Fat and Happy - A Foodie’s Paradise
Pasta, wine, and food comas awaited us in picturesque Alpine lake region otherwise known as a Foodie’s paradise. Fresh caffe and baked goods were a morning ritual for myself and the twenty villagers. First, we had to explore the fashion mecca of Milan and appreciate one of the great artworks in history![divider class="" ]Planning:A long, long time ago, in a land across an ocean, I began planning for the ultimate surprise trip. Between Marseille last month and this trip, it was an option for the big question. I scrolled through my Twitter feed browsing for a good deal when my one of my favorite deal sites offered an excellent deal on flights and AirBnB! From there, I fell for the amazing scenic views of the isolated and picturesque Lake Iseo.Similar to its more famous cousin Lake Como, Lake Iseo is nestled between the Italian Alps and borders Switzerland and Austria. There are medieval towns and villages dotting the shores of Lake Iseo. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately!), you cannot access Lake Iseo by train so one must drive or take very long bus ride from Milan or Bermago. For those flying into Ryanair’s base at Bermago, they only have to drive 30 minutes to get there! Since it is further away from Milan, it means less tourists![divider class="" ]How: Flight/Train/CarLuckily, Luton Airport has plenty of cheap flights to Milan everyday! If you book in advance, they can be quite cheap. We took a 7:30pm flight, arriving in Milan at 10:30pm. Most importantly, we discovered Luton has a lounge!! This means I am more likely to get Mary Frances to arrive at the suggested 2(ish) hours before your flight departs! Plus, we enjoy space, peace and quiet, and eat and drink for free! Thank you, Chase Sapphire Reserve!
Once we arrived in Milan, we discovered we were not in the popular Terminal 1 (international flights) and were in Terminal 2 (EasyJet only). This required us to take a bus to Terminal 1 so we could pick up our car in time! Since I am not yet 25, I registered the car in Mary Frances’ name and it only cost 32 for all 3 days! What a steal! When we found the car, it took us a minute to re-familiarize ourselves with a right-hand steering wheel! That first drive was…terrifying…
Since we had plans in Milan the next day, I researched online and found that you could park your car near the metro and use the metro. Once we circled the parking garage at least five times, we managed to find the entrance and followed the locals to the metro! The metro was surprisingly clean and very affordable.As for the rest of the journey, I hope I do not have to rent another car in Italy ever again. I swear they drive drunk as they swerve into whatever lane they care to be in and feel the need to constantly speed! There were also tight corners and narrow roads lined with either mountains or stone walls! While it was very cheap to rent, the agency was probably counting on us wrecking the car!Flights: £65Hotel: £30AirBnB: $150Car: £16Food Comas: Not enough..[divider class="" ]Lodging:I will decline to review the Holiday Inn by the Milan airport. It was as expected - except it was a smoking room! Thankfully it was only a night!As for the AirBnB, here are the amazing pictures on the website…
And here are the pictures from Saturday…
Obviously, not the most ideal weather for a scenic destination. We are a full flat to ourselves and I believe we even had the entire property to ourselves! This is how people travel in off season![divider class="" ]Milan Activities:For our one day in Milan, I pre-booked a history and Last Supper walking tour! I highly advise booking a tour in advance for the Last Supper as most tickets sell out quickly and far in advance. I on the other hand waited until the last minute to buy my tickets and we had one of the last spots on the morning tour! Also, I purchased tickets for the famous Duomo and the top of the structure. I read online that you need to buy them in advance otherwise you’d be stuck in massive queues.The Last Supper was truly amazing! We learned the history behind the fresco and we were able to view the massive painting for a whole 15 minutes! Since it was painted a long time ago (around 1441), the fresco has undergone many traumatic events such as WW2 and the monks deciding to put in a new door! Fun fact: the monks thought the painting was going to be gone in a few years so they decided to insert a new door - where Jesus’ feet should be! Since it is in delicate condition, each group is only allowed 15 minutes with the masterpiece.
