We’re Back!

You know how much I love a good road trip, and Europe offers some of the best.

A few weeks ago G and I hopped in our SUV (they pronounce it “soove” over here) and headed for the border.

First stop: Strasbourg, France

From there it was off to Stuttgart, Germany.

Essentially, Stuttgart served as a pit stop on our way to Munich, Germany.

Fourth Stop: Innsbruck, Austria.

Innsbruck was very nice, but nothing prepared me for the love affair I experienced with Zurich, Switzerland.

Although it was not easy to leave the comfort of my new found city, it was off to Rome for New Year.

I am grateful to the Via Michelin maps pictured here and their written directions. When our GPS failed to detect our location – and that happened a lot on this trip – our trusty Michelin directions saved the day.

Much has happened since my last post. G was transferred to the Milan office, so we moved to the big city. Yeah! (In the process, I lost my access to the internet for approximately ten days. Well, I didn’t actually “lose” my connection. Instead, I refused to pay 18 Euros a day for it.) As many of you know, we lived in Milan for a short while back in 2008, so the city feels very much like a second home for us and it was easy to establish a routine here.

Stay tuned. In upcoming days ‘ll post more specifics about the many destinations I mentioned here and bring you up to speed on our time in Milan.

Arrivederci!

 

 

My Daily Bread

As with my pasta, whenever I’m in Italy I buy my breads from a local baker.

My favorite shop – and the one I believe is the best in town – is conveniently located at the bottom of the hill.

I use the shop’s location as an excuse to walk down then up the hill. (Remember, we’re in the Alps.) And thus, I use the walk to justify the consumption of my indulgent purchases when I get home.

In addition to the usual selection, there are plenty of holiday goodies to choose from.

Recently, I purchased a fresh-baked panettone from the shop and was grateful they came in two sizes: the standard size we’re all accustomed to seeing in colorful boxes in stores this time of year, and a smaller, more manageable size for the two of us. As you might imagine, store bought panettones pale in comparison to a freshly baked one.

There’s even a nice selection of pre-made pastas. Not that I plan to stop visiting Pastissima anytime soon. But it’s nice to know I have options.

Here in Biella, many food artisans are celebrated for using traditional recipes and methods of preparation. They intentionally forgo modern methods and updated recipes to the delight of those of us who appreciate the tried and true. The result is more often than not, an unparalleled sensory delight.

Arrivederci!

 

 

This is Pasta

In Italy, you can buy dry pasta at any supermarket. I prefer to buy my pasta fresh, once or twice a week, from my local pasta shop: Pastissima.

Pastissima has many different pastas to choose from, including integrali, or whole wheat.

The pasta is made fresh daily.

In some cases, like when I wanted a larger quantity than what was readily available in the case – they’ll make the pasta for you on the spot. 

The dough was put through the machine.and within seconds, out came the freshest pasta I’ve ever had the pleasure to purchase.

Admittedly, I purchased more pasta than I needed, but who could resist?

Later that evening, the pasta served as the centerpiece of our evening meal.

But not for long.

Arrivederci!

 

 

I’ll Drink to That

Although wine is still king, artisanal beers are making inroads in Italy.

Biella is home to the world famous Menabrea 1846 Birra,  the flagship beer of Italy’s oldest brewery.

Established in Biella in 1846, the brewery is still run by the founding family, and is today the country’s only fully Italian-owned brewery.

The beer is additive free and brewed using bottom fermentation, a slow fermentation process that uses spring water from the Alps. The beer is then matured underground for a month in cellars carved out of the rock beneath the brewery. Unlike mass produced beers, no water is later added to standardize the beer’s alcohol content.

Menabrea 1846 has won numerous international awards including the Gold Medal Award at the London International Exhibition in 1925. At the Chicago International Beer Championships, the beer took the top prize in 1997, 1998, and then again in 2000.

Then the other day, on our dining room table, the beer – and the brewery’s delicious pizza – were awarded our seal of approval in 2012.

Arrivederci!

 

Culture Club

Recently, G and I attended a small cultural event inside the historical, Teatro Sociale.

You may remember the Teatro Sociale from an earlier post. The wonderful Caffè del Teatro, with it’s awe inspiring cioccolata calda and homemade brioches, is located inside.

Naturally, there is the main concert hall.

But there are smaller rooms, like this one, that afford the locals less formal events.

On this particular occasion, we enjoyed a classical music performance featuring a violinist and pianist. The program and performance was top-notch and included selections by Veracini, Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Bartok.

As you can see, the room was filled with rapt listeners.

The musicianship was outstanding and the musicians were gracious. Here, Antonella De Vinco, the pianist, thanks the audience for supporting the arts in these difficult financial times.

Both Ghigi and De Vinco’s graciousness extended well past the performance, when they so kindly agreed to let me take this photo. I’m sure they were exhausted and anxious to get changed and relaxed, but they sweetly agreed to the photo and thanked me for my interest.

Arrivederci!

 

 

 

 

 

Give a Man a Fish and He Eats – Ristorante da Giovanni

Ristorante da Giovanni is so unassuming we’d missed it all these weeks, despite the fact it is next door to our favorite pizza joint!

The restaurant specializes in pesce – fish.

But first there is bread, always bread.

Our antipasti: gamberi con verdure. The “verdure” was artichoke. Buonissimo!

It was difficult to stop in time for this final shot before the dish disappeared, but my desire to share this experience with you outweighed my lustful gluttony!

Originally, we’d hoped to avoid eating more pasta. Hence, the choice of a fish restaurant. Clearly, our attempt was misguided.

Seems neither of us possesses the resolve necessary to “just say no,” especially when spaghetti alle vongole veraci (spaghetti with clams – a personal favorite) is on offer.

As many of you know, pasta is typically served as a first-course in Italy. The idea is that you order a meat or fish for your second course. Many Italians still eat this way and it is very common to order this way in restaurants. Unfortunately, G and I are usually too full to order a secondi piatti. But the table next to us…

Giovanni himself brings out the ordered fish, separates it from the bone, and divvies it up for the table. Note to self: leave room for a secondi next time.

The atmosphere in the restaurant is relaxed and friendly. No doubt, this is due to Giovanni’s easy manner with his patrons. Gestures like patting you – the men – on the back and asking you what you’d like, in addition to prepping your fish for you at the table himself, lend an easy air to the entire dining experience.

At Ristorante da Giovanni, G and I watched with envy as everyone else in the room enjoyed an antipasti, primi piatti, secondi piatti and a sorbetto afterwards! For now, it is all we can do to drink wine, eat bread, pasta and cheese, while we live vicariously through the careful consumption of the tables around us.

Arrivederci!

 

 

 

 

Horsing Around in Italy

Some proof that what we eat is arbitrary and culturally informed.

These are two examples of several in this town. Macelleria is Italian for butcher and equina needs no translation. For those of you in denial, the illustration next to the word equina in the first photo is a dead give away.

Suddenly, a salad seems even more appetizing. No?

Arrivederci!

The Warmest Gelato in Town

In Italy, I find that there are varying degrees of very good gelato wherever you go. Even so, the gelato at Biella Gelato e Caffè manages to surpass them all. In a word, it is EXCELLENT.

There are so many wonderful flavors and concoctions to choose from. (Pistachio is my personal favorite.)

And if you manage to resist the temptations of the gelato case and menu, then the gelato cakes’ case is sure to ensnare you.

But the sweetest offerings at this gelateria are not found in its creamy mounds displayed behind glass.

Without doubt, the sweetest offerings at this gelateria are the warm, friendly smiles of Chiara and Gabry.

G and I visit Biella Gelato e Caffè almost every night before closing. The pair is always hard at work (for they both work very, very hard) prepping the shop for the next day’s business. (The shop serves breakfast in the morning.) Yet, they never seem the least bit perturbed by the interruption. Nor do they make us feel self conscious about our late arrival.

Instead, from the moment we walk through the door they greet us with a friendly manner that seems to suggest they’ve been anxiously awaiting our arrival. They’re even kind enough to suffer my poor Italian language skills as I ask for my usual cono al pistacchio. (Although, probably not for much longer, as I recently discovered that Chiara has a very good handle on the English language, so I’ll probably chat her up that way from now on.)

The main thing I’d like to leave you all with is this: as wonderful an experience as it is to live in Italy for six months and eat gelato on a nightly basis, the opportunity does not come without its challenges, namely loneliness and isolation (and some weight gain), especially when you’ve left so many loved ones behind in the States. It is a struggle I do not want to diminish. But people like Chiara and Gabry make the struggle much more manageable simply by being the lovely young people they are.

Arrivederci!

Hardware all’Italiana

G and I stepped into this hardware store the other day and were overwhelmed by how packed with merchandise the place is.

I’m afraid these photos don’t do the subject justice. I hope you can see that it is impossible to walk up or down the aisles.

I’m not sure how the employees or customers keep track of the goods available for sale.

As far as I could tell, a customer walks up to the counter and an employee searches for the desired merchandise. This is a total guess, as I saw plenty of people walk up to the counter but I never saw anyone – employee or customer – rummage through the goods.

I asked the proprietress, before snapping these photos, if she minded my taking the pics. Naturally, she was a little suspicious why anyone would want photos of the interior of a hardware store. I explained to her that I wanted to show my friends back home some of the typical shops in my neighborhood. She happily told me to snap away.

As I took the photos I commented to her that she had an incredible amount of stuff in the store, very typical of the United States where there is always plenty on offer at any shop. This made her VERY HAPPY. In fact, she quickly pointed out that hers is the only shop she knows of in all of Biella to offer her customers so much selection. According to her, other stores in Italy don’t offer their customers nearly as much selection, to which I concurred.

I then thanked her for the hospitality and walked out of the store into the fresh air, sunshine and space.

Arrivederci!

My Kind of Grocery Store

I give you Gastronomia Mosca, the best food store in town and it’s conveniently located (for me) at the bottom of the hill.

As soon as you walk through the front door you are greeted by an elegant display of the most delectable selections in every category.

The cheese case above is a favorite of mine.

The dairy case – the smallest case in the shop – has a nice selection of locally produced butters. But if you prefer your butter from a place like Normandy, that is available by weight at the cheese counter.

I’m tempted to pop into the shop on a daily basis as part of my rounds. It’s contents promise so many delights I have yet to discover. And they even take my American Express card, something many merchants in Italy do not do. Alas, I try hard to limit my visits as the shop is a little pricier than the local grocery store.  So, the only way I’ve found to avoid the temptations of Mosca is to practice a little abstinence.

Arrivederci!