Italy: you say Bozen, I say Bolzano

I was happy to finally get back to Bolzano (Bozen in German), a city where we spent some time many years ago and completely loved it. At the time we were living in Italy and found Bolzano's German-ness to be novel and charming; this time around it was the Italian side we were more interested in. Although the locals supposedly prefer German, the city feels almost perfectly bilingual, and almost every conversation I had involved exchanges in both Italian and German.



Luckily it wasn't too hard to find enough Italian details in Bolzano to completely delight me. Bolzano's cafes serve real espresso and delicious aperitivi. The city's center contains many winding, cobblestoned pedestrian streets teaming with life. The cuisine in most restaurants is heavily Austrian-leaning, but we had an amazing Italian dinner at Hostaria Argentieri. We took it as a good sign that the only menu available was in handwritten Italian, and and our instincts were dead on.



This time we stayed at the Parkhotel Laurin, a grand old-timey hotel with a gorgeous private park and an elevator that contains a sofa. The location was great for exploring Bolzano on foot, and the rooms were clean and modern. We've also stayed at Hotel Figl, which I can also highly recommend: central, good value, clean, good.



The views of the vineyards and Dolomites surrounding Bolzano are gorgeous, and there are many nice hikes that you can start right from the city. We skipped him this time, but I also recommend a visit to Ötzi. That is, if you can tear yourself away from people-watching as you sip your prosecco at an outdoor cafe.

Italy: Bolzano's colorful market

I could have wandered up and down this street all day.



Not that Munich doesn't have a nice market; it does. But for some reason everything looks more delicious when it's in Italy.



Luckily we didn't have to just look.



We came home with many delicious Italian treats from this market.



My husband gets credit for most of the photos. He was shooting away while I was buying as much as I could carry.

Hiding out in the Dolomites

Greetings from Italy. We're recovering from Oktoberfest in a cute mountain resort town, because the best way to get over too much German beer, pretzels and kaesespaetzle is to wash it down with Italian wine, pasta, and cheese.



I'll be back to finish off my Oktoberfest posting in a few days. But for now, the sauna is calling me.

Ask the Expat: a week in Bologna

My husband and I are planning our trip to Europe this summer and have decided on spending some time in Bologna. I think we want to make it our home base for about a week. We will likely be there the last week of August after my husband finishes a course in Ireland. I have read things are quiet in Bologna at that time, but that is really what we are looking for. We are considering a day trip to Venice and a trip to Parma to do the food factories. Would you have any other suggestions? Any must-sees or eats in Bologna or other cities to visit? I really wanted to see more of Tuscany, but didn't think that was possible without a car which we won't have. This will be our first trip to Italy and we are really looking forward to it. We did way too much hopping last year so while we want to see a lot of things we are also looking forward to some relaxing dinners and great wine.

- Lori, Blondie in Brazil

Good choice! Bologna is a lovely city, and there are tons of great day-trips you can take from there - Ravenna, Ferrara, Modena, Verona, Florence, Milan... you can check out the Trenitalia site for travel times. Bologna is a train hub for northern Italy, and the number of interesting destinations within 1-2 hours is practically endless. Since this is your first trip to Italy, I'm tempted to encourage you to hit some of the big, famous bits, such as Venice and Florence, both quite convenient to Bologna, but make sure you fit in at least one smaller town, too.

Since you also mention wanting to see some of Tuscany, consider Siena or Montepulciano. Both can be reached from Bologna by train/bus in around 3 hours (so maybe you'd want to go for an over-night).

In Bologna itself, I'd recommend: the museum at the Accademia; gelato at Grom; pizza at La Mela; a stroll through the small food vendors in the area between Piazza Maggiore and the two towers; a look around the interior of San Petronio (keep your eye out for the fresco of the two-headed people eater); several hours of just wandering around exploring the city center. If you're up for a longer walk, head up to San Luca, a basilica up on a hill just outside of the city. You can walk under zig-zagging porticoes most of the way up.

Now for the big caveat: August can indeed be very, very dead in Italian cities. Not just slow, but practically shuttered down. In Milan at least 3/4 of restaurants and shops were closed down for multiple weeks if not the whole month. It got very hot and felt deserted. Bologna is similar, from what I remember (it was many years ago that I lived there). Honestly, it could get pretty boring spending a whole week there with not much open, and not much restaurant choice. The main holiday is August 15th, so the farther away from that you get (ie, as late as possible in the month) the more open you will find things. If you can re-juggle your schedule to push your time in Italy into September, all the better. Cities in other European countries don't get nearly as ghost-towny as Italian cities do in August.



Bologna is known for its food, and the wine is cheap and plentiful, so you should have no trouble fulfilling that part of your vacation goal.

