That’s right…102! I had no idea that I had put out over 100 blog articles until I counted them this week. I’ve really been a bit chatty, haven’t I?!

I have enjoyed every minute in the production of these articles, mostly about my favorite place — Italy. ‘Why do you do this?’, you ask. Because I want you to be stimulated through my writing and photos to visit Italy yourself. And, as an added benefit, I get to travel voyeuristically along the way as I write and go through photos from great times gone by.

“I absolutely love doing this, and I certainly hope that you enjoy my blog articles, and that you find them helpful in some way”

Italy is a place with beautiful scenery highlighted by mountains, plains, coastlines and lakes…a prolific history of art and culture (I know that you’ve heard of Michelangelo and the Roman Empire)…vineyards and their wineries producing the world’s best wines, like Brunello…authentic (it has to be, right?) Italian food…and a loving, smiling, happy people.

Today, I thought I would give you of my ‘Top 10’ articles. I’ve categorized them into ‘Visiting a Particular Place’, ‘Experiences We’ve Enjoyed’ {that you would, too), and ‘Helpful Travel Tips”. These are my favorites because of memories of the times and places involved, be they humorous, joy-filled, frustrating, or whatever — or because I felt that they were particularly informative in preparation for your own upcoming Italy trip.

If one of the descriptions catches your eye, go ahead and link to the article so that you can enjoy a small slice of Italy, too.

[OK, I have a confession to make. There are actually 12 articles listed below…I just couldn’t pare it down to 10…sorry about that]

Each listing below has a clickable bolded heading that takes you to the original article.

Visiting A Particular Place

Stay Here, Eat Here, Drink Here: Banfi

A beautiful Tuscan day at the Banfi pool

This article lays out for you the full Banfi experience that you will just have to live through yourself one day. We’ve visited the Castello Banfi twice and found the experience to be absolutely wonderful. The tour of the Banfi winery is outstanding. And then there is the Castello Banfi itself…a must see, as well as a must stay. Dining? Yes, you have your choice of the informal La Taverna, as well as the fabulous La Sala dei Grappoli. The enoteca where you can taste and then purchase wine? The largest and most beautiful we’ve seen — and we’ve seen many. Published on May 24, 2016.

A Visit to Villa Cimbrone

The view along the walk from Ravello to Villa Cimbrone

If you will be visiting the Amalfi coast, with its breathtaking mountainous backdrop, you absolutely need to journey up those mountains to the the town of Ravello. It sits high above the town of Amalfi and has spectacular views from the Belvedere. The gardens are charming and there are several restaurants between the town and the Cimbrone Gardens from which to choose, like our selection, Il Flauto di Pan. Published June 7, 2016.

Renato Ratti Winery

Talk about a fabulous and unique winery and visit thereto! This Piemonte winery has been environmentally inserted into the side of the hill upon which the town of La Mora sits. Gravity provides an energy-saving way to transport the developing wine from vinification to storage. The grape of this Piemonte winery is the Nebbiolo and their top wine is Barolo, of course. Our tasting was of vintage Barolo wines going as far back as 1998, which gave us a personal and up-close education on a wine’s tannin, fruit and color over time. Published September 17, 2019.

Stay Here: Borgo San Felice

There is a beautiful place to stay and eat in the heart of Tuscany, and it is the Borgo San Felice. A friend had stayed here and highly recommended it…we are glad he did! The owners basically purchased a small Tuscan town and converted it into a marvelous resort hotel experience. From the ancient chapel to the modern swimming pool, we enjoyed it all during our two visits there. And the food of their Ristorante Poggio Rosso was delicious, whether at breakfast or dinner. Published January 12, 2016.

Stumbling Upon Something Magnificent

Just what was it that we stumbled upon? It was a church sitting high on a hillside overlooking Lago Lugano, just west of Lago di Como. Oh how dumbstruck we were when we opened the doors of the church of Albogasio Inferiore in the small, lakeside town of Albogasio-oria. They say that one can’t judge a book by its cover, and that goes too for churches. The inside has beautifully painted fresco walls and ceilings, as well as other gorgeous ornamentation. Published July 28, 2015.

Experiences We’ve Enjoyed

One Fine Day

The setting is the Amalfi Coast. The conveyance was a 38’ Itama boat, captained by a friendly Gian-Carlo. The day was wonderful. This is the quintessential way to see the Amalfi Coast — by boat. We cruised in luxury with prosecco in hand. We swam the White and Green Grottos. We dined waterside on the Isle of Capri. And every bit of this day was perfect. Published September 29, 2015.

Enjoying Italy-Bought Wine

It’s strange how certain things can trigger memories of the past. We had that experience one lazy day…and those memories were certainly fond ones. What was it that triggered these great memories? It was wine, of all things. It was a wine that we had tasted at lunch in Radda in Chianti and one that we subsequently purchased at a winery in Tuscany. The setting for this article is our living room…in front of a roaring fire…with good book in one hand and a good wine in the other. Published February 2, 2017.

Wild Goose Chase

I’ve chased a wild goose or two, and I’m sure that you have, too. This incident relates to the day we bought a nice wine, as discussed in the article just above. We were on our way to a highly praised dinner…as praised on Trip Advisor. What we found when we arrived at the very small hilltown of Poggio alla Croce was an unexpected mystery. We had a reservation that I had managed to pull off in Italian…at least I thought I had. Find out what happened and how our evening managed to end. Published February 2, 2016.

Your Romantic Gondola Ride

If you’ve been to Venice and you haven’t ridden in a gondola, then you haven’t really been to Venice. The ubiquitous gondola is the iconic symbol of Venice. Your gondola experience should be a romantic one. This means that there is a certain time for your ride…a time that is best for reasons more than just romance. And, as each time has its place, I give you a suggestion on the best place to start (and end) your ride. Published July 12, 2016.

Helpful Travel Tips

Getting There: Bellagio

Bellagio is undoubtedly the most charming town we have visited, and its important how you get there! It sits on the end of a peninsula on Lake Como. You can auto there, but the road is twisty-turny and you may arrive with a bit of fuzzy brain. You can arrive by train…kind of…at least you will be close, but will require a ferry ride from Varenna. And you can arrive by boat…but not just any boat. You definitely don’t want the hydrofoil. What you want is the slow boat from the town of Como. It’s a slow ride and it is absolutely beautiful. Published August 2, 2016.

Another Way Into Italy

Of course you can fly directly to Italy, but there is a way that you might find to be a lot more fun…and relaxing. Why not start your Italy adventure in Switzerland?! You start in Zurich and take one of three trains into Italy. That has been our favorite way because it is a fabulous way to overcome your jet lag…as well as seeing the beautiful Swiss countryside. Published July 30, 2019.

Please, Thank You, and Where's the Bathroom

Don't let the fear of not knowing the Italian language keep you from Italy. Our experience has shown that for most of the places that we go (i.e. not too far off the beaten path), English is well spoken. I do recommend the joy of giving Italian a try, as it’s kind of fun to order a light breakfast by saying, “Pane tostata con burro e marmellata di arance”. But for sure, don’t let the lack of parlando Italiano keep you from Italy. Published August 14, 2016.

Now you know what I know — that being that the above are my favorite article posts. Trust me when I say that it was super difficult to pare them down to those twelve.

I absolutely love doing this, and I certainly hope that you enjoy my blog articles, and that you find them helpful in some way. If a trip to Italy is in your future…and I certainly hope it is…then the article ‘A Trip to Italy in Your Future? Read On!’ is a guide to using the Index of Articles to help you plan for your trip.

And, I really would love to see you there in beautiful Italy! But, in the meantime…

Ciao for now,

Steve

Don’t miss a single article by subscribing here!

Index of Articles

If you are familiar with Italian wine, you know of Barolo wines (and I’m hoping that you have read my article on Renato Ratti winery here, where I described Barolo wines)…and you may be thinking that I mis-wrote above when I titled this article ‘An Evening IN Barolo’, as if I’m in a glass of Barolo wine. Though not a bad idea itself if one has a very large wine glass, I am referring to the town of Barolo, from which Barolo wines get their name.

The small town of Barolo is in the southern Langhe area, which is the area of the Nebbiolo grape vineyards that form the basis of Barolo wines…as well as Nebbiolo wines. And of course, we are in the Piemonte region of northern Italy.

This is the final article that concerns the Langhe vineyards and wine producing area of Piemonte. The previous articles are as follows:

This article is heavy on photos, and low on verbiage. You will see charming buildings and a nice, simple dinner — so here goes.

And if you are a circus fan, don’t fret, as the Circo Peppino Medini comes to town in September for 10 days. And, as it says, ‘the show is suitable for all ages’.

Only 50 meters to Osteria la Canti Nella

A Bit of Shopping

As Barolo is king here…in the town of Barolo…it is readily available in the wine stores.

Earlier in the day, we had learned to cook Italian in a wonderful cooking class, and tajarin pasta was one of the pasta types that we prepared…found here in a small market.

The local butcher shop, or macelleria, carried many of our favorite meet products.

Dinner Time with the Famiglia Brezza

As the evening approached our dinner time, we decided on the comfortable Brezza family restaurant at the Hotel Barolo. Note that the sign has both Italian and English information, so do not fear travel in Italy because of language issues, as explained in a previous article here.

OK, we are in the town of Barolo, in the heart of the Piemonte wine country, so one should expect to see a lot of wine. But, we didn’t expect to see so many bottles in one place. The ristorante Brezza proudly displays their wine in the midst of the diners who will be enjoying them. Though Craig looks calm in the photo below, he is actually feeling a bit of angst about which wine he will choose during our dinner…so many wines, and so little time!

We chose an Arneis as our starter white wine, and it was as delicious as we had hoped.

How about a 60-year old Barolo?! The bottle below would cost you only $300 here in Italy. Or, if you wish, you can purchase a 90-year old Barolo Riserva from the same vintner for only $500. You will NOT find these prices in the US.

Here are some more prices for the Barolo d’epoca, or vintage Barolo wines, as sold here in Ristorante Brezza. Next time I return to this restaurant, I think I’ll splurge for a wine that was produced in my birth year!

Another meal and another toast as we enjoy a bottle of Barolo.

Just in case you are interested in the price of a meal in a typical small northern-Italian town, here is the menu.

By the way, do you like truffles? This area is famous for its truffles. There are both black truffles and white truffles, so you have a choice. But beware, as the white truffles are much more expensive. Did you notice at the bottom-right of the menu that you can get one shaving of a white truffle for about $31? Ouch!

Below you can see our risotto made with Barolo wine, veal sausages, and wild boar…all delish, of course.

Well, it’s time to head back to our lodgings. And we are well satisfied with our visit to the small town of Barolo, as well as our wonderful meal at Ristorante Brezza. We will find ourselves strolling the night laden streets to linger just a bit longer.

Ristorante Familia Brezza

Thank you for joining us on our stroll through the very quaint, very charming, town of Barolo. And also, we’re glad you joined us for dinner. That last Barolo toast? it was for you!

Ciao for now,

Steve

p.s. Join me next time as we leave the Barolo wine are of the Piemonte for Lake Maggiore.

BLOG

102 Blog Articles...But Who's Counting?

Visiting A Particular Place

Experiences We’ve Enjoyed

Helpful Travel Tips

An Evening in Barolo

A Bit of Shopping

Dinner Time with the Famiglia Brezza