Italy part III -- food and wine

It's no surprise to those who know us that a major draw of Italy is the food and wine. We had a great time exploring and trying new things. In Rome we happened to luck out one night. It was just around the time most restaurants open -- 7:30 -- and we were in an area not particularly known for good restaurants. But our guidebook listed a small, authentic restaurant (Colline Emiliane) nearby, so we popped in. There wasn't anyone else in the restaurant yet, but when we asked the owner said that he had one table left to give us. The place soon filled up, and we watched as countless people came in and were turned away. The food was great--simple and delicious--and we felt very lucky to have been the only non-reserved diners that evening.

Note the resemblance!

Another unique experience in Rome was the brunch near the Piazza del Popolo. It was warm enough (with a little help from the heaters) to sit outside, and the way the brunch worked was you filled up your plate and it was weighed. The basic charge covered a certain weight, and an extra charge was added per gram over the set weight. We did pretty good at coming in just a little over, and the wine was so good we went around the back to the small wine bar and had a couple more glasses. That was a great start to the sightseeing for the day!

Art or food?

In Florence, food is art, as we saw in many places ... meats, cheeses and bread displayed artfully and architecturally. The enotecas we lunched in offered not just ordinary meat platters but the opportunity to try four prosciutti from local pigs versus four from wild boar (Cinghiale). Cheeses are offered up with a variety of mustards and honey to highlight their flavors. Of course, this must all be enjoyed while sampling Tuscan wine varietals (such hard work!).

When in Florence, it's practically a law that meals must be followed with a cappuccino, vin santo (dessert wine) and some biscotti. Two hour lunches were, to quote Cole Porter, delightful, delicious, and de-lovely!

Art is not just for meat and cheese. These penguins were ready to march right into our mouths! These little guys were in a shop off the main square in Florence.

Statue of Bacchus on the Arno river

Florence is filled with a great selection of enotecas. The first we went to was connected to a Tuscan winery, and we had a nice waiter who helped us select from the appetizer plates, crostini and wines (Cantinetta del Verrazzano).

We found another great spot just over the river ... we stopped in for a late lunch one day and were greeted by the very friendly and enthusiastic owner. Again it was warm enough to sit outside and try the selection of local meats and cheeses (Le Volpi el'Uva). The guidebook described it as relaxed, mellow and welcoming -- a perfect description.

Another great lunch in Florence was in a deli-restaurant (Olio e Convivium, pictured above -- a bit blurry as we were trying not to use the flash). The small dining room was decorated with chalk boards of specials, walls of wine bottles, and all of the meats, cheeses, and olive oils were on display.

Pictured: Tuscan villas, view from winery

We didn't rent a car on this trip, but we wanted a chance to see some of the Tuscan countryside, so we decided on a half-day bus trip into the Chianti wine region. We were a little concerned about who would take the tour, but it turned out to be a good mix of young/old from a variety of English-speaking countries. Our destination was the Castello del Trebbio, a castle that is family owned (and lived in); they produce wine and olive oil.

Pictured: Castello del Trebbio

After a nice tour we had a wine and olive oil tasting. We sat next to a couple of American guys who were separated from the rest of their party. They were acting a little strange ... after drinking the wine one guy would say "this is fruity" and the other would say "no, I'm fruity" ... turns out they had been drinking and playing cards the night before, and this was their payment for a lost bet! We ended up running into them again a couple of days later, at the McDonald's at the train station. Guess you can take Americans out of America, but not vice-versa!

Pictured: We don't know why anyone would name a cafe for a spleen, but we really liked the americana playing on the tv!

Ciao (or Chow)!