Post by Lauren
I have really grown an appreciation for small French villages. The handful of little towns we have visited within driving distance of Geneva are really adorable. We had another lovely experience during our time in Burgundy, checking out a few of the villages in the region.
Beaune & Nuits-St-Georges:
Chalon-sur-Saône, where we stopped an hour or two on the way back to Geneva for market day & exploring the town:
Post by Lauren
Just a bit lower than Tuscany, Umbria also has a remarkable landscape. It’s slightly drier and more rustic than its Northern neighbor, but still quite capable of amazing things.
One of the towns we visited was Assisi which is the famous birthplace of St. Francis. I adored the town and its classic and simple pink stone. The pink is a naturally sourced stone from Umbria and used to decorate the basilicas simply without too much adornment, as was restricted in St. Francis’s day.
The reason for the simplicity is that St. Francis believed in peace and the renouncement of material things. The basilica contains simple frescos instead of ornate stones and gold.
In fact, Kay had encouraged us all to say a prayer and to do one act as St. Francis would do in this experience, rather than be a typical tourist. She encouraged us to slip some coins to the poor and forgoing the traditional souvenir. It was a beautiful mindset in which to enter this holy place. Adding to this experience, we witnessed a peace rally marching 20km from Perugia to the basilica. This peace celebration only happens every 3 years and it was a coincidence that we were able to be a part of it.
On our ride home that evening, we witnessed a little peace as well when we saw this rainbow on the Umbrian landscape. What a nice souvenir.
Also in Assisi, we had the opportunity to visit a few Umbrian locals at Tivi Vini, a winery near Assisi. The same pride we’d seen from Elena at La Stoppa and Filipo of Fattoria della Cinta, also poured out in the mother daughter combo Tili and Maria.
We tasted their Assisi biance (chardonnay and pinot), the Grechetto (95% grechetto, 5% pinot), Pinto Nero (90% noir and 10% sangrantino — Rosie’s favorite), a Young (blend of 3 reds — Gabe’s favorite, a Rosso (Lauren’s favorite) and a 100% Sagrantino aged for 8 years.
We returned to Florence that night, but the next day, we had the pleasure of dining in Orvieto. The meal at Restaurant Maurizo, just off the main square, was hands-down my favorite meal of the trip. We started with a great antipasti, then a truffle and cheek umberchelini, then pasta with lamb ragu, a secondi of pork with herb rub and roasted potatoes and then a selection of local cakes for dolce. I am a sucker for any type of mushroom but the truffles put me over the edge. What a meal!
Umbria might be my new favorite over Tuscany.
Post by Lauren
My first time to Tuscany, I remember feeling like I was driving through a Van Gogh painting. I loved witnessing with my own eyes the way the cypress dotted the landscape and gave protection to the rolling hills of vineyards and olive trees.
This trip, I was lucky that I got to see four new places in the Tuscan region.
SIENA – Beautiful hill town, a continual rival of its neighbor Florence. Verdict: I prefer Florence. Although, maybe I should visit Siena again when we aren’t so pressed for time and I’m not hungry.
POGGIBONI
Since this trip was a terroir trip to experience food and wine, one of our stops was a tasting with a local Tuscan butcher, Filipo. He explained the history of the family business which was quite interesting, and then invited us to see the cinta pigs roaming on the land. Cintas are a different type of pig – they are striped – and they also graze on nuts, forest foliage, and berries.
On the trip over, we discussed how important we think it is to see the source of our food. Too often you forget. Filipo shaved our fresh prosciutto off the leg. This is a big reminder to me how we should respect our food and not waste. Also, the way that his free range cinta are treated is a lesson for how important these practices in when selecting what products we purchase.
I found it ironic I wore a white dress on the pig farm visit day.
SAN DONATO
San Donato is a tiny medieval town in the Tuscan hills. We had a wine tasting at Fattoria San Donato of local wine – vernaccia (white) and chianti (red) as well as their beautiful olive oils. A highlight was walking through the familial home to find our courtyard tasting in the groves.
SAN GIRMINGNANO
San Gimingnano is another charming Tuscan hill town, instantly recognizable by its peaking bell towers.
We tasted more tuscan wine and olive oil at La Marronaia, another friend of Kay’s who had a sumptuous cellar. We tasted basic vernaccia, visila, chianti colli sennesi, intenso and quattrossi. I brought back some olive oil to accentuate my Italian dishes.
Post by Lauren
Apologies in advance for a week of Italy on the blog. There was just to much to fit!