Have a great trip!

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Ask the Expat is a new feature I'm trying out here at the blog. If you have a question for me, go to this post to find out how to submit it.

Bringing Italy home (to eat)

It has been 3 years since we lived in Italy, and our hoarded kitchen supplies from Milan are long gone. Last week's Italian adventure was the perfect chance to change that, since we went by car. I was giddy with anticipation. Grocery shopping in Italy ranks high on my list of fun stuff to do.

Small items were purchased here and there along the way, but our last morning in Italy was when the shopping got serious. First it was the farmer's market in the center of Padua for artichokes, clementines, tomatoes, exotic mushrooms, bell peppers, and other fresh veggies. (Yes, we have vegetables in Munich, but at twice the price and half the quality.)



After a farewell lunch we stopped by a grocery store, just to pick up 'one or two things' before we got on the road. An hour and a half later, we dragged ourselves out of the shops, loaded down with weeks worth of food. Five kinds of cheese (parmigiano, grana, pecorino, burrata, and smoked scamorza). White truffle oil. Dark chocolate Ciobar (thick Italian-cafe-style hot chocolate). Wine. Porcini bouillon cubes. Cynar. And on and on and on.



Along with the 25 or so liters of olive oil we had obtained in the south, this spree made for one packed car. I got home wondering where I would put it all. I shouldn't have worried so much - it's not lasting long.

One of these days I'm going to have to go check out the giant Italian grocery store outside of Munich that Em has been telling me about...

Italy: what I ate this trip

Just slapping this up here for posterity. You've already heard about the kilos of mozzarella balls I scarfed down in the south, but surprisingly there was also room in my belly for other food, too, as we made our way up and down the peninsula. Here's a little taste:

Pumpkin gnocchi with roquefort sauce and artichoke hearts at the unfortunately named Bufalo Cantina's in Bressanone (Brixen), Alto Adige.


Pastatelli with tomato and porcini mushrooms at Ristorante La Loggetta overlooking the main square in Cortona, Tuscany.


Not pictured: amazing gelato from Gli Svizzeri in Arezzo, Tuscany. Excellent chocolate!

Grilled porcini mushroom caps (they taste better than they look) at Trattoria La Grotta in Cortona, Tuscany.


Tagliolini with fresh truffles, ravioli with truffle sauce, and a side of spinach at Trattoria la Grotta in Cortona, Tuscany.


Some of the food we cooked ourselves: a simple pasta with tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, mozzarella and parmigiano (can you tell the apartment was missing a cheese grater?).


And an even simpler meal: tomatoes with fresh smoked buffalo mozzarella.


A plate of mixed veggies (escarole, roasted red peppers, potatoes with mushrooms, and another green) at a simple but fabulous hole in the wall in Vallo, Campagna, called La Tavernetta del Principe (Piazza V. Emanuele). They also had homemade ravioli and other yummy stuff.


Dessert in Vallo: chocolate ricotta balls rolled in coconut.


A couple veggies, including carciofi alla romana (Roman artichokes) in Bagni di Tivoli.


Pasta cacio e pepe with artichoke hearts. Cacio e pepe is typical of the Rome area, containing pecorino cheese and black pepper. In Tivoli.


At the Pizzeria Stecca (Via G. Bruno, 42) in Padua. This is what a pizza verdure (vegetable pizza) is supposed to look like. Hear that, Zurich?


And in conclusion, I give you gelato from Grom, a high-end chain which has been popping up in all the major Italian cities (and NYC!) over the past few years. Some of the best pistachio gelato I've ever had. In Padua.

In Tuscany, with the sun somewhere vaguely overhead

The official reason* for this trip to Italy, besides the eating, was to be creative. That is why I found myself awake at 6:30 one morning in Tuscany, being dragged outside to take photos. Even though my only camera is a tiny point-and-shoot which coughs smoke when the flash is used, I still managed to get some lovely shots, and plenty of inspiration for future paintings. Which isn't to say I wouldn't have been a lot more successful with a big fancy camera with lenses and stuff. So, you know, if you're trying to think of a present for me or something...



We were staying at Le Terre dei Cavalieri, a painfully adorable Tuscan farmhouse-turned-guesthouse. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Tuscany by car who doesn't mind having a 10-minute drive to get to dinner (the closest restaurants are in nearby Cortona). Our first evening we were greeted by a foursome of American tourists who had dipped into the wine they had purchased that day. They had more empty bottles than people when we arrived, and clearly none of them was fit to drive. They didn't seem to mind the prospect of just drinking their dinner, but I for one find it a horrible tragedy to miss a meal opportunity in Italy.



When we returned from our delicious dinner in Cortona, we were greeted again by voices from their balcony: "Hey, did you bring us any wine? We're all out."



* Right, as if a reason is needed for a trip to Italy.

Fashion with a message in Padua

Oy, the skinny jeans.

What do you think his clothing is trying to communicate? Discuss.

Buffalo mozzarella, part 2: the source

You'll know when you've arrived in buffalo mozzarella country by all the roadside signs advertising it. It's kind of like driving through the American South and seeing all those billboards for fireworks superstores, except the southern Italians are excited about cheese instead of explosives. Just a small cultural difference.



The signage starts as soon as you enter Battipaglia.


When I first lived in Bologna back in the 90s, I asked an Italian guy once why the good stuff was called "mozzarella di bufala". Were there actually buffalo hiding out somewhere in Italy, or was this simply a misnomer along the lines of the famous wings, having nothing to do with actual buffaloes? He didn't know. Poor thing, he was from the North.

On this trip I finally got a chance to see real live Italian mozzarella-producing buffalo. It was at Vannulo, a buffalo dairy. In addition to mozzarella and other cheeses (such as ricotta, another local specialty), they sold yogurt and gelato. There's also a cute coffee bar. I'm not sure if the milk they put in their cappuccinos comes from the buffalo or not.

Mmmmph mmm mm mm mmmph!

OK, that title was supposed to say "Greetings from the land of mozzarella!", but my mouth was full of, well, mozzarella. Mozzarella di bufala, to be precise, freshly made, right off the farm, never refrigerated... the way it's supposed to be, but alas, rarely ever is, unless you happen to be hanging out in, say, the region of Campagna, Italy. Which I am. Mmmmmm.

For those of you (I'm looking at you, middle America) unfortunate enough to think mozzarella is a dry, rubbery cheese which comes in big bricks or pre-grated in your grocer's refrigerated section, I'd like to introduce you to the real stuff. Mozzarella di bufala (literally buffalo mozzarella) is only produced in a couple regions of southern Italy, where the buffalo roam. The soft balls of goodness wait for you in giant tanks of whey. You take your purchase home in a plastic bag of liquid, kind of like when you you buy a goldfish. Except the mozzarella is much tastier. Soft, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth-y. It has to be eaten right away for optimal flavor, and never refrigerated, which explains why it's so difficult to enjoy this delicacy to its fullest if you're not directly at the source.

But don't just take my word for it - come try for yourself. I mean, if there's any left after I'm done here.

Gone eatin'

I'm off to Italy for a little while. Not sure how much internet access I'll have while I'm there, but I'll try to get a little blogging in from the road so you don't miss me too much. In the meantime, just imagine all the wonderful things I'm eating right about now...

Italy trip highlights: Sleeping in Tuscany

Scott was responsible for finding us places to sleep in Tuscany, and he did a fabulous job.
For two nights we stayed at Hotel Il Rondo', a gorgeous bed and breakfast in Montepulciano. Rarely have I stayed in a room so beautifully done. The ceilings had large square wooden beams as is typical in Tuscany, and many of the furnishings were antiques. Plus since the building is quite new, the facilities are modern, and there was even wireless internet access (which allowed me to easily do some blogging from the road).



In Siena we spent one night at the Chiostro del Carmine. The reception desk faces a gorgeous, secluded, quiet courtyard where I enjoyed relaxing for a few minutes. Our room was inside the old palazzo up a comically large staircase. From our room we had a sweeping view of the countryside around Sienna.



Neither of the hotels was super-luxurious, but both were clean, safe, and well-appointed. What I liked best, though, was how both of them felt like uniquely Italian accommodations. Such charming sleeping arrangements add to the overall trip experience in a lovely way. Sure beats the Holiday Inn.

Italy trip highlights: Eating Tuscany

After Rome, we rented a car and headed north to Niki de Saint Phalle's Tarot Garden (a definite highlight) and then continued on to Tuscany. While I'd been to Siena and Florence before, this was actually my first time out into the small hill towns of Tuscany. Now that I've had a taste, I can't wait to go back.

We spent our days exploring a series of little Tuscan hill towns, each more adorable than the last. And naturally, we ate very, very well. The regional specialties of note included pici, a thick home-made spaghetti-like pasta, and local pecorino, a cheese made from sheep's milk which seemed to be absolutely everywhere we looked (including at breakfast). It is milder than pecorino romano, and is sometimes enhanced with truffle or other flavors. I think every single thing I ate in Tuscany was delicious. The restaurant highlights:



Borgobuio (Montepulciano) - the google-translatored English menu outside had us in stitches, but since it came on a good recommendation, we decided to go inside anyway. Borgobuio's decor is fabulously over-the-top, as is its owner Pier, who provided the dinner-time entertainment. He spent time with each and every table, chatting, joking, boasting about his food and lamenting the lack of guests. I was called on from across the room to help interpret for a couple from California who spoke no Italian. Pier has every right to be proud of his food, which was just fabulous. I forgot to take notes this evening, but I remember starting with a scrumptious chick pea and broccoli appetizer and then some sort of pici. And a side of baked radicchio, I think it was. All scrumptious.

Trattoria Diva e Maceo (Montepulciano) - highlights included the tortellone con fonduta di pecorino e pepe (melted pecorino and pepper) and the pici with porcini mushrooms. Even the side dish of beet greens was delicious!

La Porta (Montecchiello) - small, cute locale serving heavenly food. Friendly staff. Polenta with melted pecorino and mushrooms, sformato di zucca (kind of like a souffle with squash and cheese), canellini al fiasco (beans with olive oil). Sooooo good.



Antica Osteria da Divo (Siena) - this place was our second choice for dinner in Siena, but unfortunately our first choice was closed for a private party that evening. Osteria da Divo was an interesting little place. Very elegant, inside a very old, grotto-like room. The food was the high-concept small-portion (a little pricey) type. It was slightly disappointing, but only because other restaurants had set the bar so high.

Man, I'm hungry.

Italy trip highlights: Eating Rome

We had no specific goals for our 1.5 days in Rome, except to eat well and relax. My last several trips to Rome were on business, so it was nice to reestablish this city as a place of leisure. There wasn't any advanced planning involved beyond the hotel. It was nice. Especially the food.

All three restaurants we ate at this time came via an old copy of Fodor's Italy. I'm usually not one to rely exclusively on guidebooks, but Fodor's did us quite well on this particular trip.

Ditirambo - near Campo dei Fiori, we were a little skeptical of this cavernous locale when we arrived to find the only other patrons were a large group of old German men. Skepticism soon gave way to marvel; my appetizer of burratina (a soft cheese sort of like mozzarella) millefoglie with sundried tomato pesto was insanely amazing. I will remember that dish for a long, long time.

Arancia Blu - the first thing that struck me was the gorgeous, cozy interior; the second was the elaborate vegetarian menu. From our experience, the tasting menu is the way to go. So many delicious flavors. It was a bit of a hike from Termini, but the neighborhood was quite vibrant with nightlife.

Margutta Vegetariano - Italian vegetarian restaurants two nights in a row! Could life get any better? Margutta seemed to be having some service problems the evening we were there, given that we overheard complaints from the tables on either side of us. Although a couple of our (many) courses took a little too long to arrive, we otherwise found the meal itself to be fabulous. Each dish on the extensive tasting menus we ordered was delicate, artful, and yummy. The chic modern decor was also quite impressive. But what I really want to know is, who spends so much time and effort on a restaurant's food and presentation, but then can't be bothered to put a seat on the freakin' toilet? Seriously, people. Despite the menacing unseated peeing arrangements and slightly slow service, our overall experience at Margutta was quite stellar.

In contrast to the guidebook-recommended restaurants, the gelato we ate was chosen purely based on my gelatodar (like gaydar, but for gelato), a skill I have honed through much practice, and which almost never fails. Subtle cues such as the colors, the signage, and the number of locals in line are all part of my elaborate system for sussing out the best gelato around.

Gelateria San Crispino - if a gelateria is so cocky as to not even pile its gelato up for display, there's a good chance that the flavor speaks for itself. The shiny covered containers at Gelateria San Crispino drew us in, and the exotic flavors got us pushing to the front of the line. Flavors like honey whisky, ginger cinnamon, and pear sorbet. Mmmmm.

Fior di Luna - here I went for my old standby gelato order: chocolate and pistachio. Pistachio is a very hit-or-miss flavor. Done well, it's heavenly; done poorly, it's not even worth my time. This is why gelatodar is so important. Fior di Luna passed the pistachio test.

name unknown - on the Isola Tiberia in the middle of the Tiber river, this gelateria looked unassuming, but offered up a solid version of my all-time favorite flavor: dark chocolate chili. Mmmm again.


Did we do anything in Rome besides eat? Yes, a little. Mostly we wandered around, soaking up the atmosphere. The Pantheon was a treat as always. And given that La Dolce Vita is one of my all-time favorite movies, a swing by the (insanely tourist-overrun) Trevi Fountain was practically predestined. We considered going into St. Peter's, but given the long line we opted for people-watching in the piazza instead (easy to do when you've been inside multiple times before). I love vacations with no obligations!