Dinner Last Night

 We had the best meal of the trip so far last night. I was a last minute reservation at our hotel’s sister property’s restaurant Du Lac. Each dish was truly great, a delight, to use a trite phrase. Pictures below with a brief commentary

My main, a salmon with potato purée and green beans, OK not inventive but tasty

Fran’s lobster paccheri (giant tubes of pasta), sadly I couldn’t try this.

Pollpetti (octopus) in a tomato sauce start, my highlight of the meal.

Carccofi in a cheese sauce, another great starter

A few drinks before dinner.

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Expensive but elegant meal by the seaside. If you ever make it to Varenna, or if we make it back to Varenna, stay at this hotel or at least eat at the restaurant. Great serendipitous find. 

Varenna

 Uneventful train ride between Milan and Varenna, other than an annoying group of guys in the seats next to us one of whom would not shut up. Sigh.  I’ll add had a great diner at the restaurant at Hotel Du Lac, next time we’re in the area we need to stay at that hotel - much nicer than the one we chose. 

A few pics from our day in Varenna:

Best Meal in Milan this trip

We ended up, randomly, at Osteria Formentini for dinner tonight. Recall from one of my previous posts that we dumped a Michelin starred meal. Don’t regret it for a minute. If you’re in Milan go here. A few pictures:

Where do you put the groceries?

A serious proliferation of these beasts on the road in Milan.  

 

Brera Neighborhood

 We didn’t have reservations this evening. We decided to wing it and ended up in the Brera area of Milan. Highly recommend visiting the area if you are in the city. Kind of a chairs in the street loud neighborhood full of lively restaurants and hawkers trying to get you in. Fran was in the mood for meat and we found a place that had a number of meat dishes on the menu: il Kaimano. The reviews for this place are very mixed. It’s loud, the staff a bit obnoxious, and it’s a bit on the pricy side (but honestly not terrible). I really think if you’re not fun loving or don’t understand Italian family dynamics you could be put off by it. It’s a family restaurant. Honestly it reminded me of my childhood with loud family members yelling at each other over food. That said, if you take it as the cultural show it is, and accept the food isn’t Michelin starred, it’s a fun experience and I’d recommend it to others. As a matter of fact we canceled our planned dinner at a Michelin restaurant tomorrow night and we’re returning the the Brera Neighborhood for Aperitivo and Dinner - Likely not Il Kaimano, it’s fine but hey there are lots of other places to try. A few pictures from dinner:

Tagliata de Manzo (thin sliced beef)

Coletto (a Milanese speciality)

Fried Zucchini Flowers Stuffed with Ricotta

Prosciutto and Melon

And Me.

Photos

 A few obligatory photos from around Milan. Just things that captured my attention or are obvious area photos  

Dinner Post

 We were both excited about dinner tonight. We’d gotten a recommendation from Giancarlo, a local working at the hotel. So off we went to La Libera. The short answer is meh. Had good starters (I had a tuna carpaccio and Fran had a buratta salad) and our hopes were up. But we were both left cold by the cold pasta dishes that arrived at our table. Admittedly both dishes were not Milanese. I’d gotten cacio a pepe and Fran carbonara. Now I rarely eat pasta (carbs and all) so I was looking for a treat. I love simple pasta’s like alio an olio or cacio a pepe. But here they used way too much cheese and as Fran said it seemed like it had been sitting on the pass way to long. Meh. So it has potential but if you go order local dishes and probably not pasta.

On a happier note here’s me at Aperativo (at N’Ombra de Vin):

Mayday! Been Shot Down over Stormy Seas!

Actually everything is fine. Just thought a Joe Bonamassa song lyric (from Sloe Gin) would liven things up. Actually, it is Mayday. Walking to the Navigli Canals today we realized it was Mayday. The clue was there was a parade (the Communist Party of Italy) went down the main drag to the Duomo. There was also a film being shot at the Armani Hotel (which is on our way to the Duomo). Our route ended up being a bit circuitous to avoid all the activities and, unfortunately, many of the stores were closed. Fortunately the cafe’s and bars were open so not all was lost. A few pics from our walk.

Oh and on a sad note Bar Gerico is no more. We walked by and it’s now L’argent Bistrot. And even though the new Bistrot gets rave reviews I’ll miss Gerico, it did, after all, introduce us to proper Aperativo.

Yeah, yeah, yeah and all that

 I know Italians basically gave us great culture, food, architecture (hey think of the Roman arch), art, and music already. But it all pales in comparison to their greatest gift: the Aperitivo. I’m not joking. What a civilized thing to do - sit on a warm day, watching people go by, with a cool drink and some snacks while contemplating what you’re going to go eat for dinner in a few hours. OK and talking about the people going by. It’s like I’m so proud of my people for inventing this I can’t think of the superlatives to describe my pride.

Here we are enjoying the Italians greatest gift to man at Camparino in front of the Milano cathedral this afternoon. Fran, of course, has the Negroni and I have the Campari spritz. Not cheap but worth every penny. The Campari in Italy is richer than we get in the states - I’m not sure the difference but I want to ship some home.

Spent most of the day walking and getting our bearings between naps. We’re getting there. 

Ate dinner at a decent place (Locanda la Scala - behind the la Scala theater) - worth a stop, not earth shattering but good risotto, pork belly, and osso bucco. Wine was pricy (for Italy) but a decent selection. Head waiter was humorous, spoke at least five different languages, and was spread a bit thin with little help. A fun few hours with Fran just talking but our legs got tired of sitting.

And another thing…

 So I skipped all of Ireland last year and probably stuff the years before. I’ll try and be better not for you, dear reader, but for me. I forget shit. It’s my super power and my curse. 

We’re back in Milan. I was looking for a bar we went to last time we were here in 23. Could not find it on a map or any where. Then I had the brilliant idea of looking at this very blog and lo and behold Gerico! Now the bad news…it’s temporarily closed. Sigh.

Another hell day getting to Milan. Delayed Seattle flight caused a delay in getting here (a costly delay I’ll add). The new European Entry System is a joy to experience. Sigh. Such is travel. But we’re here. So to us and travel and being up at 4:30 in the morning hungry when nothings open.

Final Thought on England 2023

The walks were the highlights. I really like having our bags forwarded to our hotels and traveling by foot. The slow pace is the way to see the country side (and towns you pass through). Definitely the way to adjust to the time change. I want to do more of the while I can.

But, be better prepared for walks. We got in walking shape but Fran’s knee was problematic for the walk. We’ve got to be better about not only exercising but stretching and our therapeutic things as well. Good shoes really help but still. I need a consistent body weight  exercise program for the road. 

Also most of UK (maybe the Lake District is the exception) is not as crazy as our wilderness in the Northwest. Though I didn’t pack heavy, you likely need less gear than in the US. The Ordinance Survey Maps app on the phone was all you really need. Trails are well marked and the app tells you when you are off course.

 I loved the fine dining but maybe do just one a week instead of trying to cram too much in. Too much of a good thing blurs the experiences. 

I’d repeat Sixty four degrees, midsummer house, and Murano in a heart beat. All in the top 5-10 meals I’ve ever eaten at. Other’s - some are maybe’s and some are definite no’s. I need to do more research next time. Some observations:

• Generally hotel’s even with good credentials serve lesser quality food.
• Pubs can have good food, but most don’t (most pub food is terrible)
• Find something other than Sunday roasts on Sundays.
• Maybe plan on a few dry day’s a week instead of wine every night. I think this is harder because water just is so downplayed across the pond.
• The Michelin guide, while better than most, isn’t always a guarantee of quality.

Having a traveling companion that complements your weakness is a real plus. Fran and I have strengths that really complement each other and it makes travel easier. I don’t know if I’d travel as much if this wasn’t the case.

New town’s I loved: Chilham, Wye, Malton, Alnwick.

Towns I wouldn’t go back to: Newcastle on Tyne - boring big industrial city trying to pass itself off as a food destination, Folkestone - another industrial city.

The rest were either favorites (Ambleside, Whitby, York, and London) or towns I’d consider again (Sandwich).

Half the clothes, twice the cash.

That about wraps it up for this trip. Time to start planning the next. Thinking Portugal and Spain maybe next fall with an East Coast US trip in the spring, but who knows?

London

So one post for all of London (which was 5 nights total, from Oct 26 to Oct 31). We're here so often it's a bit like meeting with a good friend. You enjoy the time but you don't take much effort to go over familiar territory (in our case take pictures and do touristy things).

We enjoyed three plays while here:

1. The Ocean at the end of the Lane (a fantasy story - we both enjoyed it a lot)

2. Hamilton (our second time)

3. Back to the Future - The Musical (probably won't be a second time)

We ate three fine and a couple of other less fine meals

1. Tom Kerridge's Bar and Grill - the famous chef does fancy (I won't say fine) dining in London - 8/10

2. The Ten Cases - A simple wine bar and French bistro in Covent Gardens we've loved for years - 9/10

3. Angela Hartnett's Murano - A Michelin star restaurant in Mayfair - 10/10 (one of the top three for our trip the others being Midsummer House and 64 degrees)

4. We did a tapas night around the Back to the Future Play - First place was called Dehesa 5/10, unimaginative tapas and mediocre preparation (their black rice with squid was nice, about the only thing even remotely standing out). Second was Tapas Brindisa where a grilled goats cheese with honey and orange, and a pork cheek were amazing - 7/10.

5. Our first night here we had a bit of Tapas from PIX (sort of a local tapas chain) which is reliable but not "fine" dining 7/10 and a pre theater snack at some non-descript Nicholson's pub - terrible 2/10

The rest of the time was sight seeing (Big Ben is no longer covered in scaffolding), shopping, and walking this vibrant and wonderful city. 

We've enjoyed the entire trip here (all 6+ weeks of it) celebrating our 40th anniversary. 

I'm writing this at four in the morning on the day we leave for home. If I have the energy on the plane on the way home I'll write up some final thoughts about the trip and do a bit of a "lessons learned" post. 

Below are a few London pictures: