travelswithalice

May 30, 2022

Ragusa

Tuesday, 31 May.

The Antica Badia Relais- San Maurizio 1619 is in a renovated 18th century palazzo across the street from the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista, the patron saint of Ragusa. I like the way the entrance to the hotel is set back from the curb.

Having just arrived from a nerve-racking trip on a train full of rowdy school kids, we had planned a relaxing evening, a nice meal with maybe a glass of wine.

Dinner at the hotel’s restaurant Ciano turned out to be a more elaborate affair than we planned. I’ve lifted the descriptions from their menu card.

After the amuse-bouches, came the appetiser of crab and shrimp coral.

Coraline

Crab with passion fruit pearls, raw beetroot, shrimp coral and hazelnut

I had turbot with roast beef carpaccio.

Congruente

Turbot with wild mustard, taramas sauce, roast beef carpaccio and seaweed broth.

Stuart had risotto with donkey fillet. Donkey? Really?

Ciano

Carnaroli risotto with donkey fillet, hazelnuts, artichokes, robiola.

Dessert was ice cream with lemon mousse. It was served with a shot glass of basil water on the side. I asked if I was to pour it onto the ice cream. Delia, the very charming hostess said No, you drink it. Hmmm…I didn’t much care for that.

Tokio Blues

Pizzuta almond of Avola ice cream with lemon mousse, basil water, wasabi granita and raw green bean.

“Ciano” in the local dialect means lower church square. Originally used to store animals, the restaurant is a series of rooms with cream coloured rough-hewn stone walls and cove ceilings. It has a casual contemporary vibe, its walls hung with modern art, several by a local artist whose paintings are too weird for my taste.

With Luca Gulino, Ciano’s 29-year-old peripatetic chef.

This young Ragusa native has skilfully brought to the table the wonderful flavours and colours derived from his culinary experiences abroad.

The next day, I set myself up on the window ledge for a lovely breakfast.

Wednesday, 1 June.

The morning was not a good one for me as I’ve had a sleepless night. They asked to move us to another room because of a problem with the bathroom lights.

I don’t like this new room they’ve moved us to. I loved the other smaller one, the one with the pretty window.

This afternoon I stayed in while Stuart went to Ibla. I didn’t go out until it was time to go to dinner.

The restaurant that Mariza at the front desk recommended was booked up until 8, so we went to a place called Basilico instead. Good choice.

I had grilled prawns, Stuart had sea bass baked in foil. We’ve booked for dinner tomorrow.

Stuart had brought me from Ibla a book from the Inspector Montalbano Mysteries by Andrea Camilleri.

These are the stories we’ve enjoyed watching in the TV adaptation, stories that are responsible for our detour to Ragusa.

Thursday, 2.

Today, our last day in Ragusa is “Festa della Repubblica”.

After the day’s military parades, there was dancing in the cathedral square in the evening.

A marvellous way to end the day.

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # May 30, 2022

May 28, 2022

Ortigia

We’re on the island of Ortigia in Syracuse where we’re surrounded by remnants of the ancient world, immersed in Greek mythology and lots of seafood, and faced with a losing battle with the formidable forces of pasta and Sicilian sweets.

Temple of Apollo, 6th c. BCE, Doric order.

Lunch in Sicilia in Tavola, 3rd time this week. Fettuccine with anchovies and breadcrumbs, grilled anchovies and sardines.

I’m afraid that if I keep eating so much fish, I’ll start growing gills!

Fountain of Diana with Arethusa and Alpheus on Archimedes Square.

Considering the company it keeps, surrounded by remnants of ancient civilisations, this is not an old monument, 1906-1907. Beautiful nonetheless.

Diana, goddess of the hunt, hides the wood-nymph Arethusa from the amorous river-god Alpheus by covering her in a cloud; whereupon Arethusa starts to melt, eventually turning into water.

The Spring of Arethusa, revered for its association with ancient Greek myths and for the natural colony of papyrus plants that grow in its banks and along the Ciane river.

I’m now convinced, more than ever, that I can no longer put off studying Greek mythology. Seriously.

The air is perfumed by the lavender plant and a small olive tree in a planter by a street corner.

We thought it was the back of the duomo but rounding the corner to the front of the building, we see that it’s a theatre.

San Giovannello, in Piazza del Precursore in Giudecca, the ancient Jewish quarter.

The former Church of San Giovanni Battista used to be the Jewish Synagogue.

I found the structure curiously off-center and hemmed in by adjacent buildings. This was explained to me later when I looked it up online to discover its complicated history as a 14th c. Christian church built on top of a 4th c. early Christian basilica, turned into a Jewish synagogue, then returned as a Christian church, only to be later deconsecrated and eventually turned into an events venue. It’s now used for concerts and cultural events, and as we saw today, also for weddings.

I took a photo of a building abutting it on its left because it looked pretty.

I’m to discover later that it was the house of a relatively unknown Syracuse painter, Mario Minitti, a contemporary and friend of Caravaggio.

Although Minitti’s artistic work is held in high regard in Sicily, he is more famously known as the model for several of Caravaggio’s celebrated paintings including Bacchus, The Lute Player, The Musicians, Boy with a Basket of Fruit, and The Fortune Teller among others.

Of special interest to me is Bacchus which I had recently viewed at the Uffizi in Florence, gloriously exhibited, dramatically lit, hanging all by itself to great effect in a recessed alcove at the end of a long gallery painted a deep scarlet.

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # May 28, 2022

May 23, 2022

Sicily

Sunday, May 22.

Alitalia flight lands in Catania 2:55, on bus to Siracusa 3:45, in taxi to hotel by 5.

Our luggage is being loaded into the taxi and Stuart picks up something from the ground. It’s a €20 bill. As I always say, good things happen to good people. It must be a good omen, a great start to our Sicilian adventure.

Our room in the Ortea Palace Hotel has two tall windows hung with sky blue damask curtains. One looks out onto a marina and the sea, the other onto a narrow street lined with old buildings that Stuart says remind him of Havana. (Except the cars here are new.)

The room is a duplex: the bedroom on the floor above shares the ground floor’s six-meter high ceiling. A free-standing bath off to one side of the bed is angled to face the view which this morning features a Viking cruise ship parked close to the coral coloured buildings on the main street.

The hotel is housed in a renovated former post office building built in 1920 in the Italian Liberty style.

In the hotel bar, Ana introduces us to sharbat, a kind of slush made from the juice of the cedar fruit. Like a watery lemon granita, it’s tart, astringent, very refreshing. Sharbat is Persian, a drink of water and sugar; the word has morphed into sherbet and sorbet via Italian sorbetto.

There cannot be for me a more splendid introduction than this to Sicily, the “toe of the boot” of Italy.

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # May 23, 2022

May 20, 2022

Milan

Wednesday, May 18.

At Hyatt Centric’s Rooftop Bar.

Thursday, 19.

Checking out the renovations at Park Hyatt, “my hotel”. I don’t like what they did to it. Too bad.

And what have they done to Anish Kapoor’s mirror?

Lunch at Al Cantinone. Always very good.

I keep waiting to see veal with radicchio on the menu ever since I first tried it there many many years ago. I was told then that it was a typical Milanese dish, so how come I never saw it again?

This time I had lovely stuffed zucchini flowers and roast chicken breast with a mountain of roasted vegetables.

Stuart had scallops risotto and grilled sea bass. He has risotto whenever it’s on the menu. It never photographs well.

Dessert was crema di grom at Grom.

Opera night at Teatro alla Scala.

Seeing that “Un Ballo in Maschera” was on that evening, we sat in Il Foyer the restaurant next door waiting for the ticket office to open at 2. We got tickets at reduced senior prices for excellent 4th row Platea seats. Fantastic!

At the intermission’s second call, usher Jacopo, whom we’ve been chatting with, escorted us to our staircase.

Follow me, he said, worried we might be late getting back in. He’s sweet, only 22, a pianist studying Economics at the Conservatory.

After the opera, we had drinks at Park Hyatt.

I thought the evening’s Riccardo was completely outshone by both Amelia and Renato whose voices packed enough power to be heard above the orchestral music which seemed to me overly loud.

Is this even possible at La Scala?

Jacopo may have unwittingly given us unauthorised information that may partly explain this. He told us that Covid cases necessitated the substitution of the La Scala orchestra with another flown in from Berlin.

I’ve tried to get confirmation for this from opera news on the internet but only managed to find reports of the theatre’s announcement early on in the season that the ailing Riccardo Chailly had withdrawn as conductor because he was unable to rehearse with the orchestra for this production.

I’m not qualified to make judgments on the performers’ musical abilities- I do know that this particular opera title is notoriously challenging for both the singers and the orchestra. But I can definitely say whether or not I can hear the tenor’s voice above the chorus and the orchestral music. And I can categorically say that at times, I could not.

Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Amelia.

Friday, 20.

We found a fish-only restaurant! Pretty rare in Milan! Enoteca happened to be the only restaurant still open when we went out rather late for lunch. I guess it had remained open after their 3 o’clock closing time only because of the ladies at the curb-side table who, judging by the noise level at their table, obviously had a very boozy lunch.

I had an enormous plate of delicious fried fish and seafood.

Stuart had spaghetti with mussels.

Saturday, 21.

Today was hot and humid, not really the ideal weather for browsing around the Brera district. It was Open Day at the Accademia so there was no escaping the crowds in its usually cool and quiet square.

So even though lunch wasn’t really part of the day’s plan, lunch at Trattoria Torre Di Pisa seemed a good idea. We remember it from when we went there with Marilou and Eddie several years ago.

We chatted briefly on the phone with Jimmy, Beth, and Belen who called from Sydney.

I had to try the lardo but in the end I found the unaccustomed fat overload a trifle daunting so I piled some pieces onto Stuart’s risotto where they melted nicely into the warm rice. I ordered a simple dish of roasted vegetables with provolone cheese to go with it.

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # May 20, 2022

May 18, 2022

Villa di Gargnano

We’re now happily ensconced in one of our all-time favourite places in the world, Hotel Du Lac in Villa di Gargnano, where we are warmly welcomed back after 12 years absence by friend and very charming host, owner Valerio Arosio, who guarantees clear skies for the evening’s full moon.

And as promised, May’s Flower Moon puts in an appearance at dinner time.

Happy day!

Monday, 16.

I stayed out on our balcony most of the day. From breakfast…

…until very late in the afternoon.

We went out for dinner because Valerio’s restaurant is not open today. Nearby Valentino Bar is a good option.

Tuesday, 17.

The much anticipated full moon didn’t manage to push through the thick clouds until very late last night.

But the fully risen moon lit up the lake at way past midnight.

In the morning, I woke up to glorious sunlight streaming into the room.

The balcony was much too bright so early in my morning so I had my breakfast indoors while last night’s laundry finished drying by the window.

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # May 18, 2022

May 17, 2022

Adventures, misadventures, and wonderful outcomes

Beautiful day, we’re on our way to Milan, stopping 2 nights in Brescia to break the long trip.

Half an hour into the drive,

BANG!!!

Our car ‘s hood springs open, slams onto the windscreen, shattering the glass.

I really don’t know how Stuart managed to stay so calm, steering the car to a lay-by, the hood up against the shattered windshield completely blocking his view, him peering out from the open window.

Having gotten us out of the main traffic flow, he gets out, shuts the hood, and calls Budget Car.

I brush off as much of the bits of broken glass on the dashboard out the door. There’s some on the seats. On us too I imagine.

Stuart doesn’t like staying on the highway, even on the lay-by. So he carefully and very skilfully, drives the car into the nearest autostrada exit, careful not to jar the mangled windshield.

My mind is racing. Isn’t safety glass supposed to break up into webs of dull tiny pieces? This one has big sharp shards.

Budget Car to the rescue? Not!

I assumed the car rental company would take care of their customers, in this case, Stuart and me. Dreaming!

They of course take care of the car, never mind us! We had informed the Budget Car people that we had luggage and that riding in the car with the shattered windshield would be dangerous. They said we could ride in the truck with the driver. Wrong!

We have to get ourselves to the airport in Verona to get a replacement car. The tow truck man doesn’t speak any English. He writes down a number to call if we have any trouble getting a taxi ourselves. Not relishing the prospect of anymore trouble, I manage to get him to call the taxi himself.

