September 17, 2024
Last night, when we got “home,” we found three kaiser-type rolls stacked by our front door. We did not know why, or who put them there. We could not eat them because they had been placed uncovered on the ground…. When we entered, we found a plate with two large crispy puffs of what appeared to bee bread crust. They were hollow inside so that one could just break it open into crispy bite-sized pieces. We tasted it, but we had just finished dinner. We were too full. I thought it was very good—just crispy crust of bread with a slight fennel flavor and perhaps even a bit of lemon. Dad doesn’t like fennel, so, for him, it was just OK. Unfortunately, the leftover creation was left behind because we had no chance to eat it. We didn’t feel too bad about it, though, because we knew the pigs would love to find it in their trough! (The owner had posted that leftovers should not be tossed; rather, they should be saved for the pigs). This morning, we checked out of the beautiful Asperger Farm Stay accommodation in Terento, Italy. It was a beautiful, sunny, crisp morning, and the cows and calves, horses and pony, chickens, and family dog were just beginning their day. I haven’t met the pigs and goats, but I just learned that perhaps there were even more critters in a large barn behind the main house. The snow-covered alps, visible from our deck, were glowing in the sun, the rockier, lower mountains were there—as they have been since we arrived 🙂 , and the high mountain side farms were oh-so-pretty green! We met the host, finally, because she was away the day that we checked in. She offered to take us to the barn to meet the animals, but we could not stay. We had a long drive ahead! She asked how we liked the “krapfen”? That’s just a phonetic spelling—. But evidently, it is “traditional” to…? Is it a “traditional” bread in the Sud-Tyrolian region? Or is it “traditional” to bake and leave it to guests who would be leaving? I have to look that up. As for the three rolls by our door the day before: evidently, someone had mistakenly forgotten them there on their way to bringing them to the pigs.
Breakfast was in a cozy little cafe, a “Beckerei/Panificio/Pasticceria” in the nearby town of Chienes. The coffee was still a bit too strong for me, and served in way-too-small a cup for my preferences, so that is still a big adjustment. Larger cups of coffee, still stronger than I prefer, can be found at McDonald’s, though. McD is not as widespread in these regions, deferring instead to local businesses and restaurants, but one can still see them every now and then if one drives long enough. The McD colors we’ve seen so far are forest green and yellow.
Our destination was the Veneto region, southeast from where we’d been, away from the beautiful Dolomites and to the Adriatic Sea. That required us to drive across the Dolomites. The day before, we had travelled the Dolomites north to south. Today was west to east. What a beautiful drive that was! The Dolomites take on different aspects/appearances according to the sunlight, structure, and components. We went across big-boy ski areas (I thought of Great-Grandpa, Uncle Larry, and Pope John XXIII), charming mountain villages, still in the Tyrolian and Ladin influences, we went across segments that appeared to have been mined for marble (not the same as the famous Carrara marble), we passed Lake Allegheny and Coco Beach (some people, I guess, swim in this beautiful, green alpine lake—I imagine it’s got to be quite cold…), and we drove to the end of the Dolomite range going in our direction at Belluno. The Dolomites by Belluno are still dramatic and beautiful, but the vegetation is much more dense, and the beautiful kelly green mountainside farms were much more difficult to find.
We checked into Toti Relais Villa in Molagno Veneto (about 15 kilometers) outside of Venice proper. The “hotel” is the birthplace of a famous soprano singer, born in 1893. The property is huge, but it is a large house—reminiscent of a B & B in the States. The host grows Kiwis on the property, which he harvests in November and transforms them into preserves by end of December. Just outside of our property gates is a chestnut tree, with tell-tale chestnuts having fallen to the ground. (But just like the chestnuts that I love so well and that my mom — nonna—and I used to collect in Italy long ago. We used to collect them in the front of our dresses, turning the dresses into aprons-of-sorts, and carried them home that way). Our room is Victorian-looking, very clean, Victorian-looking, smaller than we anticipated, but we literally walk out of our bedroom door onto a very large backyard courtyard that is for our own use. The train station to Venice is just across the street from our front gate! The Church, with its ringing bell tower, is about two blocks away. There are restaurants, cafes, home made gelato shops, boutique-type shops, a movie theater, cafes,…within walking distance of our place. In fact, the Villa host also owns the restaurant around the corner. At his recommendation, we dined at his restaurant, Assaggi, enjoying homemade eggplant flan, tagliatelle with mushrooms from the Cadore region nearby, pork tenderloin in mustard sauce, and mascarpone cream with cat tail cookies for dessert.
Our Travels 