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Chasing Juliet (and Grappa)Chasing Juliet (and Grappa)
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A long weekend in Verona and Bassano del Grappa Read more

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  • TravelerChasing Juliet (and Grappa)

    My Verona

    October 23, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 63 °F

    I'm back in Italy for the third time in a month (it's a long story, and I'll be back once again in 5 or 6 weeks). But this time it's for fun, to places we've never been: Verona and Bassano del Grappa. They're both in the Veneto region, about an hour or two outside Venice.

    Verona is famous for being the setting of several of Shakespeare's plays, including "Romeo and Juliet" and "Two Gentlemen From Verona," but why Bassano del Grappa? Well, a friend of mine from Bellevue Expedia moved to London Expedia at the same time as I did, and then she and her husband moved to Bassano del Grappa. We have wanted to visit them for a while, and we figured we should make a long weekend of it, and see lovely Verona as well.

    Also, Bassano del Grappa invented GRAPPA.

    As we arrived at the BCN airport lounge for a pre-departure cava, Matt began singing "My Verona" to the tune of "My Sharona." Between the cava and that earworm, I didn't realize I'd left my favorite black leather jacket in the lounge until our plane was taxiing down the runway. So Earworm 1, Denise 0, and I'm going to freeze my ass off this weekend.

    Shockingly, our cheap EU flight landed fifteen minutes early, and we arrived at our guesthouse earlier than expected. Our elderly host showed us our room- it's essentially a tiny apartment in a huge medieval palazzo where her family has lived for over 200 years. It was a classic peak AirBnB moment (circa 2010 or so) when real people would occasionally rent out a spare room in their homes, and you could meet some fascinating people. (Of course, this sounds amazing until we realized she really liked to talk, didn't seem inclined to actually leave, and I started to get images of waking up in the middle of the night and seeing her standing over the bed.)

    We managed to extricate ourselves, and headed to Trattoria Pane e Vino for our 9pm reservations for a seven-course tasting menu.

    Long-time readers of our travels (all three of you) know that unlike most humans, I do not love Italian food, pasta, or pizza. (I am aware that this makes me a subhuman oddity to many, but in my defense, I'm right.) So while it seems unlikely that I would indulge in an Italian tasting menu, Pane e Vino came highly recommended...and the amazing menu featured only one course of pasta.

    I am about to say something I have never said before: This Italian meal was one of the best things I've eaten all year.

    Each course featured very typical Verona ingredients presented in atypical ways, beginning with a "surprise of starters." One of the four "surprises" was two hollow chocolate balls filled with Italian vermouth- two of my favorite food groups- and I was so excited that I promptly spilled the vermouth all over the table. The following courses included housemade sausage, tiny pumpkin bread sandwiches filled with foie gras and goose (which I was so excited about that I forgot to take a photo), roasted quail roulade, homemade gnocchi with local cheese, a pasta dish in a thick rabbit ragu, and a deconstructed tiramisu. Now, normally I cannot be bothered with foo-foo "deconstructed" food (I'm paying the chef to literally CONSTRUCT my meal, so do yer job, pal), but this tiramisu did not fuck around and just served the goods: The delicious boozy custard and some cookie crumbs. That is perfection. No notes.

    After three hours, we walked back through a dark, rainy, beautiful Verona to our palazzo. As we passed Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's House), I started singing that Taylor Swift song "Love Story" about Romeo and Juliet, because nothing says "romantic evening in Italy" like a little Tay-Tay.

    (Matt countered my earworm with Dire Straits' "Romeo and Juliet." I may not have a jacket, but I have a playlist.)    Read more

  • TravelerChasing Juliet (and Grappa)

    Two Gentle-Joneses of Verona

    October 24, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    We spent a lovely day exploring Verona and wandering its streets. In Verona, I have found the perfect little Italian town: Small enough to navigate, not overrun with drunken tourists, still fairly authentic, local, and preserved, with excellent food, stunning architecture and history, and simply gorgeous. For the first time ever, I am charmed by an Italian town, and I would love to return. Holy shit! This is not something I have ever said before.

    We started our walking tour of Verona this morning at the astonishing Piazza Bra. I say "astonishing" because right smack in the middle of the piazza is a Roman amphitheater from 30 AD. It's the fifth largest Roman amphitheater on the planet, and color me excited that we've now seen the entire Top 5: The Colosseum in Rome; the amphitheater of Nimes, France; El Jem in Tunisia; and Arles, France. (These are things that history nerds find impressive. I am just saying.) I do luvs me an amphitheater.

    We continued on to Verona's most famous sight: La Casa di Giulietta, or Juliet's House. Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" was based here in Verona, and in 1905 some creatively-thinking marketing types decided to cash in. Juliet's House is a beautiful 14th century palazzo, previously owned by the Cappello family (who MIGHT have been related to Shakespeare's fictional "Capulet" family). In 1905, the family sold the palazzo to the city, and the town collectively agreed that yessiree, that's Juliet's house! And then eagerly awaited the delicious tourism money to begin rolling in. (Spoiler alert: it did, and has never stopped.) In 1936 someone decided to crank the contrivance up to 11, and added the iconic balcony. No joke: The city found an unused medieval sarcophagus (don't we all have one or two lying around?), SAWED IT IN HALF, and stuck it on the exterior wall. Voila, it's her balcony!

    So people come from all over the world to see her balcony, visit her statue (and grope her boob for "good luck"), and leave love notes and requests for love advice stuck to the garden's walls...with chewing gum. It's as repulsive as Seattle's gum wall, except romantic and literary???

    People! Juliet and Romeo were FICTIONAL!

    Anyway, it all reminded me of Kronberg Castle in Copenhagen, which was the setting for Shakespeare's "Hamlet." So many British tourists would ask "where is Hamlet's grave?"- despite the fact that Hamlet is a FICTIONAL CHARACTER- that the castle gave up and created a "grave."

    I do not understand people.

    We strolled the morning market at the stunning Piazza delle Erbe. With its medieval Venetian architecture and bell towers, it looks like a movie set. Nearby is Piazza Dante, which is also shockingly well preserved, devoid of touristy shit, and utterly elegant and charming.

    Our walking tour led us by several tiny, dusty shops selling local specialties and wines. These types of shops are dwindling in Barcelona (we call them "colmados"), so we eagerly supported the local economy and bought some wine and cheese.

    We stopped for lunch at a small osteria on the river, then walked along the riverside promenade to see the lovely bridges spanning the Adige River. Ponte Pietra is the most famous; it was built in 100 BC (not a typo!), bombed in WWII, then rebuilt from the original stones dredged from the river. The 14th century Castel Vecchio, or Scaliger Bridge, is equally amazing- not only does it look like the love child of a castle and a bridge, but when it was built, it was the longest span in Europe.

    Later in the evening, we wandered the city. At night, with no day-tripper tourists, and the architecture beautifully lit, Verona is one of the loveliest towns I've ever seen. The piazzas and squares were peaceful yet buzzy; we snagged a riverside table for aperitivo hour, and enjoyed Campari spritzes under the terrace fairy lights. Around midnight, we had pre-bedtime gelato (that's a thing!) on a bench in Piazza Bra, in front of the amphitheater. Bliss.    Read more

  • TravelerChasing Juliet (and Grappa)

    Who Needs Romeo When There's Grappa?

    October 25, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    We took our time leaving Verona on Friday morning. We visited the Castel Vecchio and its stunning bridge, had one last view of the old city, and attempted to get gelato before our 12:30pm train (I say "attempted" because stupid gelato shops open at 12pm, and we didn't want to miss our train).

    We arrived in Bassano del Grappa in the late afternoon, and met our friends at the station. After checking into our apartment, we strolled Bassano in the early evening. I have to say: Bassano del Grappa is a tiny slice of perfection. It's small, but stunning. The picturesque little piazzas are filled with both gorgeous medieval architecture, and locals happily drinking Aperol Spritzes. The town's 16th century Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) and castle feel so perfectly Italian and scenic that it's hard to remember they're real, and not theme park re-creations.

    There aren't many tourists in Bassano del Grappa- it's a bit remote and off the beaten path. The local community is so tight-knit that Nardini Distillery, Ponte Vecchio bridge's famous bar, will serve takeway glasses of apertivo to customers, who then wander away and walk along the bridge to enjoy their drinks. These customers are trusted to return those glasses, unbroken and unstolen, post-apertivo. Nobody steals the glassware, or hurls them off the bridge for funz. As a big-city dweller, I find this amazing. Let's be honest: In London, this bar would run out of glassware in one evening, and all of them would later be found shattered at the bottom of the river.

    We had aperitivo with our friends at this famous (but tiny) bar. Nardini is one of Bassano's original grappa producers, and they also sell a top-secret liqueur called "Mezzo e Mezzo." It's apparently an apertivo of vermouth, bitters, and rhubarb grappa; it's also insanely delicious and perfect as a pre-dinner cocktail. (I say this as someone who had one cocktail. OK maybe two.)

    We strolled to dinner at an osteria nearby, where I ate too much gnocchi and drank way too much table wine. While the food was not as impressive as Verona's Pane e Vino, it was still yet another Italian meal that I liked. Amazing!

    I turned down dessert in favor of post-dinner gelato. But...during our late-night post-dinner walk back to the flat, I was once again thwarted. I say "thwarted" because stupid gelato shops CLOSE at 11pm. So, the score of Me Getting Gelato In My Mouth is Italy 2, Denise 0.

    The hunt continues tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerChasing Juliet (and Grappa)

    (Over) Eat-aly

    October 26, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Today was a day of waaaay too much food and booze. I have not been kind to my body today. But this is the price one pays when in Rome (or Bassano del Grappa)...

    We started the day at the Poli Grappa Museum, conveniently located across the street from our flat. Poli is another famous grappa producer, and they've made the brilliant marketing move to create a small, FREE museum to explain grappa distillation and history...and host a large Poli shop and tasting room at the end. The museum itself was surprisingly interesting- it included a "sniff display" of all Poli's grappa flavors, solving that timeless problem of "how to give free booze samples to everyone without boozing up kids, or wasting precious liquor."

    Also, grappa up one's nose is fun.

    We took full advantage of the free samples at the end; each of the four of us chose two different grappas, and we all shared. My goal of the day was to find a grappa that I would drink voluntarily- most grappa tastes like lemony lighter fluid- and I happily succeeded. I discovered I like egg grappa (its creamy flavor and texture is reminiscent of eggnog), mocha grappa, and aperitivo grappa (an Aperol-like flavor). I also learned about the four types of grappa, facts of which I promptly memory-holed after a few grappa shots. Anyway.

    By the time we finished our grappa-fest, it was time for lunch. However, being already full of grappa, I opted to skip lunch and advance directly to gelato.

    People: I have discovered drop-the-mic gelato.

    Our friends took us to their favorite gelato and chocolate shop, ChocoMi. Not only was ChocoMi's gelato delicious, but the flavors were freaking EPIC. I had two flavors: Chocolate with grappa, and- wait for it- PUMPKIN SPICE. While I know that an American white lady ordering Pumpkin Spice is a stereotype, in my defense, PUMPKIN SPICE.

    We spent the afternoon on various terraces, drinking (a lot of) wine and Campari Spritzes. Later in the evening, our friends had reservations for dinner at La Bottegara, a trattoria known for its pasta carbonara, "come dio comanda" ("as god intended"). And after eating a bowl of this rich, guanciale-heavy carbonara, I must say I agree with this restaurant's god. It was fabulous. But it was also ginormous and grossly filling. But despite that, we still managed to order several bottles of wine, and huge tiramisus.

    I'm not gonna lie- I felt like a python that had swallowed an entire goat, and now needed two weeks to slowly digest it. When we finally left three hours later, I could barely propel myself forward.

    We finished the evening with a long, post-gorge stroll over the Ponte Vecchio to admire the town at night.    Read more

  • TravelerChasing Juliet (and Grappa)

    Grappa-ling with Departures

    October 27, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    For our final day in lovely Bassano del Grappa, the four of us spent the day walking through the town, viewing the architecture and the historical sites.

    We walked to Bassano's beautiful but tragic Viale dei Martiri (Avenue of the Martyrs). Here, during World War II, 31 members of the Italian Resistance were brutally hanged from the 31 trees as punishment for opposing the fascists. Each tree is dedicated to the Resistance member who was murdered there. It's shocking and chilling, particularly given current political events in the US and Italy.

    We strolled through the town gate, Porta Dieda, and admired its Renaissance frescoes that still remained vibrant over 500 years later.

    We stopped in at Libreria Palazzo Roberti, a bookstore I'd seen mentioned in Architectural Digest as "one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world." This bookstore is a 17th century palazzo, and Napoleon himself once lived here. From the bookstore floor, it isn't so impressive; but our friends asked a clerk if we could view the upstairs rooms. And Architectural Digest wasn't exaggerating; the clerk unlocked the doors to a stunning, fresco'ed ballroom with a Murano chandelier.

    We walked along the River Brenta, and stopped to view Villa Ca' Erizzo Luca, the villa where Ernest Hemingway convalesced after being injured in World War I. Like the rest of Bassano del Grappa, the villa and its setting is historical, serene, and elegant.

    Our flight back to Barcelona was at 10pm, so we settled in for a late lunch on the main piazza. I discovered a delicious regional specialty- bigoli con anatra, or thick pasta with duck ragú. With a Campari Spritz, this was a perfect farewell meal to the Veneto region.

    After some limoncello shots, we caught a 5pm train to Venice, to spend a bit of time there before our flight. And that would be the end of our adventure.

    Well, except that....

    1. On the train to the airport, at about 6pm, we received an email from Vueling Airlines saying oopsie, so sorry...your flight has been cancelled! But no worries, they could rebook us on the next flight to Barcelona...on FRIDAY. Five days from now.

    (Luckily, after an hour or so of research, I found an Iberian Airlines flight at 6am tomorrow morning. Instead of a two-hour direct flight, it was now five hours with a connection through Madrid. This also meant that we had to spend a night at an airport hotel, because I ain't sleeping in Venice Airport. But thanks to EU regulations, Vueling is on the hook for our expenses. So there, stupid Vueling.)

    2. In Venice, we bought airport bus tickets to get to our airport hotel. Imagine our surprise when the bus was cancelled (AFTER they took our €20), because hey, it's Sunday night!

    (Luckily, I managed to convince another bus driver to let us hitchhike on his bus out of pure pity.)

    3. When we finally arrived in Barcelona, we boarded the airport bus...only to be kicked off halfway home because there was a transit strike today.

    This was an inelegant ending to an otherwise amazing weekend.    Read more

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