Moving on.

We have a new car.

At Double Tree Hilton in Brescia, we’re told they don’t have porter service at their hotel. They do have a luggage trolley, so we help ourselves.

After checking in though, the front office wakes up and things start to happen. We’re given a suite and Claudia now decides she really must help us with the luggage.

It’s Sunday so the hotel restaurant is closed. Claudia recommends a nearby restaurant that delivers. She sends us a menu, we give our orders and settle in for a well-deserved rest after the broken windshield mess.

As it turns out, it’s now too late for our lunch order. The restaurant is now closed until 6:30.

Stuart goes out to buy food from the supermarket. We’re getting ready to eat a much delayed lunch when we discover that there’s no air conditioning in the hotel until tomorrow.

Okay, we’re getting out of here. Shall we go to Gargnano?

Yes please!

As we drive out of Brescia, an orange warning light on the dashboard indicates an oil problem. It’s Sunday, so there’s no service available in the service stations.

We nevertheless drive on to Lake Garda without any trouble, arriving in Villa di Gargnano in time for dinner.

And just like that, everything’s alright with our world again.

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # May 17, 2022

May 13, 2022

Palladio

In and around VICENZA.

We’re on the road again. All for the love of Andrea Palladio!

Thursday, May 12.

First stop: Villa Emo. We finally got to see inside. We tried before, on previous visits but only managed to see the gardens.

I’ve long been fascinated by brilliant architects and the perfect houses they build.

This colour-coded architectural model is in one of the rooms in Villa Emo. It helped me understand a little bit better how geometry may explain why Palladio’s rooms feel right; why being inside any one of his houses seems to generate a feeling of well-being.

Friday, 13.

I was up at dawn. Again. Exciting day ahead.

Revisiting Teatro Olimpico.

Saturday, 14.

It’s been an unforgettable grand finale for our Palladio tour.

From the outside, Villa Poiana looked just as imposing a structure as before. But once inside, I felt it had lost its grandeur. There’s now too much clutter owing to awkwardly placed signs and things to do with paid visits to the property. Things had changed in the 17 years since we first visited.

I was determined to demonstrate to myself the Palladian room proportions and was thrilled when even my rough measurements (taken inexpertly with my iPhone) proved that indeed the room height is half the sum of its length and width.

I found the main hall too difficult to measure.

Once again, just as in our previous visit, we overshot the route to Villa Pisani, now with the added name of Bonetti.

We made a U-ey, proceeded on to the almost hidden sharp left, at the end of which we were once again confronted with a closed gate. But like before, we were surprised to be invited in by the caretaker.

Having bought the entrance tickets, we picked up an English foldout guide for €1 but Ahmed said: No, it’s a gift. My gift to you.

When we last visited, the Villa seemed to be lived in. This time, it looked more like a museum or art gallery- it was chock full of things, displays, and lots of art work inside and out on the grounds.

There was too an Osteria which by default was our only means of exiting the property. The front gate was locked and Ahmed was nowhere to be found.

We didn’t mind though as we had intended to check it out anyway.

Through a shady terrace and into a lovely lounge. Jazz music.

The restaurant is beautiful. We decide to have lunch.

And the food? Exquisite.

Olive oil comes in a small bottle with a dropper.

My guinea fowl doesn’t look anything like any fowl ought to look but it tastes divine.

No wine for us as Stuart is driving. The couple at the next table has just been through a long parade of wines.

Jonathan brings us coffee in the lounge.

We discover that this is also a hotel. They have rooms. So why not stay so we can enjoy a lovely meal and have wine too.

We decide to book for two nights.

As Samuel was showing us the rooms, he casually mentions that the restaurant will be closed tomorrow and Monday. The two nights we’ll be there.

Oh well, in that case, we won’t be staying after all.

Samuel, very flustered: We can recommend nearby restaurants. How about we book you a taxi? Order a pizza?

How will any of that help, I wonder. We were only staying for the restaurant.

So off we go back to Padua, to our not so nice Sheraton Four Points and the just okay room service dinners.

I don’t mind, really. It’s been such a glorious day!

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # May 13, 2022