My Week Long Holiday Trip to Northern Italy – Part 2

Being married for 25 years is no small feat, so to celebrate our love and togetherness we went to Italy in October. Our trip was basically to the Northern part of Italy. We visited Venice, Florence, Genoa, and Lake Garda – which my Italian friend said was a must visit.

Genoa

The coastal city of Genoa contains so  much beauty and cultural richness that the only challenge is figuring out what to visit. We checked into the hotel around 4. We were in Genoa only for one night so we asked the reception clerk for the nearest famous attraction. He circled a few places on the map and told us that XX September street was the closest. Then we went into our room to freshen up. The room looked very much like an Ikea bedroom with everything arranged in a compact but thoughtful way.

Since xx September street was a few blocks from our hotel, we walked. On the way we stopped at a café/bar for drink.  With our drinks came olives and torte salate. I didn’t know snacks were complimentary so I asked our server if they had any gluten free snacks. He didn’t speak any english and we barely knew any italian but he understood and asked “senza glutine?’ I said, “yes”. He spoke something else and came back with a plate of cooked meat pieces. He said what it was but I didn’t really understand.  I don’t eat pork or beef and I was not sure what meat it was but I ate a few pieces out of respect. It was not bad though.

Next we spent our evening strolling up and  down XX septembre. This is a long shopping street with covered sidewalks on both sides. It runs from the Giardini di Brignole, the garden in front of the Brignole Train Station all the way to the Piazza de Ferrari. There were also lots of majestic historical buildings down the street which you’ll not find anywhere else.

 

 

Half way through there was the Ponte Monumentale, an impressive arched bridge where the Corso Podesta crosses the Via XX Septembre. At the end of the street was the Piazza de Ferrari, a large beautiful square with a magnificent fountain. There were restaurants and cafes where you can sit and watch the people go by. I was excited to find a gluten free shop around there. This shop had a massive collection of gluten free and natural food items. The only issue was that other than the names, the labeling was done in italian. Still I bought bread flour, a cake and three snack bags for 13 euros, which I found pretty cheap compared to what I pay here. I wish I had had more space in my bag so I could have bought more stuff.

 

 

It was 8 PM and I was feeling hungry. We came for dinner at Kilts as suggested by our hotel. Again, this was walking distance from xx septembre street and on our way back to the hotel. The restaurant was really lovely inside with beautiful artwork hanging from the ceiling. Thank God the menu was in english because our hostess did not speak english either. I ordered a vegetarian Pizza. It was really good, No unnecessary cheese on top. It was the best I ever ate. Only Italians know how to make Pizza. Do you know, pizza in Italy is always eaten with a knife and fork. Though, I asked her to cut mine in wedges.

 

 

After we finished our pizza I wanted to eat the cake that I bought in our hotel  room. The question was how? We had no spoons or plates.  That’s where the Google translate app helped us. The hostess understood, laughed and brought us napkins and plastic spoons. Genoese are polite and friendly. They hardly speak english but they appreciate our attempts at Italian.

The complimentary breakfast at the hotel was good. It included fresh fruits, hard boiled eggs, individually packaged sliced meats, cheeses, and a basket of gluten-free goodies to choose from. I felt pretty safe from contamination with everything being pre-packaged.

After a good breakfast, we were ready to leave. We still had half a day to explore Genoa.  We went straight to Port antico. This is the old harbor of Genoa, located close to the actual harbour, and with quite a history. The most famous tourist attractions there were the biosphere, which is a mini ecosystem in a dome, and then the Aquarium of Genoa. This is the largest aquarium in Italy and the second largest in Europe,  We did not have enough time to see it nor was I interested. I have been to aquariums before at most places. Even, Vancouver has a nice aquarium with lots of different species of fish. So we passed this one.

 

 

As we walked around the harbor we found this 17th century Spanish Galileon among all the private yachts.  This was built in Tunisia for roman Polanski’s film ‘Pirates”. It was impressive from the outside but there wasn’t much to see on the inside. However, we enjoyed our exploration and got some good photos from every possible angle.  There was this multi-armed giant crane-like apparatus called “Bigo’ which provides panoramic views of the city. We did not do this, instead we took the glass lift to Eataly. Eataly is a combination of food & beverages store with a food court. It is located on the harbor at the 3rd floor of a building with a nice view over the seaside. You can buy wonderful Italian goodies in this store to enjoy for yourself or to take home as gifts from Italy. Eataly is a real experience, and has something for everyone.

When we were going back I was pleasantly surprised to see a life size bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi as a monument of peace.

 

 

Lake Garda

 Lake Garda is not only the largest lake in Italy, it’s a gorgeous place with lovely towns clinging to the edge and  large alps all around. We stayed in Bardolino, a small town situated on the south eastern side of Lake Garda. This lovely town is known for its wine which is very fresh, delicious and sparkly. On our way to the hotel we stopped at the olive oil museum. There was a limited parking but we found one nearby. The museum was small, but nice and interesting. Being a lover of all things food, I found the variety of oils and vinegars very tempting. There were lots of flavors to taste. My husband sensed my excitement that I might buy a bunch of products, so he took me out of the store because we didn’t have room in our suitcase to buy more eatables.

 

 

The hotel/ resort we booked was very beautiful with outdoor pools and a real feel of being surrounded by nature. It had a large garden with olive, palm, and citrus trees, with many other regional plants. On our first day we just wandered around Bardolino,  went along the lakeside path, admiring the beauty and stopped at one of the restaurant to enjoy Aperol Spritz.

Seeing so many olive groves on our way to lake Garda I wanted to see how olive oil was made. We looked up some tours and found them all to be booked.  If there was any spot available in the tour it was in German or French. October is olive harvest season, so all the mills were really busy. Finally, one place was ready to give us a tour and that too free of cost. The mill was in Verona, a 1 1/2 hour drive from our place.  I highly recommend doing a tour if you like olive oil and want to know the history of its origin and production. Book in advance as it fills up fast.

The restaurants and the little grocery shopping stores in Bardolino were great. I was not disappointed at all regarding gluten free options. In fact, there was more than I expected. Just next to our hotel was Lunico restaurant,  which was celiac friendly.  Our first dinner was at this restaurant. They greeted every customer with a glass of sparkling wine. What more could you ask for? The restaurant was very tastefully decorated with unique objects. There were bicycles, bird cages, and vintage things all around. Even some of the tables were made from treadle sewing machines which gave me some wonderful ideas to recycle some of the objects in my home. Looking at the menu, I ordered caprese salad as an appetizer and a turkey patty with a side of roasted potatoes as the entrée. My husband ordered pasta with cuttle fish. The meal was really big because the patty came out much bigger than I had expected. However, it was tasty, well made, and beautifully seasoned.

 

 

I was so full and wasn’t planning on eating more, but when the hostess mentioned Creme Brulee, chocolate cake, and Panna cotta as gluten free dessert options, how could I pass that up?  However, I was a little disappointed by the owner of the restaurant. I may be wrong but he seemed racist.  I saw him go to every table and talk to people in a friendly way but skipped over our table. I found this to be very disrespectful. I had to ignore this because the food at his restaurant was really good and the servers were very polite and sweet.

 

 

On our second day the weather wasn’t really that good. It was cold and raining. The breakfast in the hotel was a buffet with lots of choices, fresh fruits, salad, cakes, croissants, cereals, yogurts, cheeses, vegetable stir-fry, eggs, and breads various cold meats. There was also a juicer to make fresh juice. Gluten free goodies were kept separately.

After breakfast, we  drove to Sirmione, the touristy medieval town south of lake garda. Thankfully, the rain ceased and the sun fought to peak through the clouds. Sirmion’s main tourist attraction is the castle, Rocca Scaligera. The castle dates back to the 13th century. Surrounded by water on all four sides, the walls of the castle extend deep into lake Garda. It was well worth going inside, which we did as there were great views of Sirmione from quite high up. We walked on the walls and climbed to the top of the tall tower admiring the panoramic views.

 

 

After spending quite a while inside the castle we then entered the old town. It was full of narrow streets, boutiques, antique shops, coffee shops and restaurants. Sirmione has thermal springs and is a spa destination, but to be honest we did not bother checking out any of this as the hotel we were staying had thermal baths,a sauna, a Turkish bath and an Ayurvedic Centre, where personalized treatments were available. Food in Sirmione was excellent but a special mention has to go to La paul restaurant, where we had lunch. It was a gluten free heaven.

