travelswithalice

August 01, 2006

Gargnano in the rain

Wednesday brings beautiful ferry weather. The ticket office is closed while the ticketman goes off for coffee, so we amuse ourselves at the market set up on the pier.

We’re off to Malcesine for lunch. On board the Tonale, we settle into deck chairs, feet up on the railing. They have brand new red chairs; business must be good.

Lunch at our favorite Pizzeria Mignon is a feast.

As always, my appetizers outshine my main course. Hams, cheeses, grilled peppers, zucchini, eggplant, wild mushrooms, artichokes, olives, all my favorite stuff, plus an enormous salad, and the main course is still to come!

And come it does, soon enough, preceded by the smoky perfume of char grilled steaks, chops, and sausages. A crispy, flakey apple strudel later, then coffee and limoncello, and we are through eating for the day. Maybe for the week.

Thursday starts off very wet. We dash off in the rain to Hotel Bartabel for lunch, second time this week. On the way there, we nip into the lovely 13^th century church on the corner to light a candle for Nanay Salud. The church is nice and warm and dry. There aren’t any candles to light though.

We certainly didn’t pack for this weather so we look somewhat bedraggled when we turn up at the restaurant. No matter, the rain has whipped up an appetite for pasta, something we had sworn off since we went carb-free several excess pounds ago.

So it’s another one of those antipasti beauties, followed by the forbidden tagliatelli, grilled fish from the lake, then pear tart and affogato, my current preferred caffeine fix: vanilla ice cream slowly melting into a shot of espresso. Mmmm, I guess I’m not really done eating for the week yet.

Tomorrow we leave for Verona. I am looking forward to three nights at the opera but rather nervous about the weather. It’s been glorious here in Gargnano, even in the rain, this being one of those locations that manage to look good whatever the weather. The rain has stopped now, the clouds have lifted from the mountains, and the lake is peaceful again.

Splashing about in the rain today is one thing, but getting soaked in the arena in Verona is another. The music of Puccini and the theater of Zeffirelli notwithstanding!

Labels: affogato, candle for Nanay Salud, Hotel Bartabel, italy, Pizzeria Mignon, restaurants, Tonale