Last weekend Case and I went to the Alps with some of Case’s colleagues (the same group as Milan), if you remember my Milan post, the food was a plenty (and incredible), the sights were beautiful, and the company was fantastic.  The Alps, had the same feeling, just with different scenery and different food…yet another wonderful weekend.

On friday I flew into Milan and met Case, Grazia (another colleague), Ross, and Giovanna at the airport, where we hopped into a car and headed off to the mountains. After a long winding journey, passing many castles and small towns, we arrived at a cozy cabin nestled into one of the many mountainsides. Unfortunately, as we had driven it had gotten dark, so we were unable to take in the views. However we knew there were views to see. Anyways, we were quickly distracted by the beautiful and cozy cabin awaiting us. As we said our greetings with the euphoric smell of dinner cooking, we were shown around the cabin. Elena and Marco owned the cabin which is normally a B&B, but for the weekend they had blocked it off, so only we could stay there. They gave us the opportunity to choose our own rooms, so of course we took the one with two balconies overlooking the hills and mountains. After settling into our rooms, we explored the wine cellar, and spa area, before we were gathered around for my favorite time…Apertivo! I must say, since I had been traveling away from Italy, I had been missing the food and the culture of Italians, so I was pretty excited for the weekend of food! The second Ross pulled out a bottle of Campari the size of me, I knew it would be a fun weekend. After catching up with everyone, and telling them about our travels while sipping Campari and soda, it was time for dinner. Before sitting down however, just like last time, Ross gave us our seat assignments for the night. I had the opportunity to sit next to Marco, and a new man named Renzo (friend of Marco).  Dinner was wonderful (of course), the way italians use pumpkin in food is mouth watering. It goes without saying the wines we had with the meal (we had many), were exceptional–and as always Marco made sure my glass was always full. After finishing the fantastic meal (consisting of a first course–cannaloni noodle stuffed with pumpkin and other veggies, topped with a very tasty cheese, and a the second course of a slow cooked pork), we shared some local chocolates and an ice wine, which I had learned all about in Milan a few weeks prior. From what I have been told, Ice Wine is so special because the grapes are only harvested when they are frozen, so it can only be grown in a few places in the world. Pictured below is the ice wine we had.

Sadly since I had woken up at 4am in Germany that day, I was ready for bed early, so Case and I decided to get some rest for the events the next day.

The next morning when we awoke, I was so excited to look out the window to see the magnificent views– I was not dissappointed. Out of one window we could see Mont Blanc, and out the other the huge hills (pictured below), covered with beautiful fall colors. Sadly, I don’t think any pictures I took of the views from our room, really do it justice.

After taking in the views, we wandered down for breakfast, where Elena had prepared a fresh apple cake and pumpkin bread–of course I had some of both. Both were incredible. After we had energized with food… we were off to spend some time seeing the Alps. Our First stop took us to a short hike, which ended at a glacier lake. Parts of the path were covered with snow from, which added an extra element to the beauty in front of us. Below are some of the pictures from the hike. The first two are Elena and Marco and the final picture shows Case at the lake!

After a few hours of wandering in the woods, and slipping on the snow, we had all worked up an appetite…so it was time to find a spot for lunch. We drove further into the mountain until we found the perfect spot for lunch. Even though we were in the  middle of the mountains, it was a bright sunny day, and warm enough to sit outside on the deck..which conveniently looked right out to the snow capped beauties. The picture below was what I spent the whole lunch looking at…

After eating some typical food of the area–Polenta, and topped it off…with an incredible dessert (millefoglie-pictured below) I was ready for a siesta. Siesta, however was not on the plans for the day, and so we were off again!

The next stop was to a valley within the mountains, where the views were equally as gorgeous. The picture below is from one of the spots we got out and walked around.

After doing a few more hours of wandering, the sun started setting, and everyone decided a siesta before dinner would be a great idea (YAY)! After everyone was reenergized, we met up to leave for dinner. For dinner, we were heading to a small town in another valley to eat fondue. After what seemed like an eternity of driving on windy, narrow, and fast roads ( I may be exaggerating) we arrived at our destination. We walked into the coziest restuarant where the smells were mouth watering! Our first course was a cheese fondue with (fontina) and herbs–so rich, but so good! The main event however was the second course. We had ordered the meat fondue, along with everyone else. So they brought out the raw meat, with the fondue pot and we all cooked our meats in a small fondue pot! Below is a picture of me, concentrating intensly on making my fondue properly-next to me is the raw meat.

Once we could eat no more…and this time seriously (we did not even have dessert), we all agreed a digestive would be perfect. Italy, has made me realize how wonderful digestivos are. Originally I thought grappa was the only one—and I honestly cannot stand it (sorry dad), however I am pretty sure Ross has made it his mission to have me try every digestive in Italy during my stay. Every meal, lunch and dinner, we had a type of digestive. At the fondue dinner I found my favorite…of course, its hard to find and hard to make. The herb (genepy) used can only grow 2000 meters and above (good gracious). No need to worry though, I found a bottle and will bringing it home… my personal liquid gold–next to the olive oil, wine, art, and other things I have accumulated throughout my stay.

The next day we had to catch a flight back to Rome in the evening, so we used the day to do a bit more exploring of the area. We spent a few hours, walking through a valley surrounded by mountains. Here is a picture from our walk…I was in love with the autumn colors!

After our walk we headed back to the Cabin, shared another tasty lunch (digestive included) and said our goodbyes. Another great weekend in Italy, had yet again come to an end!

As I am writing this, my time is Italy is coming to an end quickly, I arrive home Sunday– less than a week (just in time for Hawks and Apple Cup)! I have so much I need to see still, and so much I want to do, sometimes it just feels like there is not enough time in a day! Thankfully I have time in my life, and I know I will be back here in the near future. If anyone out there has the opportunity to spend a few months in another country…I highly recommend it. Not only do you learn about another culture, get to meet wonderful people, but you also get to learn about yourself. For me, it was also a plus I was able to be in the same country as my boyfriend 🙂 It’s safe to say my time in Italy and abroad were some of the best months of life (honestly, probably the best), and I know I will be looking back on this trip for the rest of my life 🙂

I still have at least one more Blog entry to write, about our time in Tuscany (incredible), so until then, thanks for reading!

Ciao ciao ciao!