Wine Tasting in Piedmont

What a fantastic weekend! The wine tasting was my favorite trip so far in Italy. We met so many great people and tried some delicious wines. We were in the Piedmont region, specifically in Novara. Our first stop was the Rovellotti Winery. We tried a white wine, two reds and a dessert wine. They were all delicious! My favorite was the white. We also had bread, salami and cheese with the wine. And risotto. Oh.My.Goodness. The risotto was absolutely delicious! It is definitely the best thing I have eaten in Italy and one of the best things I have consumed throughout my life. Our second winery was Castaldi Francesca. The woman who owned, appropriately named Francesca, the winery is part of the whole process. She works with her product from the grape to the bottled vino. We also had snacks and tried a white, two reds and a dessert. Her wines were also quite tasty.

Our tour guide was really awesome. Her name was Elena. She was a funny little Italian lady and told us all about the area. We also had a man, Paolo, join us to discuss all of the wines. But Elena never really let him get a word in, so he was basically just a cool old guy trying some wines with us. He rode a motorcycle, so I asked him for a quick ride up and down the street. It was pretty fun. Paolo sat next to me in the first winery, so I was actually able to hear what he had to say about the wines. It was fun to get a connoisseur's opinion on the wines and taste the subtleties he noticed in the wines. It was a learning experience and helped me to gain a greater appreciation for wine. I'm just so excited that my first wine tasting was in Italy.

sLOVEnia 02/18/12-02/20/12

Our weekend in Slovenia was great! We visited Ljubljana and Bled. Both of the cities were fantastic. Ljubljana was covered in graffiti, and chunks of wall were peeling off the buildings, but the seeming decay of the city only lent to its charm. And the graffiti is better labeled street art. I was so impressed with the amazing pictures that were painted throughout the city. Ljubljana was such a relaxing area and a cute little city. We didn't do much besides walk around and hang out in our hostel. But we did visit the castle. It was a stark contrast to the city. The whole thing was renovated and updated... it was more art gallery than fortress. I was a little disappointed with the castle, but at least it was something different from the many castles that stand in Europe. Our hostel, Hostel Celica, was so fabulous! It was everything a hostel should be... colorful, inviting and had an awesome story. It was once a jail and was going to be demolished, but was saved and converted into a hostel slash art gallery. The area surrounding it was covered in graffiti/street art and had an artsy vibe. Plus the 3 euro breakfast was extensive and delicious. I really enjoyed the whole experience.
On our way home we stopped in Bled for a few hours. The area is known for its lake, castle and church. It was a picturesque spot. The frozen lake was set against snow-covered trees among the rolling hills. An island sat in the middle of the lake with a church on it. We were hoping to walk to the church, but the day before we got there the weather warmed up and the lake melted a bit. Sadly we weren't able to make the trek, but we did venture on the lake. It was exhilarating, and I was nervous I was going to fall in. But thankfully I made it out dry! We ended our time in Bled by trying some desserts... it's another famous aspect of the area. And for good reason! The apple strudel, raspberry strudel and Bled cake were all delicious! It was a great trip.

Carnevale, Venezia, Italia 02/11/12

Carnevale was so much fun! It was freezing cold, but a really good time. On our way in to the city, our faces adorned with masks, we ran into Vito, a little, old man we met on the train our first weekend in Italy! It was so random. I saw him and thought he looked familiar, and then it hit me-- he was the awesome man from the train! We reminded him who we were, and he instantly lit up. It was really hilarious. He fell in love with me and gave me a sweet mask (pictured above). Good times.
After our run in, we headed deeper into Venice and started to see more evidence of Carnevale. People lined the streets, and the closer we got to San Marco's Basilica and Square, the more faces were hidden behind ornate masks. It was really a beautiful celebration. Several people also had other costumes on... we saw some Kinder Eggs (loved it!). Apparently Carnevale is similar to Halloween for Italians.
We spent most of our time hanging out in the square, but we also meandered through the city a bit. We saw (and crossed) the famous Rialto Bridge and stopped in for a glass of Preseco at a little restaurant. It was a really fun trip filled with several hilarious moments. Unfortunately it was so cold that we had to call it a night pretty early. But still an awesome experience.

Interlaken, Switzerland 02/04/12-02/05/12

This weekend I went to Interlaken, Switzerland. It was incredibly gorgeous and very cold. Both days were below 20 degrees Fahrenheit! Saturday we left from Vicenza at 6 a.m. and didn't arrive at our hostel until 6 p.m. It was a long day of traveling, but the view along the way was incredible. The Alps are so breathtaking. We stayed at Heidi Hostel, which is run by Bailey and her daughter, Esther. Bailey was a sweet, old lady. She spoke German, French and Italian! The hostel reminded me of an old packrat's home with a myriad of rugs lining the hallway and pictures of random men and nature scenery decorating the walls. It was so quaint! We stayed in a mixed dorm with three Korean men. They were all really nice and taught me a few phrases in Korean.
We all went out to dinner and had some tasty Swiss cheese fondue at the restaurant of the Hotel Bahnhof. The restaurant was out of the 70s with green, brown and orange shag carpet decorated lamps. We headed down the street to Bebbi's Restaurant for our delicious dessert of chocolate fondue. It was served with apples, bananas, marshmallows and strawberries. It was sooooo good! And the restaurant owner, Bebbi, gave us another free pot of chocolate fondue! Bebbi was quite a character, and I'm pretty sure he was a body builder for a short stint. He waltzed around the restaurant singing random songs and brushing elbows with the patrons. He also played one of the Swiss mountain horns, and let me take a shot at it when I went to get a picture with it. It was so fun, and I belted out a few good notes right away! The whole restaurant applauded, and I ended with a bow. We ended the night by grabbing a drink at a nearby bar. We all tried the Rugen Brau lager bier, a brew created in Interlaken. It was pretty good, but very light... Nothing like the hearty flavor of German beers.
Sunday we just trekked around the snow-covered city and stopped in a few stores to warm up. I felt like my nose was going to freeze and break off, because it was so cold outside! We met Barbara, a woman who worked at a pastry/chocolate shop, and purchased several treats from her. She was cute and very helpful. The ride home was only 7 hours, which was a huge improvement from the ride there. It was a relaxing trip and extremely beautiful. I hope to return one day, preferably during the summer, when I have more money so I can do some extreme sport adventures!