The first stop on our trip was to Sirmione, Italy which is located on Lago di Garda in the Northern Italian region. Sirmione rests on a skinny little peninsula jetting out into the lake, providing panoramic views all around. A medieval castle rests on the tip and provides a reminder of the rich history in the Northern Italian lake region.
Here are a few of my favorite photos of Lago di Garda captured at sunrise the first morning:
The night prior, we had the pleasure of seeing a wine harvest in process at nearby Pratello winery in Padenghe del Garda. Alberto took us around the vineyard, showed us the biolake, and we also explored the cellar and grounds. He took a few jabs at California wine production indicating that “wine shouldn’t taste like wood” and then explained how they use steel tanks or neutral oak. He had a great pride of the Italian viniculture and it was contagious.
We had a delightful tasting evening of their sparkling wine-Metodo Classico, their whites-Catulliano & Lieti Conversair, and their reds – Poderi Ogaria and Rebo. Following, we had an incredible meal al fresco on the terrace.
I purchased the Rebo and also brought home a bottle of sparkling for a future occasion.
Post by Lauren
We are excited to have Andreas in town visiting for the US this week. At first, Switzerland decided to show Andreas its gloomy side, but Gruyeres ended up being a good little day trip as the heavy clouds made the castle a little bit more mysterious, and the chill in the air made our cheese dishes a little bit more tasty.
When we first arrived, we checked out the Gruyere cheese factory and even got to try a sample.
Touring the Gruyeres Cheese Factory
The arduous process certainly made us appreciate our cheese more. I really especially liked the story, told from the perspective from one of the cows, detailing the history of cheese and cheese-making. The story also compared wine tasting (when you pick of flavors of cherry, oak, etc) to cheese tasting, where one should pick up the cumin, the thistle, etc of the matter that the cows graze on.
Next, we moved onto the town of Gruyeres. Usually you can see the Alps in the background. But, it was a tad foggy. Oh well. We were still charmed by the beautiful walled town. We grabbed a traditional cheese dish of raclette and relaxed and dined by a panoramic view of the valley.
After lunch, we adventured to the famous Gruyeres castle. It was really neat, but my favorite was the beautiful geometric gardens that rested in the courtyard.
We almost had an additional adventure when our car took 7 times to start in the very empty rainy parking lot. But, he made it. More on that later.
Post by Lauren
An easy gratitude selection this week. We have T in town from the US. We just returned today from a great overnight trip to Bernese Oberland where we explored the valleys, stayed in a peaceful Alp town, and scaled the mighty majestic Schilthorn. So, simply, this week, I am thankful for our ability to travel here. So many parts of this beautiful world are close and accessible to us during our time here. We are grateful for this opportunity and hope to make the most of it!
Here are some snapshots from the past two days:
Gimmelwald, Bernese Oberland
Murren, Bernese Oberland
Ascending to the Schilthorn with views of the Monk, Eiger and Jungfrau
Bon weekend, everyone!
Post by Lauren
We had heard from our friend A that Yvoire was a really cool medieval town on the lake to check out. He had traveled there on a co-worker’s boat for dinner one evening. We personally think his way was the best way to travel. However, since we were in Northern Geneva countryside so that Gabe could attempt to teach moi how to drive a stick shift, it was only a 15 minute trip.
It was a cute town and I can’t wait to bring my Mom back to see the beautiful flower covered buildings. But, as A had noted, a bit crowded so we might choose to go back in the evening or when it isn’t the middle of summer.
Another small world story – we bumped into a lady Gabe works with in Yvoire. So, two days in a row, we have collided with people we actually know while we were out and about. Switzerland is starting to feel like home!
All I know about Bern comes from my friend Randi. As we were considering the move and prior to our final departure she mentioned that one of her two cities she’d been to in Switzerland was Bern and she colorfully added both times she mentioned it, “Bern means bear”.
So today, as S (who is in town for house-hunting) and I walked around beautiful Bern, all I kept hearing was Randi’s voice saying “Bern means bear”. And I am pretty sure its stuck in S’s head as well based on how many times I repeated it to her.
But, nonetheless, the fact is true and this capital city of Switzerland was named for the bear. We were able to see a few walking through the city:
Bern was so beautiful – I loved the architecture and charm. For a 90 minute train ride, it was a nice treat and great way to spend the holiday (Ascension Day is a national holiday and all groceries & stores were closed all over Switzerland). Also, S was a great tour guide as she had been to Bern before and knew all the great things to check out. In fact, one of her favorite activities was the Bern River Float. However, with 40 degree temps, we decided to postpone this until a future trip.
Here are a few photos from today’s adventures:
The Swiss Watch Blog 