FRIDAY : Venezia

Is there a more beautiful city in the world?...No. Step out of the train station and you are transported into another reality. Sure there are too many tourists, but there have been too many tourists for hundreds of years. Yes, everything is a bit more expensive, but so what. Around every corner and over every little bridge is another picture perfect view.

Les and I went on Thursday on our last day of fun (Friday did not count because it was spent driving 680kms from Udine to Nice to catch our flights back home on Saturday morning)....We took the train from Udine and spent 6 hours simply wandering around, getting lost and marvelling, once again, at this unique city....Of course, we also stopped for lunch - at the small out of the way Trattoria Al Ponte recommended by Harley, a Venetian native....His directions? At the last bridge just past the Campo in this part of San Polo district. I pride myself on a very good sense of direction, but I had to inquire three separate times before we stumbled onto the place....And I'm glad we did. We both wanted fish - I had sepia en su tinta negra and Les had pulpo a la Veronesa - both accompanied by white polenta (Venetians eat white instead of yellow polenta)...both dishes were superb. Accompanied by a very nice mezzo litre of vino blanco from the local Azienda Plonk.

Thereafter, gelato at the Campo Santa Margherita...I have yet to mention gelato....There are numerous reasons to visit Italia, but its gelato alone is reason to go. Nothing ranks close to Italian gelato...Les and I are addicted to Nocciola (hazelnut)...We may have missed a day without at least una bola, but if we did it was a mistake.

Next time....una settimana en Venezia..

On Wednesday we visited Cividale del Friuli - a small city 15 kms from Udine and my favorite town in Friuli. Thereafter, a visit to Claudias' 91 year old mother in Moggio - in the mountains North of Udine...La Signora Maria Teresa is my link to my travelling past. I first met her 31 years ago on my first trip to Italy This was my fourth visit to her home - her home was one of the few that survived the horrific earthquake that leveled the medieval village of Moggio in 1976

TUESDAY (Oct 12th) Friuili

(I have posted some pictures from the trip - see below)

We are in Udine staying with our longtime friends Claudia and Harley. Udine is situated in the heart of the Friuli region, about an hour and a half northeast of Venice, close to Slovenia. A lovely city of about 100,000 people, it has all the trappings of what makes Italy different – a sense of style… Italians really know how to produce beautiful things – clothes, shoes, buildings, objets d’art, espresso makers…you name it – Italians make it look better.

Italians also dress better than anyone else in the world….Les refers to them as ”fashionistas”…. A case in point: this morning we went for a stroll through town, window shopping at all the fancy clothing stores. Les was wearing this bright-colored, flowery, spring-like skirt with a green top….The looks she got! It was clear she was wearing the wrong outfit for the time of year. The stares of disbelief were sufficient to cause her to change outfits before our afternoon adventures….I, on the other hand, am always appropriately dressed because I don’t care….

One final word on fashion – Purple… Definitely the new “in”color. You heard it here first…

The Friuli region remains an unknown area for Americans. Lovely, undiscovered small towns, great food and white wines, beautiful scenery and few tourists make it one of my favorite areas of Italy… Speaking of food today was another spectacular lunch – this time at Trattoria Blanch in the city of Mossa. A soup of pasta e fagioli, followed by a fresh porcini pasta (unbelievably good), then bacala e polenta with a side of contorni; a great house Friulano (used to be called Tokay), finishing with an espresso….near perfection. All for 25 Euros per person…. Another wasted day……Bello.

FRIDAY: Tartufo Bianco de Alba

What does one do in Piemonte in October other than drink lots of fabulous wine? How about exploring for white gold…otherwise known as tartufo bianco, or white truffles…

Today we went on a truffle hunt. Organized by the Villa, we visited a well-known casa de trifulau and went tramping thru the forest south of Asti with the trifulau his well-trained dog searching for truffles (no, they do not use pigs). Quite fascinating….After a short lecture on the member of the mushroom family we went a searching…. There are 9000 licensed truffle hunters in Piemonte, 3000 in Asti alone. They are entitled to enter any open lands in search of the golden nuggets. And golden they are. A small truffle (I really mean small) will sell for about 30-50 Euros at local establishments (@3-5 Euros per gram)……The dogs are trained from youth and they are the true treasure. Our little cane went scurrying through the trees (truffles grow 4-8 inches underground near the roots of certain trees), and when she picked up the scent, buried her nose in the ground and started to dig. The truffle hunter scurries over and the two of them proceed to dig and search….Sure enough we (ie the dog) found a truffle in two separate areas….The smell is intoxicating.

After the hunt, back to the farmer’s very nice home (while truffle hunters generally hunt as a hobby – however, there are obvious financial benefits) for some local wine (from the vineyard down the hill), real truffle oil on bread, and generous shavings of the white gold over a local mild cheese. This truffle was found the day before – truffles should be eaten within a few days of being picked…Quite delicious…Wanted more and more. A fun morning.

Therafter we headed to Alba – Asti’s rival city. Smaller and quainter, the town literally smelled of truffles – the annual truffle festival was beginning the next day. Looked in all the quaint food and wine shops and wanted to buy it all….

The previous day was spent exploring the Barolo region with a tasting visit to Rivetto del 1902 winery and another fabulous lunch at Cascina Schiavenza in Serralunga D’Alba. The bottle of Arneis (a white wine from nearby) – was not my favorite. We sat outside with a great view of the surrounding landscape. The 2 ½ hour lunch was topped off when the Italian man and his wife sitting next to us bought us all an appertif of Barolo cinato – an herb induced liquor.

WEDNESDAY: Barbaresco or meeting Angelo Gaja

I met the King of Piemonte – Angelo Gaja…but first a quick recap of events…

Tuesday found us driving through the Alps to arrive at Villa Sampaguita – our destination just outside Asti. No autostrada thru these mountains, so winding roads up and back down into Italy. After lunch, a quick visit to our first medieval hill top town of Saluzzo – visited in particular to find a highly recommended cheese store – and onto our Villa with various local chesses on hand for dinner.

The Villa is owned by Tim Brewer, a real character who loves to chat and is an expert on all things Piemonte. The villa has B&B rooms and two apartments. Close to Asti, but deep in the countryside. In fact, behind the Villa resides a very cute little donkey. Les and the ass have bonded… unfortunately (at least for the donkey), we found out later that he will be sausage in a few weeks…..

Today was our excursion to Barbaresco. Beautiful rolling hills covered by vineyards, mostly nebbiolo grapes. It is a small, beautiful hillside town where tourists and the wealthy like to visit. I counted numerous BMW’s and at least one Mazzerati in the handful of parking spaces. Great lunch at Trattoria Antica Torre (not cheap), and then my encounter with nobility….

The Gaja winery is located in town. A big iron gate shuts out the public. Gaja wines are renowned and very expensive. The Trattoria in town had a bottle of 1998 Barbaresco for 375 Euro…I wanted my photo taken in front of the Gaja sign, as I presume that will be the closest I’ll ever get to tasting a Gaja wine. Subito, up drives this gentleman who appears pleased we are taking a picture and tells to wait a moment while he goes inside to get us a book about the winery. Damn, I said, that looks like Senore Gaja himself! Indeed it was and a few minutes later he comes out with two books, inquires were we are from – we tell him Sacramento, he mentions Darell Corti – and I have my picture taken with him in front of the Gaja sign. I am star struck…Nebbiolo heaven. The only thing better would have been a wee taste of his Barolo, but I”ll have to settle for the photo…..

The evening meal is homemade pasta with fresh and dried porcinis bought at the market in Asti accompanied by a 2003 Francone Barbaresco purchased during our earlier visit at the winery....Not a Gaja, but not bad.

MONDAY: Cruis

Sometimes one stumbles and still lands a perfect 10….The Auberge de l’ Abbaye in in the small hamlet of Cruis is close to a 10… especially after the cramp quarters of a canal boat. I booked this place on the Internet because it was about half-way to our destination in Italy; Michelin had also mentioned its restaurant. Located in the Alpes d’Haute Provence region, Cruis has about 400 inhabitants, our one hotel (9 rooms), one café and patisserie – and is picture perfect. Our room had a little balcony that overlooked the local 12th Century eglise with a view of the entire valley below….After picking up our rental car in Bezier and driving 300 kms through Provence, it was a nice stop……

A young couple run the place – husband cooks, wife manages the hotel…..And the food? Best meal so far… Plain, little dining room, but easily one-star quality food. Started with “Les noix des Saint Jacques sur une fondue de poireau au champignon”; followed by “La ballotin de magret d’ore du Sud Oest fourree de sou foie gras jus de carcasse et flan de cepe” – essentially slices of goose wrapped around its own foie gras; Ending with “L’ananas dans tous ses etats” – which didn’t sound interesting, but ranks amongst the best desserts I’ve ever eaten…pineapple four different ways, all magnificent…30 Euros.

Life is rough...

FRIDAY: Argens-Minervois – Capestang

Only one lock today – 54kms free of voyeurs until we reach Beziers. Last night a hurricane came through – I’d say a three-club wind. All night the well-used blue fenders of the side of the boat were bumping the side of the boat – thump-thump – makes for particularly unpleasant sleeping.
Another observation…Les is more mechanically inept than I am, and that is saying a lot. Toilets on these boats are not the nice little flush things. You must crank the handle to fill the basin, thereafter turn a switch and crank again to let the waste water recede into the holding tank. Suffice to say Les had some trouble figuring it out…..
Capestang is a bigger town with all the amenities. All four of us went out for pizza at Le Provence. Strikingly good.. For 10 Euros a pizza, 8 Euros for a litre of good local Chateau Plonk – a cheap, wonderful alternative to the typical menus….
Along with the holiday self-drive boats, there are large hotel barges that ply the canal. Beautifully laid out, with gorgeous teak interiors and usually carrying 6-10 passengers, they are the five-star version of canal life. The pilots are quite adept at piloting these enormous vessels through the often-tiny bridge underpasses.
You also see a lot of bikers along the canal. A dirt path runs alongside the entire canal. Groups of bikers on organized tours will zoom along with their maps/itineraries attached to their front handlebars…One of the woman we met on our walk had biked the entire length of the canal – some 600kms according to her calculations. These dirt paths might be a bit hard on the ass, but compared to the misery of blisters, I’ll take a sore bum anytime..

SATURDAY: Capestang – Beziers
Another lazy day capped off by the seven Fonserannes locks at Beziers. These locks are only open in one direction twice a day, so one must arrange their boating plans accordingly. We opted for the afternoon time – 1pm. There were a line of boats prepared to venture into the locks, but of course the eclusier did not arrive till near 2pm. Down we proceeded with scores of voyeurs following our descent – this being the most famous of all the locks on the Canal. It took 45 minutes to maneuver the locks. We had one group of inexperienced French persons handling one of the four boats in our flotilla. There were 8 of them…all inept. My favorite of the group was the very middle-age woman wearing spandex shorts. She had this look of disgust every time the boat behind theirs crept up close. Les couldn’t avoid commenting that she was “too old for camel toe”…..
We strolled into Beziers, by far the biggest city we have visited. Found and bought – for 1 Euro - a little bicycle at the local bri-bac outdoor marche to add to my collection. Sat down at a shady café in front of the cathedral, drank pastis while Les chatted with her sister using our Skype access.
Dinner was by the Canal at an upscale restaurant called La Refiniere – a converted sulphur refinery…very nouvelle cuisine. This was the restaurant recommended to Lyle by a sommelier in Palm Springs – we stepped off the boat in search and it was 50 meters away. A great bottle of 2008 Domaine La Croix Belle – Les champs de Lys (Grenache blanc-viognier blend) accompanied a coquille st. jacques entrée followed by game hen with gnocchi.
Today is the second anniversary of Jules’ death. Just as he was always want to say on our canal boat trips - “time to get organized”…we never did and I don’t intend to start.

SUNDAY: Beziers – Port Cassafieres.
The last full day of boating. The days disappear into one another. A holiday really begins when one forgets what day it is. Getting close to that…..
Occasionally one sees boats for sale. Nice looking one today for only 50,000 Euro. I have to think it would be much more interesting than retiring to Florida…

