Thanks to my regular readers I'm so close to reaching 10,000 views and I'm nearing 100 published posts. Considering that half those views have happened in the last year, I know my readers have expanded beyond those that I know personally and to other expats around the world. So, thank you. And I'd love to hear from you in the comments.
The amazing weather has continued here and living in a big, metropolitan city means that there are lots of things happening every weekend.
This past Saturday, there was a Festa del Gelato in Piazza Castello. Of course, this was an event that needed my attention. For 12 euro you purchased a card that gave you four gelato samples of your choice, a sample of Nutella's gelato and a gelato cocktail.
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| Milan is a buzz with EXPO fever...beginning next May running through October. This building is one of two EXPO 'gates', with the castle in the background. |
I sampled some unique flavors with ingredients that aren't commonly used in more typical gelato flavors such as wine, poppy seeds, cannoli, and saffron.
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| Choose the flavor you're interested in off the tv screens and get in line! |
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| our 'tastes'- which you might notice are quite a bit bigger than just a taste |
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| Odaliz with the gelato cocktail- we both thought it was delish! |
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| There were different flavors on each side of the truck. |
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| Nutella had a truck there...and I must admit...it was one of my favorites. |
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| Found this little gem in the bathroom at the nearby metro/train station during a necessary bathroom break. Cracked me up! |
While Saturday was all about gelato, Sunday was all about wine. A colleague had sent out an email about an event called "Cantine Aperte" happening at the vineyards in the region. I was lucky enough to be offered a spot in my co-worker's car and was able to check out several local wineries that were open for the day for wine tasting.
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| Roughly translated..."you see what you drink"... since you're able to see where the grapes are grown and the wine is produced. |
Leaving from nearby Pavia, we headed out to the first of four wineries of the day.
La Piotta had some beautiful views. We paid 10 euro for a wine glass, wine bag necklace, wine tasting card for the day and a free bottle of wine. Not a bad deal, right? While there, we had a little lunch and tasted several of their wines before leaving to head out to the next stop.
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| view from La Piotta |
Next up was Finigeto. This winery was having quite the party, with tables full of locals and live music. We didn't stay here too long, and within a short time headed out to Travaglino. This vineyard had an established tasting procedure that included a plate of meat and cheeses and samples of four wines. We asked to taste one of their more expensive sparkling wines and they obliged. And then I bought two bottles of the most expensive wine I've paid for in Italy.
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| This picture felt so quintessentially Italian. |
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| Travaglino's wine description and food plate |
Last up was La Marzuola. This was a bit of a non-descript place, that I would have certainly walked away from had I not been with friends who had been there before. They had great views of the rolling hills below them and we sampled and bought several more bottles of wine.
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| The proprietors of La Marzuola, with their wines available for tasting. |
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| the view from La Marzuola |
I left with seven bottles of wine that day. Holy cow. Holy cow!!
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