and now...to Italy.

Two things. One, on an entirely unrelated note, for those of you who may not have tried it just yet, I you all to know that apricot rosemary ice cream is seriously delicious. Mmmmmmm, Mövenpick. You must have some when you come visit.

Two, I have, to my great shame, done a terrible job in remembering what we ate in Italy. I have to apologize profusely: I firmly believe that Italian food, whatever region it's from, is some of the BEST FOOD OUT THERE, and I will do it no justice here.

And now...to Italy. One of the things I love most about living in central Europe is that we can be in four different countries in just a few hours, and so, a few weeks ago, Mike, Jen, Dave, and I rented a car and drove south, through the Gotthard tunnel and into northern Italy (in about 3 hours!). We were headed little Varenna, on the eastern shore of Lake Como. I've ever had We got a bit of a late start and realized a little too late that we were going to have to take a ferry across the lake, but we were lucky enough to catch the last ferry from Menaggio and found dinner at Ristorante del Sole, the only place still open in a town that small at 11:00 at night. They weren't the best pizzas we'd ever had, but they were certainly better than no pizzas. The next day--beautiful, sunny, WARM, unlike our last visit!--we got up and had some fantastic espresso at the only actual coffee shop in Varenna, meandered around town a little bit, and caught another ferry over to Bellagio. FULL of tourists, but not as bad as I imagine it is now! Had lunch at Trattoria S. Giacomo, and it was quite lovely. (We all split a cheese/salumi plate and a green salad with parmesan; Mike had spaghetti bolognese, Jen had ricotta ravioli in a butter sage sauce, I can't remember what Dave had, and I had fresh lake trout with salad. YUM.) Strolled through Bellagio, had some gelato, saw some ducklings, bought some truly fantastic wine, then headed back to Varenna for snacks on our hotel's terrace (a little prosecco and the best spicy salami and goat cheese I've ever had, with a little prosciutto on the side). Finally, dinner at Osteria Quattro Pass, and here's where my utter inability to remember the food kicks in. Sadly, and unfortunately for everyone, 'cause this place puts on a good meal. (We ate there last fall when we first found Varenna, and had to go back. SO good.) What I do remember is that Mike and Dave had this amazing lobster pasta, each with an entire half lobster, and that I had ricotta ravioli with some sort of super mild lake fish in it, in a cream sauce. I suspect Jen may have had lasagna. I had panna cotta for dessert, and then Mike and Dave ordered espresso, which they served with these tiny little fresh-baked homemade double-chocolate-chip shortbread cookies. WOW. Unbelievably tasty. Jen told the waiter that we loved them, and he brought us more. WHAT A FANTASTIC MEAL. Too bad I can't remember anything else about it! (Note to self: must start writing these things down.) Anyway. Had more delicious coffee the next morning, then drove back home over the Gotthard Pass, where we stopped, took some pictures, and ate more salami picante, prosciutto, goat cheese, and some other cheese I don't remember. Tasty, anyhow.

To the photos!

Varenna, from our hotel's terrace.

The terrace.

Looking south from Varenna.

Church on the main square in Varenna.

Yessssssssss.

Bellagio, from the ferry.

Bellagio is purty.

Bellagio.

More Bellagio.

Lake Como.

Strolling through Varenna.

The "do not panic" instructions in the lifts up to our hotel rooms. We were WAY above the lake. I, personally, am not a fan of rickety old "inclinators" that take one way up the side of a mountain and come with instructions on what to do should said inclinator get stuck, hanging out over the side of said mountain, with the potential to go crashing back down at any second. But that's just me. 

View from one of the hotels in Varenna.

Nearing St. Gotthard Pass.

A rare moment in which I allow myself to be photographed.

At the top of the pass.

Lunch on the pass. BEST. GOAT CHEESE. EVER. (Note Dave's trusty Swiss Army knife, as well.)

So. St. Gotthard was also apparently used as a fort and had these weird little buildings scattered up the side of the mountain. Mike and Dave were compelled to go and check this one out.

Very sneakily camouflaged door into the mountain.

Lovely, lovely trip. I can't wait to take the bike back down there and ride through all of the little villages along the lakes. Italy is awesome, Europe is awesome, the bike is awesome, etc., etc.  :)

What I'm reading: finished up Water for Elephants...meh. I don't see what all the fuss was about. The portrayal of life in a traveling circus during the Depression Era was somewhat interesting, but the love story was formulaic and predictable at best, and not terribly well developed. Blahhhh. Also finished In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson and completely, utterly LOVED it. It's sort of a travelogue/history book, and just a fascinating description of his road trips around Australia. What I love about this book is his absolute and unbridled glee at discovering all sorts of strange little bits of history and natural wonders, and his pure enthusiasm for the country and its people. This is not to say that it's an imbalanced portrait, merely that he loves the place, and makes me want to go there and love it as well. I highly recommend this book: hilarious, interesting, and a really good read. Next up: I think I'm going to stick with nonfiction and read The Monuments Men, about Allied soldiers attempting to recover art stolen by the Nazis during WWII. Is it my fault that it's hard to find good fiction these days? I submit that it is not.

And next time: the Black Forest and Germany.  :)