Italian Adventure 2012- Overview of the Adventure

8 days in Italy- what an amazing adventure!

Before I went on this trip, I had really high expectations. I tried not to, as usually that leads to disappointment, but I really lucked out here. Despite the rain and cold weather, the amount of time we spent in the car, and the money I spent (wayyy more than planned), this trip was completely worth it!

The Food

I love Italian food. Even before I knew I was eating foods that were Italian, I loved them. Pasta and cheese are my favorite foods (seriously, ask my mom), and combined, they are pure bliss. Add in some bread and meat, and I am in heaven. Perfect, because that is what most Italian dishes are! 

Spaghetti Carbonara 

 I tried to learn a bit of Italian before my trip, but one area I forgot to think about was the food. So while I can easily discern the ravioli from the lasagna, most of the dishes on the menus were entirely unknown to me! No worries though, everything I tried was scrumptious.

So much pasta! And the colors! Yay!

 Now, we all know that pizza is not originally Italian. And I bet you have heard that the locals never order pizza in Italy, only the tourists. Well, that is mostly true, but not always. See, most places have these small square pizzas that are more of a snack than a meal, and everyone eats those. A full sized pizza? I think I only saw one person order one in a restaurant the whole time we were there. There are plenty of pizzerias around, though, and I think that while originally, they started selling pizzas to bring in tourists, now there are a commonly eaten thing.

Carpaccio= raw meat. Not for the faint of heart (or weak of stomach).

The Italian restaurants are wonderful, because you can be as brave as you want, and order something you do not know the translation of, or be safe and order the basics.  Either way, I never felt any judgement from the waiters when I pronounced a name wrong, or one of the group ordered the boring spaghetti and meatballs.

The Wine

I love wine. No, I am not an alcoholic. Yes, I am healthy. If you disagree with my drinking alcohol, skip the next section. 

"Wine is the drink of the gods"

A wine named Sarah? Obviously Amazing!

 One of the first things that springs to people's minds when they hear the word Italy is wine. And holy-moly, it is everywhere! I cannot even fathom a guess of how many glasses of wine are imbibed in a day in this country. The cheapest bottle I saw was 1.72 Euros (about $2.50), but most bottles were around the five Euro mark.

Order "just a drink" and you always get snacks. Usually potato chips.

 Now, as I said, I love wine, but I am by no means a connoisseur, or a snob. I usually buy one of the cheapest bottles the store has. I know, I know "ewww". But as I have stated before in my blog, I am a very cheap person. Personally, I cannot enjoy something if I have spent a lot of money on it, and cannot get continued pleasure out of it (meaning food and drinks- the are great for awhile, but then they are gone forever). That being said, I have had some wonderful wines that were very cheap, and some just so-so wines that are expensive.

Nothing like sitting in the Piazza, enjoying  a chilled glass!

The best thing about the Italian wines? The selection! Usually when you go to a restaurant in the US or UK, they have only a few choices of varieties, but many different brands. For example, the white wines they have may only be Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. But what about Soave? Moscato? Frascati? When I go to a restaurant in the US, my way of ordering wine is saying "the house white, please".  In Italy, it was very pleasurable to sit and discuss the merits of each variety, and decide which would go best with the meal. In one week I tried more varieties of wine than I had in my whole life! (Ok, not whole life.. In the 4 years I have been legally allowed to drink).

Oh man, I could definitely do with one of these!

When I say I love wine, I am not talking about the tipsy feeling that comes from it (though that is quite nice), or how it helps lull me to sleep (even though technically, it should make you more awake). What I love is the feeling of adulthood that I get when I order in a restaurant, the sophistication I feel when taking my first sip, and the merriment that ensues at the table as everyone delights in their dinner and drink. Wine, you complete me.

The Coffee

Another area Italy excels in, much to my everlasting appreciation, is coffee. If wine is what makes my evenings complete, then it is coffee that is the backbone of my mornings. 

Now, I never drink more coffee than when I am visiting my mother. The woman needs an I.V., seriously. She'll make me some coffee, and before I can finish it, she'll bring me another with a "It's cold! You need fresh!".  

In the 4 months I have been in England, I have lived on instant coffee. This time the "eww" is understood and deserved. I've had some good stuff, sure, but it is nothing compared to a fresh brewed cup. We don't have a coffee pot though, and yeah, I am too cheap to buy one. Plus, I love that my coffee is finished in less than a minute.

My Italian vacation was made even better by the readily available freshly made artisan coffee. At home, I absent-mindedly sip away while working, so the flavor is not that important. But when you have a view of one of the most beautiful places on the planet? Now that is a time to stop, and revel in the taste.

Can't beat this, a cappuccino, and that view!

And the coffee was great! It's the pure, real stuff, nothing like the "Starbucks Skinny Mochalatte, 2 shots, and whipped creme on top" stuff. It's coffee flavored, and it is strong. The supermarket around the corner from our apartment was more of the size of a convenience store, had only the most basic of provisions, but it had a coffee bar. 90 cents for an espresso. What a great way to start the mornings!

Getting the kick we need to explore Venice!

The People

Italy as a country is known for those things I have mentioned above. But the people are world-renowned for their hospitality. Taking strangers into their homes, feeding them until they might pop, treating everyone like family.

While I have no doubt this exists, I did not see it on my trip. Because of the weather, we rarely saw people in our little town of Pieve. In the bigger cities, it was the same story- only tourists go out to brave the weather. My man's brother had a good experience with this when they took a day trip to visit the other side of Lake Garda, apparently being force fed brandy and not being allowed to leave a tiny family cafe.

Now, I am not saying the hospitality was bad, by any means! Everyone we met was very nice. Between my 4 years of French, a little Spanish, and the other girl on the trip's native Romanian, we were able to surpass most language barriers. Sometimes, though, we  just couldn't do it- this never caused a problem though. People were patient, helpful, and always kind. I guess having that much coffee and wine around makes people more friendly on a basic level!

The Travel

The only unenjoyable part of our trip was the excessive travel we did between areas we were visiting. It was nice getting out, and exploring places, yes. But being far from things meant that we had less time to enjoy places when we got there. I think in total we spent no more than 7 hours in Venice- not enough by any means! When you are staying 3 hours away, though, you do not have much of a choice. If I were to do this trip again (and I hope I do!!) or give advice to anyone else, it would be to think about staying the night if you are visiting somewhere a few hours away. You can't truly enjoy a place if you have to make sure you are leaving by a certain time, or you are worried about the drive back.

All in all, Italy was phenomenal. It is a place everyone should strive to visit in their lives. And hit me up if you are looking for a travel buddy- I'd love to go again!

Other blog posts about my Italian Vacation:
Milan
Lake Garda
Verona