 

 

Lake Garda has so many exciting places to visit and enjoy that we were struggling to pick one over the rest. Having a car at such a place certainly has its advantages. You get the choice where to go, stop and it’s much quicker than taking the bus or ferry. Our next stop was Verona, so without wasting any time, we set off in our rented silver Mercedes.

 

 

Our sightseeing in Verona started with a visit to Castel vecchio Museum. The castle had amazing fortifications that you can walk on and view the courtyards from high up, as well as have great views of the medieval bridge. The museum was very interesting with a great insight to the history of Verona. It also houses many impressive sculptures, paintings, religious art, and old weapons. When we came out, there was a very heavy downpour of rain, enough to keep most people under cover. Fortunately, we had an umbrella and our car was parked very close on the street. We decided to go back.  Back at the hotel that night, we went to the spa, relaxed in the heated pools and enjoyed a hot oil massage in the Ayurveda center.

 

 

Next morning, we woke up at 7:30 am. It was late for us as we planned to leave Bardolino at 8:00. But anyways, we were out on the road at 9:00, heading for Malcesine. After arriving in Malcesine we went straight to the cable car as I have read the queues get longer as the day progresses. Fortunately for us there wasn’t a queue, we simply had to wait for the cable car to come back down the mountain. Halfway up the mountain you swap cable cars  to go high up or can get off there. Nobody in our cable car did and I wouldn’t recommend getting off. The second cable car rotates so everybody has the opportunity to view everything.

 

 

From the top we could see all the little towns and villages around the lake. It was a beautiful, clear day with a deep blue sky and not a cloud to be seen. I could not have wished for a better day. Clear weather meant the views of the mountains were absolutely breathtaking. We stayed up on the mountain for about 40 minutes. After descending down Monte Baldo we wandered around Malcesine for a bit and then toured the castle. There are a few castles built by the Scaligeri family dotted around the lakeside. They each have their own charm. You can buy a combined ticket for Monte Baldo and Malcesine Castle which will save you some money. It’s a beautiful castle in a stunning setting, definitely worth a visit. There was a wedding happening later in the day as it was getting set up as we explored. We finished off our trip at Malcesine with gelato.

 

 

We were scheduled to meet for our olive oil tour at 3:30 but we reached an hour before. We asked at the front desk if was any place nearby for lunch,  preferably  agriturismo. Agriturismo,  is an italian term for farm holiday. It’s about  experiencing rural Italian life. Many of these places offer cooking classes and some accommodate guests just for food (lunch and dinner). She called a few places, they closed for lunch at 2 or 2:30. Then,  she called one country restaurant, who were ready to wait for us. The reception girl was very sweet. She said that we should take our time to eat lunch and not rush. Even if we come back late, she will take us for the tour. We felt very welcomed.

 

 

The Villa was on a 10 minute drive from Bonamini mills. It was huge. No one was there when we reached.  We ordered Risotto and a tuna dish to share. When they found out I was gluten free the chef sent polenta squares with sliced meat as an appetizer. The food was quite mediocre taste-wise compared to what I had eaten so far.

 

 

We came back at the mill around 4:45 PM. Bonamini is a family owned organic olive oil mill that produces premium quality olive oil. Rebecca, granddaughter of the owner was our guide. She was not only fluent in English but was also knowledgeable, pleasant, and passionate. She gave us an hour long tour which was very informative. We were the only two people on the tour so we had a very personal tour. It was interesting learning about the process of growing olives and its processing procedures. We learnt that EVOO was  not treated with chemicals or altered by temperature.  She also showed an ancient olive mill and how it was processed years ago.  Once finished we sampled the different oils. It was eye opening, to know that unrefined evoo was actually bitter, has a true olive aroma (actually smelled like grass), and darker in color. As I said above, this mill only produces premium quality EVOO but apparently there were a few different kinds based upon the taste and type of olive harvested.

 

 

Afterwards we had time to browse their little shop and I purchase a box of olive oil (which they shipped) with 3 high quality unrefined extra virgin olive oils and 3 light olive oil for cooking and baking. The entire experience was just awesome.

Next morning we bid farewell to Bardolino and left for Venice. Our flight was from Venetia Airport. The week long vacation seemed to finish very fast but the time we spent together lead to lots of great memories forever.