The day we arrived in Positano we were pretty bummed… it was pouring rain and in Positano – a peaceful old town built into cliffs of the southern coast of Amalfi – there’s absolutely nothing to do when it rains. We grabbed some dinner and discussed all the different possibilities for that leg of the trip – cut it short and head to Rome? Stick it out and hope it gets better? Use the rain as an excuse to do nothing but drink wine and play backgammon?
We opted for the latter and tried to make the best of Positano in hopes that the weather improves… and it did! The next day we went on an amazing hike which had us ascending the many flights of stairs around town until we were at the top half of the cliffs, above the town line. Now we were only about a third of the way up… we still needed to climb the ‘Path of the Gods’ until we reached the summit. We even passed by several groups of Positano rescue workers doing their drills – propelling, rock climbing, etc. The view from the top was stunning and definitely worth the breathless climb. But now came the hard part… the descent down steep rocky path and countless set of stairs (my knees are still in crumbly shambles). Needless to say the next day we took it easy with a little R&R and backgammon on the beach J
Generally, the food in town was pretty good… especially if you like seafood or pizza because that’s all they have – our favorite was the Neapolitan pizza at Saraceno D’Oro and the spaghetti w/ cuttlefish ink at Chez Black. I was really looking forward to trying the Zuppa di Pesce that seemed to be a regional specialty as it was on almost every menu… we got a chance to try it on our last night there on our 2nd visit to Chez Black. Both Alan and I thought it was absolutely delicious and enjoyed our evening… unfortunately there must’ve been one bad egg among the shellfish because Alan has been battling with a bout of food poisoning ever since.
On the plus side, we’re in Rome now in a very comfortable B&B in Trastevere and feel very much at home here… so it’s a nice and pleasant place for Alan to recover.
Last time we were in Florence was the hottest June in recorded history (for Florentines that’s a very long time). Needless to say we didn’t enjoy it the first time so (after some encouragement from Florence fans) we decided to give it another go…
Since we did much of the air-conditioned sightseeing on our previous visit (duomo, Ufizi, etc) we decided to take it easy and give ourselves a break from itineraries, and relax a little by playing backgammon, enjoying the food and wine, and taking in the Tuscan atmosphere.
My top 5 favorite Florence memories:
5) Hitting the local bars for apertivo (Italy’s version of happy hour but w/ free food!) and sipping on Campari or Spumante... for dessert: chocolate and hazelnut gelato!!!
4) Hilltop picnic of cheese and wine at the mountaintop San Miniato Almonte with a stunning view of Florence and surrounding Tuscan hills
3) The affordable and AMAZING Mercato Centrale! Specifically, scarfing down the best panini of prosciutto, pecorino, sun dried tomatoes, and hot chili tapenade on crunchy ciabatta roll…and sipping deliciously strong espresso right at the bar!
2) Playing backgammon on the daisy-dominated grass at the hilltop Fort di Belvedere, with a stunning view of an old castle.
1) Castello di Verrazzano in Chianti – Including: a tour of the mountain-top castle/villa & winery, wine tasting, and a mutli-course meal of…
--antipasti of homemade salamis, prosciutto, sopersetta; bread & house-pressed olive oil
--pasta e fagioli
--pasta pomodoro
--wild boar ribs and sausages w/ a side of Tuscan white beans
--slightly soft pecorino cheese w/ this pretty amazing pink pepper jam
--nugget of Parmigiano-Reggiano w/ homemade/aged balsamic (which was so good I wanted to drink it out of a bottle but sorry kids, not bringing this balsamic home -- it retails at a whopping 48 Euros)
--scrumptious almond biscotti with Vin Santo (dessert wine);followed by café & grappa
Each course was thoughtfully paired with a different wine – from Chianti Classico to Super Tuscan (and everything in between)… all the grapes, olives, and wild boars were grown onsite (for over a millennium)… and everything was pressed, aged, bottled, or slaughtered right there at the castle as well.
Big thanks to Josh and Ellie for recommending Verrazzano… best of luck with the upcoming wedding – it will no doubt be fantastic!
We considered cancelling our 2-night stop in Salzberg since a rain storm was expected but we decided to move ahead with it anyway. The picturesque Austrian town nestled in the foothills of the Alps (whose claim to fame is Mozart and the Sound of Music) merits at least a brief glance – rain or shine.
Despite the occasional downpour, we managed to see a good bit of the town including the famous mountaintop fortress Hohensalzburg, one of the biggest and oldest castles in Europe. Some of the main takeaways from Salzberg – the baroque architecture and cobble stone streets are so cute you can’t stop taking photos, the town is the cleanest I’ve seen in my lifetime, they put Mozart’s face on everything from bon bons to umbrellas, and every time you glance at the surrounding landscape you start humming the tune to “the hills are a live with the sound of music.”
What do we do when it rains? Eat and drink beer of course! The food was surprisingly pretty good – we even went to the same restaurant two nights in a row, something we foodies don’t typically do. Highlights include the veal sausage and huge salads at Alter Fauchs and the delectable broth soup with cheese dumplings at Pitterkeller. Can you tell we were trying to avoid more pork? I think I might go kosher… oh wait, there’s prosciutto in Italy… never mind.
We began our stay in Budapest amidst a series of construction caused calamities. Finding the Metro at the train station was tricky as the usual passage ways were closed. When we finally made it to our stop, we encountered the same issue trying to get out of the Metro and to our hotel… the whole ordeal was about as fun as trying to work through a jigsaw puzzle with a missing piece. We eventually made it and checked-in only to find ourselves in the usual post-train ride situation: STARVING!
After our ritualistic procedure of sifting through several sources to find the best restaurant to suit out mood, we settled on the classic Hungarian establishment, Karpatia. What we expected to be a pub-style restaurant turned out to be an old grand dining room with beautifully painted vaulted ceilings along with a formal, attentive yet friendly staff. The meal was classic Hungarian: Goulash soup, stuffed peppers and stuffed cabbage. Although nothing was particularly original, all the dishes were very well prepared and filled our aching stomachs nicely.
The real highlight of the meal (and this leg of the trip) for me was the wine. Prior to the Soviet occupation Hungary was a world power-house when it came to wine quality. This went down the tubes with the Communist takeover (which helped accelerate the wine industries of both California and Australia). But the bad “Reds” are gone and the good reds are back (HA)!!
This is seriously good stuff and the real gold is in the Tokaji Aszú. This version of dessert wine, which in my opinion really gives Sauterne a run for its money, is ranked based on the number of puttonyos - 3 to 6 – which indicate its level of sweetness. It’s the stuff I fell in love with when I worked behind the bar at Aqua in SF, and have had great difficultly finding in any of the stores. Well now I’ve got two bottles bitches!!! Let me tell you people, I am a real cheapie when it comes to buying stuff to bring home, but I had no issues pulling out the gold card for Tokaji.
As for Budapest, it’s a beautiful big city which is surprisingly much more cosmopolitan than Prague. And because Hungary was once occupied by Turkey during the height of the Ottoman Empire, Budapest is also famous for its array of old Turkish bath houses. Amy and I checked out Rudas late last Friday night – this place has been around for centuries and while renovated and clean, still keeps its cool old stone interior which includes 5 pools of different temps, fountain-like spouts, and domed ceiling. While it stays open and kicking till 4am, we called it quits by midnight to avoid further pruning. The Magyars that bathe all night must have a tougher skin.
Thanks Alan for contributing this post.
