Eating and drinking around Italy(and beyond) : part 3

Our next stop is Lake Como and the very shabby Camping Europa in Menaggio. We overlook a lot because of the ideal location right on the water and a 10 minute walk into town. One day we catch a ferry to Bellagio but mostly we enjoy long lunches sitting at the oustside cafes watching the world go by.  Here is something I wrote while sitting at Osteria il Pozzo:
 "Today Neil and I had a fabulous meal at a local restaurant in Menaggio, Lake Como, with fabulous fresh local food and homemade pasta. We washed it down with a bottle of local Lombardy white wine.Whilst there we watched some of the tourists, particularly a small group with an elderly Italian guide. He had obviously​ chosen the restaurant for its local faire and must have been eager to show his guests a non touristy lunch. He began by explaining the menu and the fact that Italians eat 4 courses. ( antipasta,primi,secondi and dessert) Explaining each one. His guests were definitely NOT going to embrace anything new! Where's the pizza? they demanded. We want to eat pizza in Italy. In the end they settled begrudgingly for the pasta, didn't even try to enjoy it, quibbled over the bill and left the poor tour guide sitting there to finish his meal alone so they could go off and ? Look at the shops? Take selfies? Buy pizza? Then they will give both him and the restaurant a bad review on Tripadvisor! That's why I hate Tripadvisor. ( Never trust it! ) and why I could never be a tour guide!"
Returning to the  Menaggio Golf Club 10 years after a memorable party there with Tracey was a very good idea. The food was as excellent as we remembered but we missed George again!

The Aosta Valley is a very pretty Alpine area on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc Tunnel. At Hotel Du Luc we had a local specialty;duck breast wrapped in panacetta and cooked in straw with pine cones. We went to Switzerland via Annecy for the Montreax Jazz Festival. Our campsite in the little town of Cully was wonderfully located right on Lake Geneva and a short walk to the station or ferry stop for the ride into Montreax. The Lavaux wine region here is a world heritage site due to the ancient vines terraced up the steep hillsides. But the famous Smoke on the Water Jazz Festival was very disappointing. The Swiss just don't have enough soul for jazz. Everything is just too stiff and too clinical and too expensive... they are a nationality unable to let their hair down. Money can't buy you luuuuv...

Montreax Jazz fest

Lavaux vineyards

Montreax on Lake Geneva

At least we had a weekend to party with the Boones in Magden...
En route back to Munich, we spent a few days in Alsalce at Camping des Trois Chateaux in Eguisheim. Our meal at A La Ville de Nancy was so good we went back the next day.
Once in Munich, we met up with Larry and Jean for a whirlwind few days, tasting all the Munich brews at all the iconic beer halls and gardens. We had time for all the favourites - Rugby at Killians, Ribs from Rusticana, Monday special at Paros, half a chicken and a mas at the Chinese Tower, with obadz and pretzels and catching up with everyone.

Eguisheim

Hofbrau Haus

By the18 July, we were on the way to the to the airport... heading for South Africa in the middle of winter!

Venice is for lovers..of Art

We drive to Venice and another of our favourite campsites, Camping Serinissima. It's still super hot and we are tortured by the sight of a new, sparkling pool just metres from our vans but not yet open because they are finishing the paving and laying lawn. Armed with our 72 hour travel cards, we take the bus to Piazzale de Roma and hop on the vaparetto ( water bus ) to Rialto Bridge. After a wander around the streets and a drink or 2, we make it over to Cannaregio, the quieter 'island' of main Venice and far less touristy, for dinner in the garden courtyard at Trattoria Misericordia. The next day, being Saturday, we are up early and make it in to town to The Irish Pub ( very original name ) near Ca d' Oro to watch rugby. NZ vs The British Lions. By coincidence Dion, Alex and Luc are also in Venice and we meet them in the pub.
The big reason for coming to Venice is the Bienale, the Art Olympics so to speak. In the Giardini section different countries each have their own Pavilions showing off their art. Most of these are massive installations, some good, so wierd, some uninspiring.

