Eating in Italy - Varenna

Where to begin...google traditional Italian meals and you'll read about the bread, antipasti, first course pasta dish, second course meat/fish dish, the vegetable dish, the dessert, the coffee and liquor that follow with the fruit and cheese...it's a whole lotta food. And meals last for hours. You pay a lot at restaurants, but you can stay as long as you want. Do Italians eat like this every day? I highly doubt it, and looking at most of their trim frames, I would put money on it that they don't. But the mysteries of the full Italian meal were revealed to me because Kathy is an amateur foodie and made reservations for our little group at a restaurant recommended in the Rick Steves' book and by the hotel. At 7pm, the owner, waiter, and chef came to pick us up in his minivan. Up the hillside, through winding narrow streets he drove us the 15 minutes to his restaurant. His menu included a recommended pre-set meal with each course. It sounded great and was made up of dishes unique to the Lombardian region: a duck, ham, and Gorgonzola patte/spread tray; hams, salami, cured dried beef, and speck; a tray of pickled vegetables (the mini red pepper stuffed with cheese and honey was the best); risotto with porcini mushrooms and apples (my favorite); pasta with ham and cheese; and then either veal or fish (I got the veal and loved it, but tried the fish and wish I had gotten it). We ordered at 7:30. We left the restaurant at 11.

Clockwise from left: Melanie, Karen, Dana, Me, Ann, Cathy

pate tray

mixed pickled vegetables: mushrooms, onions, mini peppers stuffed with cheese and honey, pickled peppers and cucumbers, and sardines wrapped in cucumber

cured meats

risotto with porchini mushrooms and apples

pasta with cheese and ham (almost like carbonara)

the fish, caught in the lake

veal with ham and potatoes in a wine-gravy

After sleeping in the next day and missing breakfast, I needed a good lunch before my hike. I chose a pizza with that dried, cured beef, arugula, and Parmesan. :)

For dinner, three large ravioli stuffed with grouper, shrimp, and covered in an arugula and almond pesto and a side of broccoli. Um, WOW!

The lake fish, sardines, other seafood, and pesto of northern Italy (including Venice) is superb. It was an adventure every day that I wouldn't mind experiencing all over again!

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Down here, George! - Lake Como's Varenna

Days four and five and we were in Varenna on Lake Como. I'm not a George Clooney fan, but most of the ladies in the group would wave at the helicopter that would occasionally pass overhead and try to get "George's" attention because he lives in the area. Anyway, enough about him.

 Ann wasn't feeling well, so I set out with Cathy (from San Francisco) and Melanie (from Tooele, UT), two single solo travelers in our Rick Steves' group, to explore Varenna the afternoon we arrived. This community has a beautiful lakeside promenade that we walked, and we stopped to try that delicious gelato at Riva's. Then we headed to Villa Monastero to see its spectacular gardens. We stayed until it started raining. That evening, Ann rallied and we had a dinner I will never forget (and will write about later) with Melanie, Cathy, and Karen and Dana from Texas.

the lake side of our hotel

the view from the shore below the hotel

Just add Erin

the harbor along the promenade

along the promenade

taking the stairs from the main street down to the lakeside promenade

along the promenade

Entrance to the villa gardens

gardens at Villa Monastero

gardens at Villa Monastero

gardens at Villa Monastero

Before traveling to Italy, I had full intentions of taking the boat over to neighboring Bellagio and take a run around Lake Como, but exhaustion set in the moment we got on the bus in Venice to transfer here. I think jet lag, the hustle and bustle of the city, and walking a lot more than I normally do finally caught up with me. And when we finally got here, it was chilly and rainy, exacerbating the exhaustion.

The next day, all I had planned to do was, honestly, sleep in. As The Rick says in his guidebook, there is wonderfully little to do there. I took that as my cue. Part of me regrets not seeing the town and others from the lake, but the other part remembers how I didn't bring warm clothes at it was raining and windy and in the 50's. I got up at 11 (you thought I was joking?) and was out the door an hour later. Ann was really sick and bed-bound for the day, so I was on my own. I got pizza for lunch and then headed up a very steep trail to the castle ruins above Varenna. The view from the top was stunning. This town is beautiful and peaceful - very lush, a mixture of alpine and Mediterranean vegetation (it is in the foothills of the Italian Alps), there are fragrant star jasmine, roses, and honeysuckle growing everywhere, and the prettiest bird songs filling the air. Now, if only it weren't so blasted chilly!

the uphill trail to the castle ruins

the view of Lake Como and Varenna from the top of the hill, just below the castle ruins

the castle ruins surrounded by olive trees

a closeup of Varenna from above; my hotel is the yellow building on the lake side partially covered up by the bell tower of the church

the view from the hotel room window overlooking the square

the church and its bell tower (church covered by the tree, and the castle ruins are at the top of the hill behind it

I really enjoyed hearing the bell chime every hour

I had such a relaxing day, and it was nice after the sensory overload of Venice to have the slow paced atmosphere of Varenna. I walked through Varenna's 12th century church, walked with Ann along the promenade when she was feeling a little better, and got more gelato. I went to happy hour at the corner tobacci shop (these are in every town, and are part convenience, tobacco, pub) where our delightful Italian guide was shocked to discover that I don't drink wine/alcohol ("You DON'T? Like, at ALL?"), and got to meet a few new people from our group.  Later, I was off to another wonderful dinner with the ladies from teh night before. This place was just what I needed.

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Eating in Italy - Venice

I have spent an unnatural amount of money on food in Italy. That being said, I haven't had a bad meal yet. Lets take a look:

My first meal in Venice was a chicken Scaloppini (I think). It was good (I've never had it before and thought I was ordering scallops, sooo...) but I was worried about the restaurant being the precise kind that is a nasty tourist trap - you know, the menu as thick as a bible with pictures showing you what each item is supposed to look like, right on the main drag.  But exhaustion was setting in, the hunger resulting from not having eaten since the airplane breakfast at 7 in the morning, uncertainty of where a good place to eat could be found, and unfamiliarity with the protocol of ordering food in a different language all played a part in the restaurant choice of convenience over everything Rick Steves' would advise.

 I did buy a chocolate croissant for breakfast the next morning, and it had what tasted like crushed almonds in it - a surprising and delicious addition to a fabulous European standard.

Italian restaurants bring bread to the table. Then they charge a service charge. Water - gassed or not - is brought out in sealed glass bottles. Then they charge you for it. Spendy! If you order a coke, you will get a can (smaller than the US standard) and a glass without ice and a 3 to 4 Euro price tag.

Italians have a cappuccino and maybe a croissant for breakfast. They might have a glass of spremuto, freshly squeezed orange juice. We have nice, big breakfasts at our hotels, but not because its what the locals do.

I've skipped a few lunches, but not galato. I've had pistachio, chocolate (multiple times), lemon, watermelon, lime, mango, chocolate chip, and my favorite, coconut. So far, my favorite galateria is Riva's in Varenna. Just look:

My friend from my early teens, Christa, recommended a restaurant in Venice. I was able to find it. We went back twice. The first time I had a buffalina pizza: mozzarella, fresh buffalo mozzarella, and basil. And a coke, of course. Ann got a spicey shrimp spaghetti. She shared. Sooo good! For dessert, I had a chocolate soufflé. It was so chocolatey and so light. Ann had tiramisu. Hmmm!

Like I said, Ann and I didn't stop for lunch, but we did stop for gelato. On our last day, twice. And before I finished with the second gelato, we saw cannoli in a window, so I had to get one. Yes, I had two sweets in one hand. And there were candied orange slices in the cannoli. Devine!

My second dinner at the previously mentioned restaurant was actually a seafood appetizer plate. But guess what was on it - cuddle fish cooked in its own ink! It's one of those regional dishes that I would never have ordered and thought it was more of a tourist gimmick anyway. I actually liked it! Kinda tasted like clams or calamari. It turned my tongue black.  Also included was polenta, a prawn, a large scallop, a crab paste (I think), sliced hams, and a sardine wrapped in cucumber.  This was one of the most fun meals I've ever had!

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I'm gone but haven't forgotten Venice yet.

I know I already sorta said my goodbyes to Venice, but it is still with me, and I almost feel like I need to go back there (my Italian home). I was there long enough to finally kinda get the hang of it, or at least as much as a traveler there for three days could. My biggest tip/item to remember that I never saw written anywhere: grab the free map from the hotel desk and literally draw your route on it. You will still get lost, but not as badly as without it. Don't pay attention to street names unless it is a last resort; first use churches and the little canal bridges as your guide. Example: You know you are going the right way if there is a church and small square one street on the left after the bridge. Draw your route as many times as you can on that map, and then ask for another free map. I kinda feel like a genius for thinking of and doing this, but hey, call a duck a duck! ;)
Venice is really cool at like 8 in the morning. The tourists are not out yet, but the Venetians are. Deliveries are being made, shops are getting ready, and people are filling the corner coffee bars for a morning cappuccino (the only time Italians drink it). My hotel room was above and adjacent to shops, and I liked the sound of the Venice getting started in the morning: hand trucks rumbling, streets being swept, whistling delivery men...besides the vaporettos, the only boats out and about are making deliveries of fruits, vegetables, paper, removing the garbage...boats, hand trucks, and shoulders do it all.

Sides of beef and pork being delivered to a butcher

Construction workers dumping the refuse from a demolition

trash collection being brought to the side of the canal

Things are expensive here - it makes sense when everything is brought in by hand. The food is not cheep at all, so make sure you eat well to make it worth it - find a non-tourist vaporetto stop, one where only three or four people are getting off and on at, and wander the back streets until you come across a restaurant and eat there. If St. Mark's, a museum, the train station, or the like is nearby, don't say I didn't warn you (it will still be overpriced and it won't be that great - think food at Disneyland). Or use the map tip and go off of a recommendation. And don't buy the first set of earrings or scarf you see that you like. Chances are very high you will see the exact same item a few canals over for less. If you don't see your item again for a better price, go back to the original store and snatch it up!  There are masks everywhere (worn during Carnival in March). If masks are what you are after, the unique, locally made ones are over 50 Euro. The Chinese ones will be cheaper if you hold out long enough.

Murano and Barano are charming. A short 10 minute vaparetto ride will get you to Murano, and a relaxing, great-chance-to-take-a-snooze-while-resting-your-feet 30 minutes more will get you to Burano. They are also really touristy on a smaller scale...be patient, expect it, and buy yourself another gelato.  And as I previously recommended, keep looking, and if you don't see your treasured keepsake in another store for a better price, go back to the original store and snag it up. Souvenirs aside, they are cute communities and a nice change of scenery if Venice is getting to ya.

Murano is known for it's glassmaking:

grocery shopping with mom

...while Burano is known for its lace making and colorful houses:

The next time I am in Italy, I will stop in Venice.  I will stay for at least three nights.  I will continue my explorations where I left off.  I will remember, and add to those memories.

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