A morning harvest

We have been driving around Trento and Veneto this past week and these two regions are full of vineyards! This morning I finally managed to get some shots of them harvesting the grapes!

Full of grapes!

Ferraran Food (a little out of order)

We have been having a fantastic time in Italy, and one of the fun things we have been introduced to is the local food! In Italy, different regions have different specialties (e.g. Texas BBQ vs. Boston seafood)... and Ferrara has some delicious stuff!

For lunch today we had a great sampling of stuff...

From left to right: [top]soft buffalo cheese with herbs, local Cabernet Franc, 2 year old Parmesan cheese from Parma, Spek (smoked ham), [bottom] gnocco (puffy fried bread), and coppia (in dialect "ciupeta") little "bread horns"

The ciupeta bread sticks are neat and are often found on the table throughout a meal. The little gnocco, a puffy fried bread, is used as a mini sandwich, into which delicious proscutto, spek, mortadella from Bologna, salama, and other tasty meats are placed (there is a great pic here). There is also amazing Parmigiano Reggiano that is so tasty you can just eat chunks of it! Ferrara is also in wine country (let's be honest Italy IS ALL wine country), but the local vintages of choice are light sparkling whites (we're near Prosecco), and fresh, young reds, all of which are (of course) delicious. 

After the finger foods (all that comes before has so far been "appetizers"), comes the first course, and in Ferrara this means cappellacci de zucca (a large tortellini-like pasta filled with a "violin shaped pumpkin", probably a squash variety?) with a tasty dark meat sauce. These little pastas are absolutely delicious and I MUST get a recipe for the coming fall!

cappellacci de zucca (the picture is from here)

During our two traditional meals we had a sampling of three different dishes (oh man do the Italians know how to eat). One course was some delicious meatballs (not sure what they were... delicious though), another was Salama de Sugo with some amazingly cheesy mashed potatoes...

This pic is from here

Last but not least was a delicious donkey stew with polenta (A becco d'asino?). Yup.... donkey... Surprisingly delicious if you get a tender bit.

Anyhow, after this glut of food, there were the digestifs. The one we tried was a local Grappa (a grape derived liquor) with honey!

Italy, you are delicious!

September 1 - September 2: Ljubljana Exploration

Link to photospheres for proper viewing

Immediately upon arriving in Ljubljana and over the next day we explored the pedestrian paths of the city along the river.  Having still not slept since leaving Boston, we were determined to stay awake until a reasonable hour in an attempt to hard reset our internal clocks.

On a nearby hill was a castle that we never ended up visiting, but it was within sight of nearly everywhere we walked.

Famous in Ljubljana are the symbol of the city: dragons.  The dragon is on the city's coat-of-arms and on the Dragon Bridge.  

Our first dinner was at Sokol.  A place recommended by the hotel we stayed at when we asked for something traditional to Ljubljana/Slovenia.  Good beer, good pear brandy, and excellent sausage was had.

During our second day in Ljubljana, we had more opportunity to explore the area.  We also met with the local geologist that would show us around.  That afternoon, while Rowan was making plans for the next days, I ventured out to take a few photos, have a coffee, and read for a bit.

A nearby library was made from Podpec limestone full of lithotids (bivalves).  Ofcourse we had to investigate this in much detail and even took time for a little photo-op.

The local geology department had adopted (or probably more correct: was adopted by) a stray cat, which to the best we could make out, was named Magic.  He is provided a place to sleep, food, water, and during the winter someone even builds him a little shelter.

The second evening we needed to find a new place to stay.  Accommodations were hard to come by as Slovenia was hosting Eurobasket 2013 (basketball), with games happening in Ljubljana right at the time we were there, in addition to other local festivals also happening.

Ljubljana is beautiful at night!

August 31 - September 1: Boston to Ljubljana

Flying from Boston to Venice apparently requires a little jaunt over to Philadelphia, thankfully there was plenty of legroom for the tallfolk.  

A fairly short layover and we were on our way to Venice.  This flight was a little better.  Initially, Rowan and I were seated at opposite ends of the plane, but an industrious stewardess was able to shuffle enough passengers around that we were able to enjoy the flight side-by-side.  We landed in Venice around 9 am, with no rest besides the simple enjoyment of closing one's eyes.  Neither of us sleep well (read: at all) on planes.  We picked up our luggage (which had kindly been inspected by the TSA), picked up our rental, and headed immediately for Ljubljana.  

Did I mention that after no sleeping for a day, one needs a constant stream of caffeine to keep going?  Thankfully both Italy and Slovenia were happy to oblige my need.  Our first stop was in San Dona di Piave.  We were going to attempt to get simcards for our phones, but made the typical tourist mistake of forgetting that everything is closed on Sundays in less populous areas in much of Europe.

Hello Slovenia!

Our first sighting of a hay drying stand.  Very common in Slovenia... also, whether this is true or not I don't know, but we were told that Slovenia has the highest number of tractors per capita.  Apparently, no matter how small your garden, you need a tractor for it... maybe two or three for good measure.

After what was probably 3 or 4 stops, we arrived in Ljubljana and found our accommodation for the first night: the Hotel Emonec.

Ljubljana: Touristic First Days

With no captioning and, in an amazing feat, even fewer descriptions, here are some photos from Ljubljana, Slovenia.  After landing in Venice on Sunday, September 1, Rowan and I immediately drove to Ljubljana, with only stops for coffee and bathroom.  Ljubljana is fabulous, at least the pedestrian area are the river.  We have (and will again) enjoyed many espresso beverages, gelatos, tasty delectables, and beautiful sights.  Later during this trip we will likely have more time to properly post to the blog, but for now this and random facebook updates will have to do :)  

First peek at Ljubljana

Just a few quick snaps...the pro photos will come soon.