In the late afternoon we hot foot it back to The Irish Pub for more rugby; SA vs France. Another win for the Bokke! After the game we have a great dinner at Alex and Dion's apartment.

The next day we are up and off again, this time to see the new Damian Hirst exhibition, Treasures of the Wreck of the Unbelievable, spread over 2 venues. The exhibition took 10 years and 50 million pounds to create and it is truly unbelievable. In shear size and scope, in complexity, in concept. What is real and what is not? What is true and what is imagined? In the afternoon we trek to the Arsenale section of the Bienale and we find very little to rave about. Perhaps it's not fair to see this after the Hirst spectacular but we are supposedly seeing the best contemporary art in the world? If you hang wool from the ceiling or pile old clothes on the floor, I'm sorry but you haven't tried hard enough! And the South African exhibit? A grainy video of a guy lying in a Zoo Lake rowing boat? Really? Venice is always beautiful at dusk, especially if you are sitting at a street cafe with a Campari Spritz watching the world go by. Venice is incredibly touristy these days but if you stay away from St.Marco as much as possible it's great. On Monday morning we head to the island of Murano by boat and visit our best kept secret for lunch; Osteria LaPerla. Local food, local diners, local prices.We manage to squeeze in more art at David Lachapelle's new exhibition before a final party at Il Paradiso Perduto; more local food and an Italian Jazz Band.

Cannareggio

Treasures of the Wreck of the Unbelievable - too extensive to capture in photos!

Eating and drinking around Italy: part 2

The annual Illumina Festival was happening in Pisa so that's the next stop. Tourist dodging is required here but the leaning tower is nevertheless always an amazing sight. All along the river Arno, the buildings have been covered in wooden frames, ready to hold thousands of candles. In the afternoon there are cranes all along both sides of the river as hundreds of volunteers light special tea lights and place them in the frames.

People started to gather early and after our dinner we emerged into a swarm of people heading towards the river. It's a spectacle of light with a massive street party but it was really too crowded to enjoy so we ducked out early.

Pisa

1000's of candles along the river Arno

The next stop was Lucca, one of my favourite Tuscan towns but it's too hot to really enjoy it...still we managed to find a bar to watch Rugby; Springboks Vs France and have dinner in our favourite place; Antica Locanda dell' Angelo.

By the 18th we were in Sienna, which has a marvelous campsite with a great pool. Sienna is another great Tuscan town. We did a day trip to Montelchino, to enjoy the wines and the Tuscan vistas. Back in Sienna we had dinner at Zest, downing local wines with a beautiful view of the Duomo as the sun was setting.

Sienna

view from Zest

The holygrail

The next stop was Florence and the heat was unrelenting. We ate great steak Florentine at Natalino and finished off the evening with live music and cocktails at the Off The Hook bar. Florence is very touristy, so it's worth avoiding Piazza del Duomo and Ponte Vecchio bridge, to find the slightly off the beaten path places. We did the Uffuzi anyway and to duck out of the heat afterwards I can highly recommend Osteria Al Antico Vinaio on Via Del Neri for a platter of meat and cheeses, washed down with wine.

crowds in Florence

Venus for real in Uffuzi

Half a day in Bologna en route to Venice was our next stop.

Tour of the anatomical theatre at the university dating back to 1088 ✓

Camparis and crisps at a street cafe on Piazza Maggiore✓

Drinks in the Mercado di Mezzo✓

Amarone tasting at Enoteca Osteria✓

Dinner at Trattoria Annamaria✓

Drinks at La Stanza; trendy bar in a converted church✓

After Venice we did a night in Verona which was not that touristy, except for the Romeo and Juliet balcony. En route we stopped in Soave, famous for the Italian white wine of the same name and had an excellent lunch at Enoteca IL Dragon.

In Verona I highly recommend Antica Bodega Vini for a drink. They have 40 different Amarone wines for sale by the glass. And then a highlight...Dave treated us to dinner at Il Dreco and a bottle of Biondi Sante!