Lund

Here we are in the motherland.  My great-great-grandparents came over from Sweden and my grandfather was 100% Swedish.

My mom and I arrived in Lund in the middle of the afternoon.  It just so happened to be a national holiday.  After arriving, we sat around our room with Lynn and had wine, crackers and local cheese.  Just as a side note, when we were driving over, we had to take the ferry from Germany to Denmark and then drive around Copenhagen to get to Sweden.  On the ferry going over, we noticed a lot of people had loaded (and I do mean loaded) up their cars with beer, wine and liquor.  My mom and I couldn't help but wonder why.  There were people walking around the ferry with cases of 40 cans of beer.  Backseats of cars were full up tot he top with beer and wine.  It was insane.  We were to learn why at dinner.

After our light snack, we headed into Lund to walk around and grab a bite to eat.  Lund is a beautiful little town to just wander through.  For dinner, we headed to Staket (pronounced Stake-it).  After heading down to the basement where they were seating people, we sat down and started to peruse the menu.  A few things came to mind- first off, instead of having just a meat dish and then having to order a side separately, you got a meat, starch and veggie in one go.  There is also more of a global aspect to their food.  At least here in Sweden, you can get a ligon berry hollandaise with your parsnip cheesecake.  For as much as I like Italian food, you just can't get something like that in Italy.

We ordered a bottle of wine and that's when it started to sink in why people were bringing so much booze back.  It's expensive.  Very expensive.  For a bottle of wine that you would pay $20 for, you were paying $40 or more.  So, when you come to Sweden, keep that one in mind.  If you have to have your Jack Daniels everyday, maybe get some at duty free on the way over.  You'll thank me later.

But, back to the food.  I opted for the fried pike perch with vegetables, ligon berry hollandaise and parsnip cheesecake.

The only way to describe it- fantastic.  Now, I have never had ligon berries.  I had no idea what to expect.  But that night, I fell in love with a berry.  They have a taste almost like cranberries- sweet and tart at the same time.  They go really well with fish and meat (beef, veal, pork and reindeer- more on that later).  The only thing on the plate that I wasn't a fan of was the cheesecake, and normally, I love parsnips.  But this, the texture was just weird.  It also didn't have much of a taste that I could discern.  The fish was moist and the vegetables were tender but not mush.  There were also potatoes hidden under there that were roasted perfectly.  

Lynn and my mom had the fondue.  The fondue was only served to two or more people in the basement during dinner.  They got beef for their meat and a bouillebase to cook their meat in.  It came with fried potatoes (not french fries) and several different dipping sauces.

Just so you know, I may have stolen some of their potatoes for my hollandaise, it was that good.     

Kassel, Germany

So after a drive through the Dolomites, my mom and I ended up in Kassel, Germany for the night.  Lynn, my mom and I ended up having so much stuff that Lynn had to rent a car and then fly from Milan to Stockholm after our stopover at Lake Como.  There, I said it.

By the time we got to Kassel, we were exhausted.  We got checked in and asked about a restaurant nearby.  After the woman at the front desk suggested Italian and we nixed that, she suggested a Spanish restaurant called El Erni.  We took the metro over there and had a quick walk.  I didn't know what to expect.  I was very happy with what we got.

We were shown into a room where all the tables had candles and white table clothes.  And the menu was blessedly lacking in Italian food.  Look, I love Italian food.  It's comforting.  But after six weeks, you just need some hardy German food (or in this case, Spanish).

We started with some Manchengo cheese.  They also brought out some warm bread with the cheese so that the it kind of melted on to the bread.

For my main, I got the turkey cutlet with cheese and a gravy sauce.  Now, I know it's not Spanish food.  But it was so darn good.  So good.  The turkey was moist, which can be hard to achieve with a cutlet.  The cheese was thick and melted and browned perfectly and the sauce was just plain good.  It was lick your plate good.  Sadly, we didn't do dessert, but we did have some glasses of house wine- two different Spanish wines.  Both were good, and no, I don't remember their names.  But, I find it difficult to go wrong with Spanish whites.  But, I assume that it can be done.  I'll let you know if that ever happens to me.

We caught the train back and got back to our room.  We were greeted with a little bag of gummi bears instead of chocolate on our pillows.  How nice and different.

I know that I haven't spoken much about breakfast here in Europe.  When we stay at hotels, for the most part, breakfast is included.  It's not a lavish affair by any means.  Fresh fruit, breads, cereal, yogurt, deli style meat and cheese, juices, coffee, tea and Nutella.  Lots of Nutella.  Maybe if you are lucky, you may stay at a place that has eggs and some bacon.  But the breakfast at the Ramada in Kassel was fit for a king.  They did charge us extra, but if you were starving, it is worth it.  Eggs, sausages, bacon, potatoes, cereals, yogurt, juices, coffee, tea, breads, cheeses, meats, veggies, fruit and more.  It was insane.

I wish I had more than 18 hours in Kassel.  It was a charming town that had a lot to do.  It is supposed to be the start of the German fairy tale road.

Lake Como

Sadly, we are almost out of Italy.  My mom came to stay with us for a bit and joined us for the drive up north to Sweden.  On our way, we did a stopover at Lake Como.  We stayed in Varenna for a few days and had a fantastic view of the lake and the forests.  So peaceful and beautiful.

We headed out for a peaceful dinner on the water the first night we were there.  We opted for the Olivedo Restaurant.  Let me start this out by saying that customer service isn't their strong suite.  When asked if we could have a drink before looking at the menu and maybe order some appetizers, we were told that we could have a drink but that we would have to order everything at once.  So, we opted for a drink and the owner took the menus away from us.  That kind of put us on our guard.  So, after our drinks, we got the menus back and were able to peruse them at our leisure.  After we ordered, the customer service seemed to improve.  I don't know why, but it did.

But please don't let that stop you from going.  Just know that you might want to hit a bar first before dinner here just in case you want to linger over drinks before dinning.

My mom and I both ordered little pancakes with sauteed radicchio and a local cheese.  I was thinking, literally, small pancakes.  Like bellinis.  Nope.  Once again, things get lost in translation.  It was a crepe covered in melted cheese and bechamel.

I loved it.  The cheese and the radicchio and the bechemel.  So good.  It was pipping hot when it got there and served out of the dish that it was cooked in.

For the main, I opted for the roasted chicken.  It was moist and very good.

Lynn had some fish that was topped with onions and very good from what I was told.  My mom opted for the salmon trout.  Everything was well prepared and very good.  It was well seasoned and served hot.  The setting didn't hurt either.

We shared two bottles of local wine that went really well with everything.

Thanks for being a hand model mom!

La Stella Marina

On our one full day on Elba, we headed into the main city of Portoferraio.  We walked around the water for a bit, then headed for a late lunch.  We opted for La Stella Marina, which is right on the water.  Now, don't let the location fool you.  Sure, it is in a ferry terminal parking lot, but the food was fresh and amazing.  We headed there since we had heard that they had really good lobster.  They did.

I started with the shellfish risotto.  It was creamy and full of chunks of different shellfish.  There was some shrimp in there, maybe bits of lobster.  The risotto itself was well cooked with a tomato background so that if you didn't get a bite of the shellfish, you wouldn't know that it was a shellfish risotto.  Lynn opted for the raw seafood platter.  I am not exaggerating when I say that the platter was as big as the table.  It had some tuna tartar, shrimp and some local fish.  Then came the main course.  

Freshly grilled Elba lobster.  Lynn and I split one.  All it was served with was roasted potatoes and a mayo sauce for dipping.  No lemon or butter here.  It didn't need it.  The lobster was sweet and had a great smokey taste from the grill.  It was cooked perfectly.

We paired the meal with a local wine from Elba-a white wine.

It was crisp and light.  It went perfectly with the meal.

My view is better than yours at lunch

Late lunch of a salad and beer at the Villa Ottone on Elba.

San Gimignano, Italy

Let me tell you about the night when I ate way to much food.

It all started at Ristorante Dorando, in San Gimignano, Italy.  We were only there for a brief stopover before heading off to Elba.  We had spent the night before in Lucca, and were really debating on whether we wanted to spend more time in Lucca or what we really wanted to do.  Somehow, we ended up in San Gimignano.  We never could pronounce it and it wasn't until we asked, did we learn how.

After a full day of sightseeing and me walking up and down the same hill several times, we made reservations at Ristorante Dorando.  We were the first people there when they opened for service since eating a late dinner isn't really our thing.  We were lead into a bricked room that looked like it had served as some sort of vault for something in days gone by.

We started our meal with an amuse bouche.  It was a a small roasted tomato with a mustard vinaigrette, ricotta cheese and a pepperoni mouse.  It was very good.

  

After that, we ordered our appetizers.  Lynn got a rabbit stuffed ravioli and I opted for a vegetable cannelloni.

I had thought that the cannelloni was going to be more pasta-style.  However, it was a spring roll.  It was good, but not what was expected.  The sauce and the small salad was good.  The pasta that Lynn ordered was better.  Again, I was expecting a square ravioli, but was surprised.  It was topped with Parmesan cheese triangles.  The rabbit was ground and very tender.  The sauce that was served with it complemented it perfectly.

We of course had a bottle of wine with our meal, and I can't continue without mentioning it.

It was a white wine that went perfectly with the meal.  Again, it was a local wine.  The San Gimignano whites are very well known in the area, and are better than the reds.

I opted for pork with a homemade applesauce puree for my entree.  The pork was moist and tender.  It was also well seasoned.  I have to admit something here.  I have never been one to eat pork with applesauce.  In fact, overall, I am not a fan of the stuff.  But this has changed my mind.  The puree tasted of fresh apples and was smooth, not grainy.  And of course, it went well with the pork.  The pork was also served with a bean puree and fresh roasted vegetables.  The bean puree was mouthwatering.  I know that it was a white bean that was used along with some rosemary, but beyond that, I have no clue what was in it.  It drives me nuts to this day.  The beans were that good.  The vegetables were good- nothing to write home about.  It was simple root veggies that were well-seasoned and roasted.

Lynn had guinea fowl with a sausage and mustard grain stuffing.  It was served with fresh baby spinach.  She assured me that it was very good.  Now, normally, at this part of our meal- after we have eaten a starter and an entree, we would either get dessert at the restaurant or go home.  Keep in mind, we also have had a bottle of wine between us and a glass of champagne before the meal started.  So, we get dessert.  But, have I forgotten to mention that the World Gelato Champions for 2007-2010 happen to be in San Gimignano?  Yes, I did forget to mention that.  So, now it's a dilemma.  Do we split a dessert and get a scoop of award winning gelato?  Or, do we each get a dessert and then have gelato for breakfast (they open at 10am)?

We each get dessert of course.  I opted for the chocolate cookies with a white chocolate mousse and a cherry sauce.  Lynn gets the ginger apple pie.  Both were fantastic and amazing.  And both were also enough to make us full.  Like the, go home and go to bed full after Thanksgiving dinner.  After our dessert, we sat there, relaxed and then headed off back to our hotel. 

But wait, the gelato.

Did we get some that night?  Or the next morning?  Well, since I started out by saying that this was the day I ate way to much, we of course got some that night.  Was it world champion?  Yes and no.  They certainly do make a nice gelato.  However, I liked the one in Florence better.  But, if you can't make it to Florence, or you are just a gelato lover at heart, this gelato is up there.

So finally, after eating way to much, we made it to bed.  Thankfully, they didn't leave chocolates on the pillows.

    

Florence

All hail one of the greatest art cities in the world!

Look, Ma!!  I'm in artwork!

Anyway, we spent three days in Florence.  That's enough time to see the main things there- David, Caravaggio and TONS of the Masters.  And you want to pass out every night from exhaustion.  If not, I recommend a slightly longer time frame to see and enjoy Florence.

The first day we got there, we headed to our hotel and then out to the Academia to see David.  That's right- the huge, perfect guy made out of stone.  We got there and saw that the line was insane.  Thankfully, for 4 euros more a person, you can book a timed entry.  Which we did.  We also got tickets for the Uffizi at the same time- timed entrance as well for 4 euros more a person.  Then, we set off for lunch.  We ended up eating at what Lynn called a truck stop.  Overpriced food that was just ok for what it was.  It was near the Academia since we were seeing David soon after.

After the Academia, we headed out for Mass at the Duomo.  Thankfully, that killed two birds with one stone- Mass and seeing the Duomo, thus avoiding the huge lines.  After Mass, we headed to the Duomo Museum.  There were some beautiful pieces there.  Thankfully, it wasn't that crowded.  Ok, there wasn't a person there at all.  Then it was time for drinks and then bed.

The next day involved a trip to the Uffizi and lunch at Ristorante Paoli.  

Sorry, no pictures of the food this time around.  I started with the Asparagus Risotto.  That was a disappointing choice.  It was regular rice with asparagus in it and maybe a bit of stock and butter.  It wasn't what I was expecting.  For my main course, I had the Medici chicken.  It was cooked in a cream sauce with mushrooms.  It was served with peas that were heated through with Italian olive oil.  The peas, while it seems strange to say, were overcooked, but so good.  So fresh and full of flavor.  We just had some house wine to go along with it.  

After a late lunch, we continued on our way.  We ended our day with some of the best gelato that Italy has to offer.  Vivoli.  It was amazing.  Amazing I tell you!  

Just as a quick word of warning, places that put themselves right on the square of major cities often times have high prices and so-so food.  Now, I know this might not be the case for every restaurant out there, but just be aware.  Places in Europe are good at putting their menus out front with the prices posted so you can gauge what it will cost to eat.

After gelato, we were soaked through, so we headed back.  On our last day in Florence, we headed out for a bit more sightseeing and then ate lunch at the smallest place I have ever been in.  Trattoria le Mossacce.  The place only seats 43 people and if you are a party of two, you can expect to have other people sat at your table.  You can see the kitchen and watch them work.  I opted for some cannelloni and then roasted chicken.  We had glasses of Chianti wine- you know the kind that come in bottles that have wicker on the bottom that poor college students use as candle holders.  It was actually really good wine.  I might not suggest running down to Spec's and getting a bottle of it though.  The cannelloni was good.  It needed more meat sauce on top to make it really tasty.  I had maybe a quarter cup.  The chicken was so good.  It can be difficult to get a moist breast and fully cooked thigh and leg.  However, they managed to do it.  I had half of a small chicken.  The half of chicken that I had could have been used as one breast in the U.S. Yes, I'm looking at you, giant, steroid breast of chicken that is never moist.

Like I said, it is a small restaurant but it is so full of life.  People coming and going.  The chefs and waiters knew some of the people there and knew exactly what they wanted.  It was fantastic!

Sadly, after lunch, it was time to head on to Lucca and San Gimignano.  I can tell you that it took us several days to pronounce that one (San Gimignano, not Lucca).  More later.  

Gubbio

On yet another day trip from Preci, we headed two hours away to Gubbio, a fantastic medieval town that is actually the best preserved one in Italy.  We arrived just in time for lunch and to find out that there was a festival going on.  We eventually found a place to park and headed into the town center.  After walking for a bit, we headed for the nearest restaurant.  That happened to be Taverna del Lupo.

The wine was fantastic.  I opted for the four cheese ravioli as my starter.  It was good.  It wasn't the best, but it was good and filling.  For my main, I had the beef with balsamic vinegar.  It was good as well.  This time the beef was served warm.  It was a little chewy, but otherwise good.

I think what made it a nice meal was the atmosphere.  We were able to sit outside in the shade.  There were large groups of friends and family that were out having lunch and enjoying the festival.  They were laughing, talking, singing and just in general enjoying life.    

The festival is called the Corso dei Ceri.  Three different groups get together and, for all intents and purposes, run around the town with statues of Saints.  It starts at 6 am and ends with a huge feast in the early evening.  Thankfully we missed the 6 am start up and were going to miss the large feast at the end.  However, every group has their different colors and everyone in town was wearing one of the three variations- yellow and red, blue and red and black and red.  Everyone wears white pants or skirts with it.  I could have blended in had I known.  I was wearing a blue dress and my legs are white enough to look like white pants.  All I needed was a red bandanna.  

After lunch, we took the cable car up to the top of the hill and had a fantastic view and then made our way back down.  We walked through the city, ate some gelato and decided it was time to head.  We made this decision since it seemed that they were gearing back up to start the festival again after taking a break for lunch.

All in all, I really enjoyed the day in Gubbio.  The sun was out and people were out just enjoying life.  I like that about a town.

  

Spoleto- Ristorante Apollinare

On a day trip from Preci, we headed out to Spoleto.  Spoleto was a 45 minute drive and worth it.  It's a beautiful town.  We decided to eat at Ristorante Apollinare which is right across the street from the archaeology museum in town.  At the restaurant, we started with a bottle of wine and a salad with fresh strawberries and a fondue.  The fondue was really a piece of cheese that was wrapped in phyllo dough and fried.

The salad was fantastic- hazelnuts, an apple vinaigrette and fresh fruit- strawberries and peaches.  So fresh and tasty.  The wine of course was local and very good.  The cheese was very tasty (of course), but I forgot the get a picture of it.  For our main courses, I got pork with wine poached pears and Lynn had lamb.

The pork had crispy little bits from the fat.  It was moist and so good.  The pear and it's sauce were a great pairing with the pork.  Lynn's lamb was very good as well, although I never tried it (I was informed that it was very good).

It was a good restaurant, but it was expensive.  There weren't that many people there (we were one of two tables).  Our waiter reminded me of Gary Oldman.  I wish I had gotten a picture of him.    

  

What I've Been Drinking Wednesday

So, I know that I may have been remiss in posting about the wines that we have been drinking here.  The following photos were not taken in one night and instead show several nights worth.  All the wines have been local wines and very tasty.

In case you can't tell...this is the aftermath.

Preci- Hotel Agli Scacchi

Our closest restaurant in Preci was the Agli Scacchi located at the Hotel Agli Scacchi.  It's a nice little place with space outside and inside as well.  However, if the weather is nice, most people are going to sit outside.  We have eaten there three times, which is the most we have eaten at one place since being in Italy.  Maybe it's out of convenience or maybe it's because it's home cooking at it's simplest.

The first meal we ate there was lunch on a beautiful Sunday.  The outdoor seating has views of the surrounding hills and the hotel, which is from the 1500s.  The hotel was the villa for the famous surgeons of Preci.  The surgeons were well known for their removal of cataracts and gall stones.  They traveled all over the world and worked on Queen Elizabeth I, among others.

Anyway, they have a large selection of dishes that have truffles.  Like I have stated before, there are truffles everywhere in Umbria.  You can't go somewhere without having options with truffles.  They also have an interesting fish here, salmon trout.  Salmon trout is pink in color (like salmon), but does taste like trout.  Lynn really enjoys the salmon trout.  When Bill and Jan were in town, after a day of sightseeing, we headed there for dinner.  We had an extra dinning companion that evening as we sat out on the terrace.

He is only four months old.  And as you can see, adorable.  But I digress, back to the food and wine.

We started off with a bottle of rose wine.

For starters, I got the orichette with a four cheese sauce and truffles.  So very tasty.  The truffles didn't overpower the dish.  They did add a nice earthy flavor to it.  Jan got the artichoke lasagna.  It had a good flavor, but it wasn't as good as the asparagus lasagna that I had earlier in Orvieto.  They served local Preci cheese to top off the pasta dish as needed.  The cheese, while strong in scent, adds a great flavor to the pasta.

For the main courses, Bill and Lynn got the salmon trout (of course).  I think Lynn was going to get something different, but then at the last minute changed her mind and stuck with her usual.  Jan opted for the veal with a truffle sauce since Lynn and Bill got the last of the salmon trout.  I decided for the vegetarian platter.  Sometimes, you just have to eat your veggies.

All of the food was very well prepared and very tasty.  Well seasoned and the setting is what adds to it.  The owner/operator knew us by the end of our stay and I think that says something.