WEDNESDAY: Near Carcassonne

This is way too easy…Life at 6kms per hour…Or, if you really push yourself, 7kms per hour. We are on the Canal du Midi, meandering our way from Castelnaudary to Port Cassafieres. Interestingly, we are also travelling about 160kms, but the calorie count will be in the upward direction instead of the other way. The Canal is one of those “engineering marvels” (another name for a major works project) built in the late 17th Century, connecting the Mediterranean with the Atlantic (near Bourdeaux).
A quick update… We left Espalion by the only public means of transportation – the 8:00am bus to Rodez. Miss that bus, and it’s either wait till late aft. or hire a taxi for the 30 km ride to Rodez. From Rodez to Toulouse and on to Castelnaudary by bus and train. Arrived in Castelnaudary at 3PM, met up with our friends Mindy and Lyle and after a quick demonstration on how to use the boat we were off.
Immediately one must navigate 3 connecting locks to leave town. In other words, a catastrophy in the making. Before I recount, let me just say that the Sandford-Lobaco’s and canal boats have a long history of mishaps. This is our 5th trip in Europe on canal boats. Something interesting usually happens. Once I almost ran into a car on this same Canal – 27 years ago…..Odd to find a car in a Canal, but probably much more problematic for the person driving the car…. This time while the water was receding in our first lock, I noticed that our boat seemed to be listing to the side. Sure enough, we were about to tip over! (I exaggerate just slightly). Our rubber bumper had attached to the side of the lock…I rushed over trying to push the gazillion pound boat off the side before horrors ensued (I had a fleeting image of those mothers lifting cars to save the pinned child). Push as I might little happened until Lyle realized our predicament and put the boat in reverse. The boat plopped down into the lock…..Welcome to canal life.
Boating really is quite nice. Not all that much to do except avoid accidents, eat a lot and drink copious amounts of wine. Can’t complain about that too much. The most exciting part of the day is getting in and out of the locks. Three or four boats can be stuffed into one lock and maneuvering takes a bit of practice, especially since the newer boats are quite large. The canal wanders through vineyards and little towns where you can stop and eat some more. …This canal is very pretty, typically lined by large plane trees and wide enough for two boats to cross.
Speaking of eating...the regional specialty of this region is cassoulet. I love cassoulet. Anything with beans, sausage, duck confit and fat ranks high on my culinary scale. Next time I visit, it will be just to try the differing versions. However, I doubt any will compare with the one I had on the first evening on the canal…After boating for about three hours we stopped at 7pm (locks close at 7pm; In October locks close at 6pm). We walked on a dark road for about 1 km into the tiny village of Villepinte in search of a restaurant I had read about. We eventually found “Aux Deus Acacias”. One other couple was eating. Lyle and I ordered cassoulet, and what came from the kitchen was close to perfection. Spoiled the first time…..
Arrived in Carcassonne late afternoon on Tuesday, docked at the marina and went to McDonalds. You may inquire why I, that faux bon vivant would contemplate the inside of a McDonalds?...In need of a “Grand-Mac”?. No, just free WiFi, bien sur!. For a petite café, utilize the free service for as long as you want. Truly, “les arches d’or”….That evening, more cassoulet (not as good, but not bad) at a cute little restaurant by the canal, while Les and the others had the audacity to eat something different – delicious fresh fish and foie gras….
Wednesday morning took a stroll up the cite in Carcassone – the old walled city that was the model for Disneyland – or something like that. Cute and touristy - stayed for 10 minutes, more than enough. That evening after no further misadventures on the canal, stopped by the side of a vineyard, put our table on top of the boat and had a splendid little feast, topped off by a great 2002 L’Esprit de Pennautier from Chateau Pinnautieur (cab-syrah blend) bought from the winery from an unpleasant, pretentious little twirp…but damn good wine.

THURSDAY: Carcassonne to Argen-Minervois
An observation…there seems to be some sort of fascination among folks in watching canal boats go up and down in the locks – “les ecluse voyeurs” as I now like to refer to them. Sometimes a small gaggle of folks come to see the boaters make fools of themselves in the locks…an odd affliction, sort of like the rubber-neckers of our freeways
Another lazy day on the canal, capped by a brilliant lunch at the Auberge d’Aubossier – their patio sits right on the Canal….Mindy had the garcon take our picture, which you won’t get to see because can’t get her photos on my notebook. Suffice to tell you it was an image of two happy-looking couples enjoying their dejeuner in a gorgeous setting. Given the graying hair, probably more of a Gourmet Magazine photo-opt than Food & Wine….From there is was on to our destination and another miserable dinner on board – foie gras on toasted brioche, a pepper encrusted goat cheese bought at the tiny local market that morning, salad, and two bottles of wine (a lovely Muscat to accompany the foie gras) ….Life is slowing down to 4kms per hour…..