Italy, part 2: Where the Red Wine is Bubbly and the Vinegar Tastes Lovely

Bologna | Modena | Susa
18-20 September

Continuing our journey northbound, we stopped briefly in Bologna to dotter along uneven alleys bracketed with sunset-plastered apartments.

I found some tasty rice milk-based gelatos from Gelateria Stephino Biologico – nougat, almond and hazelnut, and dark chocolate cherry!

Once we found our accommodation for the night just outside Modena, we were greeted by a characterful man who regaled us with information about a local wine called Lambrusco (it is sparkling, but uniquely red rather than white). He generously gave us a free bottle, and apologised that it had no label! For dinner we went to a little osteria on the outskirts of the city and shared a bottle of Lambrusco, which was delightfully refreshing and sweet.

The following day we entered Modena proper, strolling about a bit and then parting ways for lunch.

Though I usually don’t opt for sandwiches (as I have the unpopular opinion of preferring bread and filling to be separate), I got a burger from a small vegetarian café. (Some may also say that believing a burger is a sandwich is also an unpopular opinion.)

We couldn’t pass up a balsamic vinegar tasting, as of course Modena is the source, the DOP! As well as savouring the flavours, we learned much of traditional balsamic vinegar production, such as that the grapes used are Trebbiano or Lambrusco. Traditional balsamic vinegar is much thicker and more syrupy than aceto balsamic, and even Yannick liked the samplings when he usually has a rich distaste for vinegar.

He especially enjoyed the white balsamic vinegar, which is made by cooking the grapes at a lower heat to retain the pale colour and has a less intense flavour.

Before resuming our car trip we dropped by Gelateria Bloom and I got peach, strawberry, and pear sorbet. Lonely Planet states this may be the best gelateria in the city. Though it would mean having to sample all the other gelaterias, I would be willing to undertake this important research.

We drove swiftly and far (in part through the Barbaresco wine region where this photo was taken), needing to be back in Paris to return the car on a short time frame.

The next afternoon we parked at the town of Susa and after exploring a little we tried the local speciality, which is a sweet type of focaccia bread. We conducted a whirlwind tour of the town and its historical sites, many of which date back to the medieval times.

There was also a smattering of Roman ruins next to a reconstructed archway – Arco D’Augusto – dating from 9BC. Apparently there’s a well nearby which was used by Druids, as this area was heavily Celtic before being overtaken by the Romans. That evening we crossed the border into France and settled in a campsite on the outskirts of Vienne.

Italy, part 1: On A Sticky Hunt (Oh Bring Us a Figgy Prodding)

Serramonacesca
14-15 September 2017

We had decided to settle in at Kokopelli Camping for a couple of days to recover from the long ferry ride from Patras. The campsite was on the outskirts of Serramonacesca, a small town two hours due east from Rome.

A lazy cat strolled around the camping, stopping occasionally to nap in the sun or mewl for attention. Fig trees dotted the site, and before this I’d never liked figs but they were so ripe and delicious that I went hunting every last one that hadn’t gone to the bugs first.

For picnic supplies we visited the centre of Serramonacesca and there was an affectionate dog accepting pats. The lady who ran the place joked that we could take the dog with us, but that was a lot of responsibility.

That night I slept for nearly twelve hours and awoke refreshed. The temperature was glorious (a bit more mild than the scorching Greek days we had been used to) so I spent some time outside on the picnic mat under the shade of an olive tree. It was lovely to stare up at the sky through the branches. And clouds! I hadn’t seen any of those in weeks! No joke! Greek summers have a distinct lack of clouds.

In the afternoon Yannick and I went for a walk down to the river. The terrain was rough and by the time we made it back to the camping I was quite exhausted. I’m glad we went because it was beautiful and tranquil. Yannick even took a quick dip by the waterfall which was mind-boggling as it was freezing. There was also a nice wooden bridge, and an abbey back on the main road where a wedding was taking place and we felt out of place amongst all the Italians in chic grey suits.

On the way back I undertook a bit of an impromptu wild fig hunt. You see, I had eaten the remaining good figs from the tree at the camping so I tried to find more. It was semi successful, though I had to use a stick sometimes to acquire the best looking figs.

We then rested for a while at the camping before heading off to dinner at Ristorante Villa dei Monaci, which overlooked the valley and the abbey!

Orvieto
16 September

Having fallen in love with Orvieto the last time we visited Italy, we decided to pop back on our way north.

The town hadn’t changed much, its narrow medieval streets and shuttered houses as charming as always.

We breezed through it, stopping only for a few photos and some necessary gelato before being on our way again.

We settled in at an agritourismo called Podere il Casale that has stood out in our memories as one of the most special places. After pitching our tents we assembled for dinner and amazingly they had drastically increased the number of vegan dishes they served since last time. The amuse-bouche was a poppy seed cracker with vegan mayonnaise and caramelised pumpkin, followed by my main of this beautiful plate of veggies, lentils and nut loaf with a delicious red pepper sauce. For dessert I had an apple, blueberry and coconut foam creation and I shared a dessert wine with Yannick.

Montepulciano
17 September

We were staying another night at the agritourismo, but decided to take a day trip to Montepulciano for lunch.

The others enjoyed a charcuterie-based sandwich with wine and then we took off winding our way up the cobbled streets to the hilltop.

Instead of indulging in the renowned vino nobile wine as we had on our last trip here, I opted for some sorbet.

With the sun lowering over the Tuscan hills, we returned to the agritourismo and awaited dinner.

When we entered, our table wasn’t quite ready yet (there was a cooking class that ran over time) so they gave us a complimentary glass of wine which we sipped on the terrace. It was chilly out but they gave us blankets!

Once seated we were given an amuse-bouche of poppyseed crackers, vegan curry mayonnaise, and pickled carrots. This was very tasty even though it sounds odd! We all shared two starters: melon gazpacho and panzanella (a bread and tomato salad). For my main I had delightful chickpea pasta with aubergine sauce and rosemary breadcrumbs.

We were then given a second amuse-bouche – this time a sweet one of marinated peach, grated cacao and a peach reduction. For dessert I got the apple blueberry dessert again. So yum!

Today’s post was almost called: My Bouche is Most Amused

Kos and Athens: Let Us Kos, For These Are the Salad Days

Kos | Athens
9-12 September 2017

With only a couple full days left on Kos island, we made sure to visit plenty of archaeological sites.

On the morning of the 9th we headed straight for the Casa Romana, a Roman villa built in the late 3rd century AD in the style of Pompeiian houses.

It had been constructed over foundations of an earlier Greek house, and featured stunning mosaics in several rooms. Many of the walls had been reconstructed for visitors to get a feel for how the villa would have looked centuries ago.

We next wandered around the Asklepion, which is one of the most well-known sites on the island.

It dates from around 400BC and allegedly was founded by Hippocrates, a physician from the island who is a historical figure in the field of medicine, coining the Hippocratic Oath (“first, do no harm”, et cetera). The name derives from Asclepius, the Greek god of healing.

The site was huge and contained three tiers, including the ruins of temples, a hospital (with thermal pools used for hydrotherapy), and a medical school.

We had managed to enter while the place was not too crowded, allowing us to explore at our leisure (this was cut short only by the sweltering sun). What remained was very ruined: mostly foundations and a few pillars were dotted about and we could spot designs in the scattered stones.

After returning to our accommodation to nap, we went in search of a beach. We drove to the south coast and found a sandy strip to sunbathe. On the way back home we listened to songs via Turkish radio.

To acquire a bit of shade and fill our bellies, we enjoyed a Turkish meal at a restaurant called Hasan. The hummus and imam were amazing. For dessert they gave us an odd cake that was sort of crumbly and ice cream-like. Kos is one of the closest Greek islands to Turkey, and we did consider taking a ferry over for a day or two, but eventually decided to spend our limited remaining time on Kos instead of faffing about on boats for only a few hours excursion.

That afternoon we went for an exploratory drive and happened across a vineyard. Surprisingly they offered a free tasting of six wines with no obligation to buy. Nevertheless, we liked them so much that we did end up purchasing a red and a dessert wine. The lady working there was nice and let us meander around the winery’s factory area. We then zipped around the north coast which had several touristy towns (with many English tourists) next to a seemingly endless expanse of beach.

That evening we sipped on a rosé in the dying light.

In the morning we drove to Kos town to see the ancient agora. It was also a large site, but this one had not much left, except some foundations and a couple of mosaics. There was a well with a tree that was supposedly sat under by Hippocrates and his students.

An earthquake had toppled a sad little pagoda and the church was crumbling from remaining damage.

Next on the agenda was Agios Theologos on the west side of the island. We discovered a tiny cove next to the main strip of beach and had to wade really far out in order to swim. I caught a piggyback ride in order to be able to brave the cold. When we swam back the shallows felt so warm we convalesced in them for a while.

Further along was Agios Stephanos, a beach with ruins of an old temple by the sea and a cute island just off the coast.

It felt quite unique to see such a common thing as bathers (and children having tantrums) right next to, and even drying their towels on, such an historic site.

It was very popular and we had already spent much time beaching ourselves that day, so we didn’t stay long.

Dinner was at our local taverna, and included fava, tabbouleh, and fries. I bravely tried a tsipouro (un-aged brandy) and suppressed coughs well. Lovely live music was on that night – locals with guitars. There was a small rowdy dog pattering about who would howl every now and again.

On our last day there we returned to the village of Zia for lunch at Dikeos, then strolled the waterfront in Kos town before our ferry out.

Along the waterfront by a church we saw many stray kittens and cats. When night fell we ordered cocktails at a bar (mine came with a sparkler). Once we had settled into our cabin in the ferry, we ate a ramshackle dinner in our bunk beds.

Having slept relatively soundly, we disembarked at Athens and visited the city. Fabienne and Christophe went to the Acropolis and Acropolis museum while we headed more central and printed off our New Zealand general election voting papers.

We tarried over drinks at a bar while we waited for the others to join us, then feasted at a taverna that we had visited years before and was an old favourite.
Fabienne had a late flight out so we returned to the car to give her a lift to the airport. I plonked right down into the backseat and noticed that there were some weird bits of glass under me. Our car had been broken into! They had taken a suitcase full of Christophe’s nice clothes but luckily everything else was safely at our accommodation. Once we dropped Fabienne off we had a late night running around trying to find police to report it to, but they were all closed.

In the morning we awoke early to submit a report to the tourist police. We got the window patched at a Peugeot dealership but they did a terrible job so we bought duct tape and fixed it up ourselves for the drive to Patras. We caught another ferry (full of loud snorers) over to Italy for the next leg of our journey.