August 2023 News from Elizabeth
Mocktails, Tomatoes and Norway
I’m writing this from the table on the patio up at our home in Umbria. Last week this wouldn’t have been possible since I was huddled inside, with the windows and shutters closed, doing my best to avoid the heat wave while also having no a/c.
I’m sure you’ve all heard about the record temps in Italy this past few weeks. Thankfully the heat has broken and I actually needed a sweater this morning. And evidently over the weekend I might even need an umbrella.
In the meantime I’m happy to be here in Umbria, hanging out with friends and family, working in the garden, running around fields of sunflowers and going to local festivals. They are even showing Barbie (in English!) this Sunday in town which is exciting! And yes, I’m definitely wearing pink
WHAT’S NEW
Sophie and I are very lucky since during our down time, in the summer and winter, when we are not leading tours, we get to do ‘research.’ And by ‘research’ I mean basically travel around Italy eating. Sophie is on her way to Molise to explore the region this week. If you’ve never heard of Molise, don’t feel bad. Even Italians look at her oddly when she says she is spending her vacation there. But Molise is exactly the kind of place that you should be exploring. Tucked between Abruzzo and Puglia, this small region has untouched villages, pristine beaches and intact agricultural traditions that go back centuries. Exactly the kind of place we love. Follow Sophie next week as she explores. She’s especially looking forward to the famous La Pezzata, an outdoor festival where dozens of cooks set up outdoor fires where they stew and grill lamb. Sounds like heaven
Me? I’m staying in Umbria and my ‘research’ translates into ‘eating cheese.’ I’ll be visiting a goat farm and also a newly opened ‘mozzarella making academy’ next week. Stay tuned.
Even though we’re not leading tours this month, we are getting ready for the fall and planning for 2024. We’ve just added two new tours to our schedule:
As always these tours are scheduled off season so that we avoid the heat.
To find out the details of these two tours, click the buttons below to request the full brochure:
(if the button doesn’t work for you just send us an email minchillitours@gmail.com or else see our full schedule here.
We still have a handful of spots for our tours this fall 2023 to Puglia, Parma and Umbria
WHERE I’VE BEEN
This is the time of year when Domenico and I usually take a ‘real’ vacation. And by ‘real’ I mean nothing to do with the tour business I run in Italy during the rest of the year. So last month we went to Denmark and Norway, where we’d never been. The holiday was only 12 days but since we divided it into three distinct parts, it felt almost like we had taken 3 different vacations. I’ve shared a lot of what we did already in my Instagram highlights (here and here) but here is a list of where we ate and stayed, in case you make it there yourself. And I absolutely think you should. It was one of the best vacations we’ve ever had, and we loved every minute of it.
Copenhagen: 3 nights
Where we stayed: Hotel Sanders - Fantastic small old world hotel. Great service and truly wonderful breakfast and bar. We loved our stay there
Where we ate: Since we had big breakfasts at the hotel, we never could fit in lunch, which meant we missed out on so many places I had wanted to go. But that just means we have to go back.
Kødbyens Fiskebar : Very cool fish restaurant located in the meatpacking district.
Barr : Truly great meal at this beautiful restaurant located on the waterfront. We had the 4-course menu with paired beers. Excellent!
Noma: All I can say was that we were EXTREMELY lucky to get in and that it was hands down the best meal in our life. All I can think about is that I want to go back.
Norway
Fjords: I’ve always wanted to see the fjords in Norway and when I started researching how best to do it the idea of taking a cruise seemed to make sense. Since I’d never been on a cruise (or even considered it) this was a completely new experience. We chose Silversea since it seemed to be one of the nicest and had the itinerary that looked like it would work for us. Silversea is definitely at the high end of things: relatively small ship and very luxurious. I also liked the fact that it is all inclusive, including the shore excursions, which were all excellent. We took the 7 day cruise that started in Copenhagen and ended in Bergen. (Another thing to note: starting in 2025 the UNESCO recognised fjords will be closed to most cruise ships.) But whether or not you are doing a cruise, here is a list of everything we did at each stop:
Flåm: An adorable village located at the very end of the Aurlandsfjord. We spent the morning in a RIB boat exploring the fjord. We even saw a small whale. It was amazing!
Ægir Brewery : We had lunch at this lovely brewery has fantastic Norwegian pub food (open faced sandwhichs, burgers, etc) and the owner is happy to help you with a paired brew.
Flåmsbana: One of the most beautiful train journeys in the world, we took the old fashioned coach up to Myrdal and back with a stop at Kjosfossen waterfall. Incredible scenery.
Alesund: This port town is at the beginning of the Geirangerfjord and is known for its art nouveau architecture. We spent the morning wandering around, looking at buildings and visiting the Jugendstilsenteret museum. Then an excellent seafood lunch on the water at Apotekagata No.5. My meal was basically a massive pile of local shrimp.
Trondheim: We got to Trondheim, which is the 3rd largest city in Norway, on a Sunday. So things were pretty sleepy. I have a feeling it would be a fun place to shop, but we concentrated on seeing the sites, which was perfect. We started at the breathtaking gothic Niadros Cathedral, then made our way over the Old Town Bridge to the incredibly charming Blaklanndet neighborhood of Ostyen. We bought coffee and fresh out of the oven cinnamon bun at Dromedar Kaffebar and took it to the banks of the Nidelva and just hung out looking at the ancient warehouses. Later on we took a tram ride and also visited the 17th century Kristiansten Fortress which has a great view out over the town. We also took a ride on the northernmost tram in the world up to a residential neighborhood which was fun.
Åndalsnes: Located on the Isfjorden, we took the funicular up to the top of Rampestreken. Unfortunately it was completely fogged in, so we couldn’t see the view. In the afternoon we took the Rauma railway through the most incredible landscape. This route is often called Europe’s most beautiful and it was indeed breathtaking. It went through the Romsdalen valley and passes by the Trollveggen and the Kylling bridge.
Nordfjordeid: This small town is located at the very end of the Eidsfjorden. We had a lovely walk with a local guide and ended up at his own historic home, where his wife and daughter made us pancakes. It was one of the highlights of our trip. Wish we had seen the Viking museum.
Bergen
Our cruise ended in Bergen, so we decided to spend two nights here and I’m so glad we did. It’s a wonderfully vibrant port town with so much to do and see and eat.
Hotel: We stayed at the Bergen Bors Hotel which was fine. We really loved the breakfast which is located in the richly frescoed ex-stock exchange. The hotel was actually our second choice, since we wanted to stay at the Opus XVI, but it was full
To See: Don’t miss the entire Hanseatic wharf area called Bryggen, which is a UNESCO site, and make sure you visit the museum, which is fun. We loved the Kode art museum, which has the largest collection of paintings by Edward Munch in the world. And we also loved the Maritime Museum. Don’t miss taking the funicular up to the top of Mount Floyen, where you can take a hike and also hang out with some incredibly friendly goats.
To Eat: Bergen is known for it’s great restaurants and we wished we had more time.
Enhjorningen : An incredibly picturesque restaurant located in one of the oldest buildings on the wharf. Excellent traditional seafood. Make sure you reserve ahead. I did this by calling.
Banzha: This Chinese restaurant was recommended by a local chef and we loved it! Very hip and trendy, make sure you order the tasting menu.
Fish Market: This outdoor market has a half dozen places to eat, all of them good. A lot of fun.
TreKroneren: Don’t miss Bergen’s most famous hot dog stand. I recommend the reindeer dog, with all the topping.
WHAT I’M READING
I’m back to science fiction mode with N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy. I just finished The Broken Kingdom and am currently reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.
My sister recommended a more traditional summer read, Golden Girl, but it was just not for me.
Reasons NOT to go to Florence (podcast)
Some fun things to do in Rome that involves absolutely no waiting in lines.
In Paris the city threatens to close the iconic booksellers that line the Seine when the Olympics come to town.
WHAT I’M EATING
It’s high season in our vegetable garden so like every year I’m on the tomato/zucchini diet. I’m not complaining. But since I do have more time on my hands, I’m making an effort to not just stuff myself, but to also stuff the freezer. Our mega freezer was one of those pandemic purchases that seemed to make sense at the time. And actually still does make sense, especially when I realised that freezing is SO much easier than canning. So far I’ve made liters of this zucchini soup and will probably make a curry or Thai version of it too.
For the tomatoes I simply roast them with a bit of olive oil, some salt and a few sprigs or oregano. The cherry ones I leave whole and the bigger tomatoes I simply cut in half. Once roasted (the big ones take about 2 hours) I stuff them into zip lock bags and they are good to go. I either use them for pasta sauce, or in soups. Since I’ve roasted them already, they are super concentrated and taste delicious.
WHAT I’M DRINKING
Since during the Fall and Spring I am basically eating and drinking for a living during my down time I make an effort to dial things down a bit. Since I’m in Umbria for 6 weeks I decided to focus on keeping fit. Every day I walk 10,000 steps and swim for a half hour. I’ve also decided to drink less. This doesn’t mean I’ve given up my nightly cocktail. Aperitivo time is one of my favorite moments, especially when paired with an Umbrian sunset. I love the pause in the day and the social aspect. The alcohol is only part of the equation. As part of my effort to dial things back, I’ve been exploring low alcohol or even no alcohol drinks. I love Sanbitter Dry and usually spruce it up with lime and a few dashes of Angustura and even a splash of Campari. After reading this article I decided to up my game and ordered a bunch of non-alcolholic spirit substitutes. My current favorite is this zero proof Negroni. Does it taste like the real thing? Kinda. Does it satisfy my desire for an apertivo? Absolutely.
Phony Negroni
1 oz No-Gin 42
1 oz Martini Vibrante Aperitivo
1 oz Vol0 Bitter
Pour into a rocks glass, fill with ice and garnish with a slice of orange or lime.
AND FINALLY
Do you have a drink that brings back memories of being on vacation?
Evidently I was living a trend without knowing it.
I chatted with Huffpost about mistakes to avoid when visiting Rome.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!
x,Elizabeth
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Apulia please, not the touristic Puglia dear to magazine writers. Its been Apulia for centuries. I see no good reason for changing it now
So pleased that your trip to Norway was enjoyable! I’m half Norwegian and have visited many times; it does seem to be having its moment this year. And with the heat waves in southern Europe this summer it will be interesting to see if the Nordics get more travel love in the next few years. Enjoy the rest of your summer in Umbria!