For the rest of the walking tour, we explore the streets of Milano! Basically, a short history lesson, everyone invaded Milano. In my opinion, it definitely was not a very strong city-state. The main fort even had holes in the wall that enabled invaders to easily scale the walls! Throughout the trip, our guide pointed our restaurants and excellent shopping districts! We ended the tour at the magnificent Galleria, location of the finest (and most expensive) shops, and minutes away from the Duomo.
Of course, after the tour, we went to lunch. Please see the food section for all those delicious details! Mary Frances bought a very nice, boutique scarf/ shawl in the true fashion district of Milan! After that purchase, we wandered around the fashion district which is behind the Duomo and decided to make an attempt at using our tickets. That idea quickly faded as we saw the extremely long lines… Even though I purchased tickets ahead of time, they still would not allow me to walk up and use them. Oh well, slight lesson learned! My top priority was the Last Supper anyways!
[divider class="" ]Riva Di Solto Activities:Well, as one can imagine, in a sleepy lakeside village, there are not a whole lot of activities - especially since I was planning on sunny days! When we were driving there, the sun started to show, but eventually disappeared behind the mountains. Uh oh… By the time we had settled into our AirBnB, we could see 20 feet in front of us! Great start to a fun trip!
The rest of the weekend was not much better. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating at all. It was completely foggy and rainy. It made for a very sleepy morning, but I knew I wanted to go into the village and see what breakfast was available! I wandered into the town and got my fresh caffe (only 1 euro!) and picked up our daily groceries! The good wine was only 3 euros!!
We took another stroll through the village (lesson: don’t blink for too long - even when walking!) and we ended up walking around the lake shore. The wind and rain/mist was coming in and we were not prepared for it. We had to retreat back to the cabin and wish and pray for it to go away.On the third day, the sun rose. It was glorious. When the sunlight entered the apartment, it was pure magic. I truly enjoyed every second of it. I literally sat on the balcony and basked in the sunshine. To celebrate the glorious sun, I ventured into the village for a fresh caffe and doughnut. It was the perfect start to the day!!IMG_1138To start the day, we took an extremely scenic drive alongside the lake shore. It was extremely beautiful and everything was as I imagined when I booked this trip! Mary Frances researched the top places and we settled on a quiet, remote restaurant that had excellent reviews. The sun showing up definitely was the highlight of the day and the food made up for it.
[divider class="" ]Food:I will try to go in order of all the delicious food by meal, by day.On Saturday, we scoped out TripAdvisor, apparently the best resource for Italian foodies, for nearby pasta (or pizza) and immediately selected a delicious pasta hole in the wall! Then again, pasta places are a dime a dozen, but good ones are hard to find! According to Mary Frances, the good Italian places will usually have the trusty TA sticker. From the first starter, I was in love. We had bruschetta and fresh mozzarella and salad.
Everything was glorious. For the mains, I had this wonderful spinach and cheese ravioli. The pasta was oh so good! For Saturday dinner, we went into the Riva di Solto and tried the local cuisine. Of course, I think we ate really early, but it was still really good! I again ordered pasta except it was a bacon glazed with some sort of yummy meat filling! Really should have kept up with my high school Latin to read the menu! By the end of the meal, I was fat and happy.
However, not to full to have my first gelato! I did not care that it was freezing cold outside, I wanted it to say I had it!
On Sunday, we skipped breakfast. Turns out back to back pasta is very filling! We went out to eat at the other restaurant in Riva and we mainly ordered a fancy cheese and meat plate. Oh, and very cheap vino!! We opted to eat a light late lunch for a fancy Italian dinner on the mountaintop!
For dinner, as expected, it was glorious. We chose a little hotel and restaurant with (supposedly) amazing views. We did not get the views, but we did eat wonderful pasta! I had this really great seafood pasta! For dessert, we decided to branch out and order raspberry cheesecake. It was superb. Probably the best part about the experience was the service. It was a completely family run business and we had the whole family at one point wait on us. They were so friendly! I left one of my only Tripadvisor reviews for them!
On a glorious sunny Monday, for our last meal in Italy, Mary Frances researched and found one of the top restaurants around the lake. Similar to other restaurants in the area, it was family run and we were one of the ones in the restaurants. Of course, we had a lovely glass of white wine. I had the seafood pesto pasta, where I could taste the fresh oil and spinach. Wow, it was fantastic!
Short lesson into how to know if you have a good bottle of wine: it has a D.O.C.G label around the top. From there, you have other ones with other DOG, etc.. Turns out I do not know much, but I know just enough! Told you it was a short lesson![divider class="" ]Italy is a fatty’s paradise. It has every food group I could ever want and we just got started! I can see how people can gain 100 pounds in a short few weeks. When one adds the wonderful sunshine, the Alpine lakes of Italy turn into a relaxing paradise.[divider class="" ]The UnChartered 13:
Once we arrived in Milan, we discovered we were not in the popular Terminal 1 (international flights) and were in Terminal 2 (EasyJet only). This required us to take a bus to Terminal 1 so we could pick up our car in time! Since I am not yet 25, I registered the car in Mary Frances’ name and it only cost 32 for all 3 days! What a steal! When we found the car, it took us a minute to re-familiarize ourselves with a right-hand steering wheel! That first drive was…terrifying…Since we had plans in Milan the next day, I researched online and found that you could park your car near the metro and use the metro. Once we circled the parking garage at least five times, we managed to find the entrance and followed the locals to the metro! The metro was surprisingly clean and very affordable.As for the rest of the journey, I hope I do not have to rent another car in Italy ever again. I swear they drive drunk as they swerve into whatever lane they care to be in and feel the need to constantly speed! There were also tight corners and narrow roads lined with either mountains or stone walls! While it was very cheap to rent, the agency was probably counting on us wrecking the car!Flights: £65Hotel: £30AirBnB: $150Car: £16Food Comas: Not enough..[divider class="" ]Lodging:I will decline to review the Holiday Inn by the Milan airport. It was as expected - except it was a smoking room! Thankfully it was only a night!As for the AirBnB, here are the amazing pictures on the website… And here are the pictures from Saturday… Obviously, not the most ideal weather for a scenic destination. We are a full flat to ourselves and I believe we even had the entire property to ourselves! This is how people travel in off season![divider class="" ]Milan Activities:For our one day in Milan, I pre-booked a history and Last Supper walking tour! I highly advise booking a tour in advance for the Last Supper as most tickets sell out quickly and far in advance. I on the other hand waited until the last minute to buy my tickets and we had one of the last spots on the morning tour! Also, I purchased tickets for the famous Duomo and the top of the structure. I read online that you need to buy them in advance otherwise you’d be stuck in massive queues.The Last Supper was truly amazing! We learned the history behind the fresco and we were able to view the massive painting for a whole 15 minutes! Since it was painted a long time ago (around 1441), the fresco has undergone many traumatic events such as WW2 and the monks deciding to put in a new door! Fun fact: the monks thought the painting was going to be gone in a few years so they decided to insert a new door - where Jesus’ feet should be! Since it is in delicate condition, each group is only allowed 15 minutes with the masterpiece.For the rest of the walking tour, we explore the streets of Milano! Basically, a short history lesson, everyone invaded Milano. In my opinion, it definitely was not a very strong city-state. The main fort even had holes in the wall that enabled invaders to easily scale the walls! Throughout the trip, our guide pointed our restaurants and excellent shopping districts! We ended the tour at the magnificent Galleria, location of the finest (and most expensive) shops, and minutes away from the Duomo.Of course, after the tour, we went to lunch. Please see the food section for all those delicious details! Mary Frances bought a very nice, boutique scarf/ shawl in the true fashion district of Milan! After that purchase, we wandered around the fashion district which is behind the Duomo and decided to make an attempt at using our tickets. That idea quickly faded as we saw the extremely long lines… Even though I purchased tickets ahead of time, they still would not allow me to walk up and use them. Oh well, slight lesson learned! My top priority was the Last Supper anyways![divider class="" ]Riva Di Solto Activities:Well, as one can imagine, in a sleepy lakeside village, there are not a whole lot of activities - especially since I was planning on sunny days! When we were driving there, the sun started to show, but eventually disappeared behind the mountains. Uh oh… By the time we had settled into our AirBnB, we could see 20 feet in front of us! Great start to a fun trip!The rest of the weekend was not much better. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating at all. It was completely foggy and rainy. It made for a very sleepy morning, but I knew I wanted to go into the village and see what breakfast was available! I wandered into the town and got my fresh caffe (only 1 euro!) and picked up our daily groceries! The good wine was only 3 euros!!We took another stroll through the village (lesson: don’t blink for too long - even when walking!) and we ended up walking around the lake shore. The wind and rain/mist was coming in and we were not prepared for it. We had to retreat back to the cabin and wish and pray for it to go away.On the third day, the sun rose. It was glorious. When the sunlight entered the apartment, it was pure magic. I truly enjoyed every second of it. I literally sat on the balcony and basked in the sunshine. To celebrate the glorious sun, I ventured into the village for a fresh caffe and doughnut. It was the perfect start to the day!!IMG_1138To start the day, we took an extremely scenic drive alongside the lake shore. It was extremely beautiful and everything was as I imagined when I booked this trip! Mary Frances researched the top places and we settled on a quiet, remote restaurant that had excellent reviews. The sun showing up definitely was the highlight of the day and the food made up for it. [divider class="" ]Food:I will try to go in order of all the delicious food by meal, by day.On Saturday, we scoped out TripAdvisor, apparently the best resource for Italian foodies, for nearby pasta (or pizza) and immediately selected a delicious pasta hole in the wall! Then again, pasta places are a dime a dozen, but good ones are hard to find! According to Mary Frances, the good Italian places will usually have the trusty TA sticker. From the first starter, I was in love. We had bruschetta and fresh mozzarella and salad. Everything was glorious. For the mains, I had this wonderful spinach and cheese ravioli. The pasta was oh so good! For Saturday dinner, we went into the Riva di Solto and tried the local cuisine. Of course, I think we ate really early, but it was still really good! I again ordered pasta except it was a bacon glazed with some sort of yummy meat filling! Really should have kept up with my high school Latin to read the menu! By the end of the meal, I was fat and happy. However, not to full to have my first gelato! I did not care that it was freezing cold outside, I wanted it to say I had it!On Sunday, we skipped breakfast. Turns out back to back pasta is very filling! We went out to eat at the other restaurant in Riva and we mainly ordered a fancy cheese and meat plate. Oh, and very cheap vino!! We opted to eat a light late lunch for a fancy Italian dinner on the mountaintop! For dinner, as expected, it was glorious. We chose a little hotel and restaurant with (supposedly) amazing views. We did not get the views, but we did eat wonderful pasta! I had this really great seafood pasta! For dessert, we decided to branch out and order raspberry cheesecake. It was superb. Probably the best part about the experience was the service. It was a completely family run business and we had the whole family at one point wait on us. They were so friendly! I left one of my only Tripadvisor reviews for them! On a glorious sunny Monday, for our last meal in Italy, Mary Frances researched and found one of the top restaurants around the lake. Similar to other restaurants in the area, it was family run and we were one of the ones in the restaurants. Of course, we had a lovely glass of white wine. I had the seafood pesto pasta, where I could taste the fresh oil and spinach. Wow, it was fantastic! Short lesson into how to know if you have a good bottle of wine: it has a D.O.C.G label around the top. From there, you have other ones with other DOG, etc.. Turns out I do not know much, but I know just enough! Told you it was a short lesson![divider class="" ]Italy is a fatty’s paradise. It has every food group I could ever want and we just got started! I can see how people can gain 100 pounds in a short few weeks. When one adds the wonderful sunshine, the Alpine lakes of Italy turn into a relaxing paradise.[divider class="" ]The UnChartered 13: