Category Archives: Visits & Trips with Visitors

Umbria: Assisi, Tili Vini and Orvieto

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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.

 

Tuscany: Siena, San Donato and San Girmignano

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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.

Firenze!

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Post by Lauren

Firenze is Florence in Italian.

My first trip to Italy, my friend Randi and I stayed in Florence for the week for exploring Central Italy. And, Florence was really my first love affair with Italy. And, this trip, it still felt as good to walk those worn city streets.

We did a group tour as most of our group had not yet been to Florence:

I just adore the feeling of the streets. There really is no city that I have seen that maintains so much of its architecture. A few years ago, I read The Agony and The Ecstasy about Michelangelo’s life. I loved envisioning him as a young man in Florence walking these same streets we can today.

Gabe arrived later that evening and we did a family dinner at to Trattoria 4 Leoni which is my favorite restaurant in Florence. It was recommended to me in 2007 by my dental hygienist, Katie, who lived 2 years in Europe. I have sent many people there since and its always been a highlight for them as much as it has been for me.

We had a pasta primi which consisted of pear & asparagus ravioli, penne with a bolognese-type ragu, and a stuffed pomodoro pasta. Next, the ladies had Veal chops while Gabe ordered a steak alla grilia. Gabe and I were practically licking the bone-in portions. We aren’t used to eating meat out in restaurants in Geneva due to its ridiculous pricing and also that it really isn’t good. We are considering flying to Florence for dinner again in the near future 🙂

Afterwards, although we’d already had dessert, we could resist a stop at a gelateria for a cone. The tastes of Italy are so irresistible! It made a good snack as we walked back to Ponte Vecchio and enjoyed a calm peaceful Firenze evening.

Wine Harvesting in Emilia Romagna

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Post by Lauren

Our second day, we took a trip down to the Emilia Romagna region of Italy which is famous for parmesan, grana podano, parma ham, balsamic vinegars, olive oil, copa and of course, wine.

Our leader, Kay, is friends with the owner of La Stoppa, Elena Pantaleoni, and so we shared a beautiful autumn afternoon with her at her family vineyards near Rivergaro.

Elena runs a completely organic operation, and we learned about the hard work required for this designation, but how very important it is for the preservation of the land. Gabe and I are both California wine lovers so it was interesting to hear the New World vs. Old World philosophies in wine. My biggest learning from both Elena and Alberto the evening before was how the Old World / European believes more in the terroir, and the wine is a result of the land, where New World believes the result is in the creativity of the winemaker, in the cellar.

Next, we tasted their different varietals. We started out with six on the table for tasting, but realizing how into their wines we were, they started making cellar trips to give us different vintages of our favorites and their new creations straight from the barrel.

The line-up of the wines was as follows :
-Dinavolino, Guilio, the wine maker’s creation from his estate
-Macchiona – 2005, then 2006, then 2007, then the 2002 which was a notoriously rough year
-Barbera del Stoppa
-Ageno – 2007, then the 2010 out of the tank

We tasted the wines alongside local meats like copa (the neck of the pig), salami and grana podano cheese. I enjoyed the flavors of the wine alongside the regional specialities of Emilia Romagna. The whites really were accentuated with the food.

In the end, I bought a Barbera and a Macchiona 2005. Unfortunately, I was limited to 3 to take back so only the Barbera will make it back to Geneva in the end as the Macchiona was the group favorite so was opened for sharing in Firenze.

It was a delight to spend this day with the wonderful people of La Stoppa. While I love learning about wine from all over the world, this special passion and pride is special to any other experience I have had in the States visiting vineyards. We felt like we were their family that day and are so grateful to Elena, Guilio and Francesca for their hospitality and inviting us into their estate. What an amazing place.

Sirmione and Lago di Garda

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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.

Eating baby eels

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Post by Lauren

One of the things we decided to do in Madrid was a fancy-schmancy multiple course dinner. Not like the kind where you are stuffed to the gills, but more like the Top Chef version where the presentation is so beautiful that you question when and where they ever serve that stuff in real life. And it was totally intriguing to Gabe & my curiousity, as well as Andreas was game to the new culinary experience.

Kudos to Isabella for doing the research and landing us an impossible table at Diverxo.

We sat down and had a piece of art as a centerpiece with Spanish words for “what we would experience”….. quite a conversation starter.

They don’t publish the menu at all, before or even upon arrival at the restaurant. You only get the selection of the seven, nine or eleven courses which are customized each evening and sometimes to each table. Our five-some decided upon the middle selection — nine courses. And, they are listed below, as dictated to Ferdinand’s blackberry at the end of the evening because photography wasn’t allowed. Please forgive our descriptions as we couldn’t remember the proper names. I am sure the chef would be offended if he knew we called elements of his creation “dipping sauce” and “breadcrumbs”.

Edamame served with Paraguayan pepper dipping sauce
Tea with flowers and stuff

Tiger mussel* with mousse and bread crumbs
Soup – baby eel** and baby fish in broth, fried eel skin

Smoked tuna belly with egg yolk wonton
Chicken stock wonton on a wheat disk with langoustine and mushroom in a broth
Mushroom “bun” wrapped in milk skin on tomato pad, with pulled jamon jerky
Variation of Peking duck: crispy pork skin with roe and black sesame brioche, then pork meatball lettuce wrap
Oxtail short-rib dumpling with foam & exotic mushrooms

Violet mousse with foam
Green tea chocolate mousse with passion fruit gel and chocolate shavings

Wine: Familia Martinez Bujanda Rioja

*Note, the tiger mussel was seafood. Not the muscle of a tiger which was our first thought.

**When they served the soup dish, they mentioned that it contained a special sea noodle that was made “in house”. We were told after that they wait to tell us the noodles are actually baby eels which are an extremely rare delicacy, as it turns some people off. They said some restaurants serve them living, swimming in the soup. We are glad they weren’t that kind of restaurant that served living baby eels. I am not sure I could have continued on eating the remaining courses after that out of fear.

The service was amazing…if you took a sip of wine or water, immediately the waiter or waitress quickly poured a replacement sip. I almost felt guilty for sipping, they were so attentive. They took care to explain each dish, in English, as it was brought out. The highlight was they also instructed us the best way to eat it….what to start with on the dish, how to pick it up, whether to eat it with one bite or two, etc. We all agreed on our gratitude for this explanation.

I have long been a fan of attending museums and galleries for appreciating fine works of art. The same goes for concerts and shows to witness the talents of musicians. This was definitely the closest feeling I have had to experiencing culinary arts. It was quite a way to behold the creativity of food selection, preparation & presentation and will not forget eating baby eels for quite some time.

Madrid Nights

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Post by Lauren

There was lots to love about Madrid during the day, but what is the most memorable is the nightlife in this capital city of Spain.

Isabella had told us we’d be eating late….an early reservation was at 10pm. This intimidated me. But, once we arrived and started living like the Spanish, it all fell into place. Late dinner. Nightlife. Sleeping late. Explore a little. Eat. Siesta. Repeat.

Here are a few visual highlights of the evenings in Madrid:

Ferdinand’s colleague hooked us up with a penthouse reservation at this bar in Plaza Santa Ana. Amazing views. Delicious cocktails. And a great scene for celebrating Ferdinand’s birthday which happened to be the first night Gabe, Andreas and I arrived.

Nine course dinner at Diverxo lasted until well past midnight. More on this tomorrow!

Flamenco show – a traditional Spanish display of singers, musicians and dancing.

Evening tapas crawls – absolutely delicious and a great inspiration to make it late into the night!

I can’t think of a place I have ever been that is livelier than Madrid at night. A stark contrast from Geneva nightlife and a really fun long weekend. Again, lots of gratitude to Ferdinand and Isabella for giving us a great reason to visit and enjoy this amazing city to the west.

Madrid Days

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Post by Lauren

This past weekend we met up with some great friends from Charlotte, Ferdinand and Isabella, as they were in Madrid for his work. Gabe and I (as well as Andreas who was visiting us) had never been to Spain before so we were pumped about meeting them in Madrid. A bonus was that Isabella had spent 3 summers in Spain, so she had a lot of insights into what would be the best to do in a long weekend, as well as she spoke fluently in Spanish. An amazing combo and I was lucky enough to travel in a few hours early to get some girl-time before the guys arrived.

In short, here is my summary about day-time in Madrid:

-It’s a beautiful city. We stayed near the old part of town so benefited from being surrounded by gorgeous fountains, perfectly landscaped gardens, pastel stucco buildings in classic Spanish style, and an elegant light that flooded the streets in the early evenings.

-It’s hot. Really hot. Gabe and I commented it was similar to our time in Greece when the sun was just relentless and scorching. We feel that it is just a different sun in this Mediterranean region than we are used to.

-Everyone siestas. This is really three-fold.
One, the nightlife is vibrant. Dinners don’t get started until 10 or so. On a light night, you get in at 12:30 or 1pm. On a average night, its 4 or 4:30am. Thus, naps are needed to recover from the night before and to prepare for the night coming.
Two, you eat amazingly, delicious Spanish food for lunch. You typically eat a lot and after a morning walking, your body gets full and tired and craves a bed.
Three, the sun, mentioned above. It’s almost uncomfortable in summer mid-afternoon. It’s really best to be under a shade tree or taking a siesta.

-World class museums. We visited Prado and Reina Sofia.

More to come on Madrid night-life and eating, but wanted to provide a description and a few visuals to paint the picture:

 

 

 

 

Monday Funday in Lausanne & Evian

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Post by Lauren

On Monday, we took a little day trip. Andreas and I knew we were going to venture somewhere (Gabe unfortunately had to work and couldn’t play). But, luckily discovered that friends S and A were up for an activity, as well as they had another visitor C who wanted to join as well.

We took off for Lausanne, not completely knowing what the day had in store. Lausanne is a beautiful city on lake Geneva, just about 40 minutes north of Geneva. When Gabe and I first toured Switzerland, we immediately fell in love with Lausanne but it was too far to live from Geneva. I love the architecture and rolling hills. It has a similar feel to San Francisco, and our legs definitely got a work out exploring as well.

After climbing to the cathedral, we decided it was time for a lunch break. We stumbled upon Via Veneto right behind the cathedral and it turned out to be a great find. The owner was so open and welcoming and we also enjoyed chatting it up with the patrons next to us about Italy who shared their cheese plate with us. We all had plats du jour – everything was amazing, including the wine. When in Lausanne, we’d highly recommend this place.

After lunch, we strolled back down to the coast of Ouchy and enjoyed a drink on the deck of the Laclustre before boarding a boat for Evian, France. Yup, Evian, like the water. It is right on Lake Geneva, on the French side. The boat ride was quite nice and we split a bottle of wine and played games to pass the 30 minute journey.

We took a quick tour of the Evian “hall of information” but quickly found it to be quite boring, so we moved on to explore the town.

Highlights were a nutella crepe from the cafe and an interesting stop at the evian casino. I’ll let you wait for S’s post on that to explain the humor.

It turned out to be a really enjoyable day.

The coolest and scariest bar I’ve ever seen

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Post by Lauren

Before we left Gruyeres, Andreas suggested we stop into a bar he had seen on our walk in, the HR Giger Museum Bar. Now from the title, you may think, how scary can a museum bar be? Well, Giger was known for his creative work on Alien and won an Oscar. Apparently this bar was inspired by Jonah being in the belly of the whale. Check out the creativity…..the whole place was a magnificent work of art.

I love the one of Andreas and I doing a “double dragon”…our scariest move, from behind our skeletal stools.

For a more detailed look by professional photographers, check out this link or see this YouTube video: