, and then I promise to go back to talking about funny signs and LOLcats. We spent the last day of our most recent Italian vacation driving through a freak snowstorm to the Florence airport; we spent the second-to-last day exploring Assisi on a warm, sunny day.

Assisi is an old, brick, hill-top Umbrian town that is smaller and cuter than Perugia. We easily filled a day there doing little more than wandering the winding streets, taking photos, and poking our heads into the odd shop. Oh, and of course eating.

Lunch was at the very popular and delicious Trattoria Pellotta, which is just off the main square. My mixed antipasti was one of the best dishes of the whole trip.

Assisi is probably most famous for its two big saints, Francis and Clare, and it has the body parts stuffed in reliquaries to prove it. We ended the day at the Basilica of Saint Francis, where we were greeted by a very big nativity scene.

Up close, the life-sized figures were, well… would you want this guy coming to adore your newborn? And is that leprosy on his hands?

We picked up some uninspired audioguides and went inside the basilica with the rest of the tourists to gape at the Giotto frescoes depicting scenes from Saint Francis’s life. Every few minutes an Italian monk’s voice boomed over the loud speaker, warning the crowd to be quiet.

The lower part of the basilica contained yet another nativity scene. The crowds thinned as the sun went down and the chill rose in the air. It was time for us to go back to Perugia for one last dinner in Italy.

Tags: Assisi, Europe, food, Italy, restaurants, travel, Umbria

A small taste of Perugia

After ringing in the new year in Positano, we drove back to Rome to deposit our friends at the airport and then continued on for a couple more days of Italy. Since I had found cheap return flights out of Florence, we decided to explore someplace between there and Rome next. That left us still with way too many choices, but at the last minute we decided on Umbria.

We stayed at a forgettable but convenient hotel just outside of Perugia. Usually we prefer to stay in the middle of all the fun, but given logistics and our desire to explore by car, it was easier to sleep out of town. Perugia is one of Umbria’s many charming hilltop cities. For tourists, the best bet is to park at one of the many lots at the bottom of the hill and then take a combination of stairs and outside escalators up to the city. The escalators we took rose up through the ruins of a monastery, making for an interesting ride.

The town was bustling with people out for their evening stroll, and the Christmas lights above the streets lent a festive feel to the scene. We poked our heads into a couple art exhibits, which seemed to be popular places to warm up from the cold outside. Dinner was at the elegant La Taverna, where we fell in love with the eggplant, potato, and zucchini parmigiana and the fresh ravioli with truffles and pepper.

The second evening we dined at a cavernous trattoria full of exposed brick, low ceilings, and locals. The food was simple and well-priced, and of course quite tasty. (I can’t find the name of it in my notes, unfortunately.)

It was a quick visit that definitely left me yearning to spend more time in Umbria. But then again, ever part of Italy makes me feel that way about it.

Tags: Europe, Italy, Perugia, restaurants, travel, Umbria

lounging around on the Amalfi Coast

From Naples we drove (brave people that we are) down to the Amalfi Coast. We rented an apartment just outside of Positano, so our first order of business was to meet up with the landlord and squeeze our car into one of the more impossible parking spots I’ve ever seen, perched on a small cliff next to a boulder and through a teeny tiny gate. Then from the main road we walked through another gate and down a wandering staircase to our apartment which was built into the wall of the cliff. The glass walls of the kitchen and living room retracted until the rooms were practically outside. The view alone was enough to keep us entertained for weeks.

We rented the apartment through Summer in Italy. I was a little nervous about having to pay for the stay in full before we even arrived, but the apartment was absolutely delightful. I highly recommend the rental agency, and would happily use them again.

We cooked many of our meals at the apartment (cooking in Italy is a delight thanks to the amazing fresh veggies and cheeses available), with the big exception being a splurge of a dinner at the Michelin-starred La Caravella in the town of Amalfi. The atmosphere was a bit stuffier than I would have liked, but the food was absolutely delicious. It was creative yet stood on the strength of the superb ingredients – a dollop of the finest buffalo ricotta or a perfectly-prepared tender shrimp. The menu (as most in this region) was predominantly fish, but the vegetarian options were also carefully constructed. The meal ended with a curious spoonful of chocolate-coated fried eggplant.

Amalfi was still in full Christmas swing, with Christmas concerts in the church and nativity scenes all over town, especially in the fountains. There were also elaborate nativity scenes along the coastal road which stay up all year long.

We had weather ranging from warm and sunny to pouring rain and stormy. We spent the last day of 2009 on the beach, and then watched from our balcony as said beach disappeared into the churning waves the next day. The sunsets were amazing every single night.

I am a huge fan of off-season travel, and this trip was no exception. There was plenty going on to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s, but there were no giant crowds of tourists jockeying for position. Many hotels and restaurants were closed for the season, but the charm of the area was still out in full view.

Tags: Amalfi, Amalfi Coast, Europe, Italy, Positano, restaurants, southern Italy, travel

Eating Naples

Despite all the hype, I didn’t find pizza in Naples to be any better than the pizza in other parts of Italy. But it was still really, really, really yummy. And the seafood, oh the seafood. Below are some of the culinary highlights.

Antonio e Antonio. A mildly touristy seafood restaurant near the water. Spaghetti vongole (clams, white sauce with cherry tomatoes), fried ricotta-stuffed zucchini flowers, mussels, and some of the best fried calamari I’ve ever tasted.

Bellini. An insanely popular pizzeria whose pizza is worth the hype. We were squeezed into a corner table in the bustling upstairs room. My pizza ortolana (veggies) was heavenly washed down with a couple bottles of local falanghina wine.

Gay Odin. Luckily it’s plenty warm enough for gelato even in December in Naples, and we enjoyed some sumptuous dark chocolate variations (chocolate peperoncino and chocolate cinnamon) at Gay Odin. We also had a good gelato experience at Motus.

Ciro. Another great pizzeria, another great pizza ortolana.

La Stanza del Gusto. Fancy food Neapolitan style. The vegetarian tasting menu contained many delights, including thick homemade noodles with an intense tomato and cheese sauce, a squash soup with a ricotta cigar, and something that appears in my notes as ‘melty cheese course.’ I’m not usually a big dessert person, but the ricotta and chocolate mousse made my knees weak with lust. Scott’s purple octopus was pretty, too.

Even food for sale on the street looked beautiful in Naples.

Well, almost all of it. We did have to pass on the street pizza with hot dogs, french fries, and mayo.

If you have a favorite Naples restaurant, please share it in the comments!

Tags: Europe, food, Italy, Naples, pizza, restaurants, southern Italy, travel

Not getting robbed in Naples

Technically my first trip to Naples was over a decade ago, but my grandmother refused to let us get out of the bus – too dangerous. My second visit was similarly brief, although it involved a little more foot-to-pavement time.  So this time, my third visit, I was ready to soak it all in. Surely all those rumors about crime in Naples were exaggerated?

Struffoli like my grandmother used to make

We were welcomed by a taxi driver who tried to charge us double for our trip to the hotel, and I wondered if all this fear of crime might actually be founded. But my doubts quickly faded as we eased our way into life in this fascinating city.

The last time I was in Naples, this square contained a sculpture of horse parts

Naples is a wonderful walking city, with so much life and vibrancy. It also has a galleria so similar to Milan’s that I could look up and be confused as to where I was.

Via Toledo is the main shopping street, and over the course of three days we wandered up and down it many times. A network of narrow walking streets was lined with shops selling nativity scene figurines and Pulcinellas. I’m guessing they sell other tourist trinkets the rest of the year.

Christmas lights over Via Toledo

There were nativity scenes and Christmas decorations everywhere you looked, including inside this giant wheel of parmigiano:

We spent most of our time in Naples walking or eating, but we did squeeze in a couple of sites, too. The Archeological Museum contains more Roman statues than you can shake a fig leaf at. Other highlights include various plunder from Pompeii and the mildly pornographic ‘forbidden room,’ which is more titillating to anticipate than to actually view.

We also loved the Castel dell’Ovo, an imposing structure which juts out into the water and houses the odd free art exhibit. I must have taken hundreds of photos of the interesting architectural spaces that we wandered through.

In Naples we found the locals to be friendly and the prices low. And the food, well, it deserves a post all its own.

Do subways do this in other cities?

Tags: Europe, Italy, Naples, southern Italy, travel

Christmas in Rome, part 2

The activities in my first post about Christmas in Rome were just ways to kill time between meals. I really go to Italy for the food.

Christmas Dinner at Osteria Sant’Ana (not affiliated with the guitarist, as far as we could tell) was a welcome feast of everything delicious about Italy. Appetizers of smoked buffalo mozzarella, fried artichokes, and prosciutto.

Spaghetti cacio e pepe, lasagne, salads, and big plates of meat for those who still had room for them.

Wild strawberries, Sicilian cannolis and cassata for dessert, followed by fresh clementines, and of course a little limoncello. For a restaurant filled mostly with tourists, they certainly fed us well.

Another blogworthy meal was lunch at Trattoria Da Luigi. We had a hard time choosing between all the delicious offerings, settling on tagliatelle ai carciofi, risotto con radicchio tartufato, grouper with zucchini flowers and pine nuts, grilled radicchio, and carciofi alla romana. Alas we had to resist the gorgeous antipasto on display as we entered the restaurant, since our stupid stomachs aren’t bottomless.

Before we knew it, it was time to hop on a train to Naples. Arrivederci, Roma.

Tags: Europe, food, Italy, restaurants, Rome, travel

Christmas in Rome, part 1

I’m a bit behind on my travel blogging. I’ll skip over a couple trips all together, but our winter adventures in Italy deserve a little more attention than they have received so far.

We arrived in Rome on Christmas Day to find the metro closed. No signs, no information, just a big metal gate closing off the entrance. Luckily our hotel was within easy walking distance of the train station.

Speaking of our accommodations, Albergo Ottocento is a nice, well-located boutique hotel within walking distance of many places of interest in Rome. And walk we did. The Christmas tree on the Spanish steps was a bit of a disappointment, but the sunset view from the top wasn’t.

The next day we headed over to the Vatican to see their tree and giant nativity scene*, and happened to catch a glimpse of the pope speaking to the crowd from a comically far-off window. I think he was discussing his new plan to get child molestation down to acceptable levels.

We saw a lovely art exhibit at the Chiostro del Bramante and then did some more wandering, including through the Christmas market at Piazza Navona. It was giant and loud and bright and tacky; nothing at all like a German Christmas market but fun anyway. A passing tourist’s remark about the “Panthanon” sent me into a giggling fit that could only be cured by a Campari-laden cocktail at the oh-so-charming Caffè della Pace.

More art at the Villa Borghese, which is a nightmare of rules (reservations required, you get kicked out after two hours, the required bag check refuses to take coats) but they get away with it since their art collection is so wonderful. Bernini statues, I will never get tired of looking at you. There was a special Carravagio Bacon exhibit going on; while I enjoyed the paintings I came out still having no clue what the justification was for putting those two artists together.

I get to the important stuff in part 2 of this post – coming soon.

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* My husband was surprised to see that one of the wise men was black. Guess it’s not like that in Montana.

Tags: art, Christmas, Europe, holidays, Italy, museums, Rome, travel, winter