Just completed an amazing eating and drinking odyssey. Chiko and I had to go to Italy to attend the wedding of two of our very dear friends. (I know this sounds like a hardship, but somehow we managed to enjoy ourselves!) We did so much and took so many pictures, that there is no way I could cover it all in one post, so I'll just hit you with a few highlights and then follow up with more detailed posts later on.
Lake Garda, Italy
Our friends Mark and Sylvia live in the town of Peschiera del Garda, just outside of Verona, in a region known as the Veneto. This is an amazingly diverse part of Italy that is popular with European tourists, but seems to have not caught on with Americans yet. Those who go to northeastern Italy usually hit Venice and then don't see any of the rest of the region, and that is truly a shame. The Veneto is home to some great wines, great food and spectacular sightseeing (both historic and the natural variety).
Two Bedroom Loft Apartment in a Converted Farmhouse
Instead of going to a stuffy hotel, we were fortunate enough to stay at a condominium which our friend owns, in a converted farm house from the 16th century. This is a fantastic way to see Italy and to practice speaking Italian! Because we had our own kitchen, we also got to cook our own food a few times, which not only saved us some money but also forced us to use our Italian when we went to the fish market, farmers market, butcher shop, etc.
At the Daily Market in Peschiera
Our daily routine usually consisted of coffee and breakfast at home, out on the road around 10 to sight see, wine taste, etc., lunch at a restaurant, then more exploring, a stop at the market for some fresh ingredients and home to cook dinner and relax with a bottle of wine. Did I mention the wine? The Veneto region is home to some of the best wines in Italy (in my opinion of course and sure to be hotly debated amongst Italians).
Wine Tasting at one of the Many Wineries
Our apartment is located in the Lugana wine region, which is not well known outside of Italy and Germany. Lugana is best known for it's excellent white wine, which goes very well with the seafood from nearby Lake Garda. It is also close to the Valpolicella region, which is better known in the states, but mostly because of cheap table wine from mega-wine producers such as Bolla. Valpolicella turns out a large quantity of simple local red, but also makes several fine wines such as Amarone.
Winery in Lugana
Wineries in Valpolicella
Tasting More Wines!
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