2 Great Events at Trattoria all'Angelo

Our good friends (and blog all-stars) Mauro and Bari celebrated two fantastic events at their restaurant this summer.  You all know M&B from all of the crazy, wine-fueled cooking classes that I go on and on about.  But this time they were celebrating 2 non-class events, one personal and another magical.

The first was their 25th wedding anniversary.  They had invited all of their close family and friends to help them celebrate their silver anniversary at little party held in the backyard of their lovely restaurant.  As part of the their incredibly fun spirit, they asked everyone to wear their favorite hats, and Cyn and I, never ones to miss an opportunity to wear costumes, obliged.  We got to spend time with Mauro and Bari's families and had a great meal to boot.  The coolest thing was realizing that aside from us being "really good customers", M&B actually think of us very close friends.

 





The other really cool event that we got to go to was a nighttime Jazz Concert and dinner, again out on the field behind the trattoria.  The tents and lights were simply magical and the food, as always, was superb.  The jazz band, called the Travelling Peters (well the Italian equivalent of the Travelling Peters) kept the mood cool as the summer sun set behind the mountain and wine flowed all night long.

We hope they do another Jazz dinner again soon!

Check out more pics here.

Ciao,
M

When I go to Barcelona...

Cyn and I love travelling around in May.  The weather is spring-time perfect;  no cold snow and rain of winter yet too early for that oppressive summer heat.  So this May we decided to enjoy a great little jaunt across the Med to Barcelona, Spain.  Cynthia had been to Barcelona before many moons ago with her good friend Susan.  And while there the 2 of them stayed with a local Spanish artist named Javier.  As luck would have it Cynthia still had Javier's email address and we were able to hook up with him and his wife Candela during our weekend in Spain.
 
 

 I really loved the Barcelona vibe.  Unlike the cramped, labyrinthine streets of so many Italian cities, Barcelona's wide, ambling boulevards with their median strips filled with monuments and flowers were a welcome change.  We loved how relaxed the city was and how easy it was to get around, stopping in at little bars for tapas, coffee, or perhaps a little sangria.  Another great feature was the fine architecture that covered so many different artists and periods but is clearly showcased by Gaudi.
 
 
 
 

 
And although there was a large protest movement that had taken up residence in the middle of Placa Catalunya, we never felt threatened or unsafe.  The young crowd of students were using non-violent means to protest their countries dire economic conditions with unemployment rates as high as 25%.
 
Another serendipitous thing while we were there was that Football Club Barcelona was competing against Manchester United in the UEFA Champion's leage finals.  The boys from Espana won the match handily with their incredible passing and offensive control.  The city erupted with celebratory joy that spilled over into the next day when a massive parade featuring the winning team made its way around the city center, and right past our hotel.



 
Good Times!  See more here.

More Fun with Rick & Myra

As if Lake Bledd wasn't enough, it was just the start their stay with us.  The next big adventure was to run up north to the Trattoria all'Angelo for another afternoon of Italian cooking (and overeating).  The first stop was the garden to pick some fresh herbs.  Then we hit the kitchen to make a complete 4 course meal including fresh pasta.  Rick even busted out the uke and played a few tunes!!

Not content to enjoy the good life north of us, we headed to the little town of Este, about 90 minutes south of us for a sun-dappled day of roses and ruins.  We couldn't believe how ENORMOUS the roses were in the town's central garden.

ahhhh...  La Dolce Vita!

More Cooking Class Pics HERE!

More Incredible ESTE!

Ciao!
M

Back to Slovenia

Our good friends Rick & Myra capped off a wonderful European vacation by spending some time with us.  We knew they would love going to Slovenia, so we made some reservations at the Grand Hotel Toplice, loaded up the car, and headed out to Lake Bledd.

There are a lot of romantic hotspots around the globe, but Lake Bledd, Slovenia never fails to disappoint.  It was early May, so the weather was perfect although a little rain did fall on one afternoon.  The castle, the little island with the church, and the incredible fairytale atmosphere were all still there.  To make things a little easier, we decided to hitch a ride on one of the ferries, rather than relying on my rowing skills...

 


 
For something a little different, we decided to take a little trek into the woods to Vintgar Gorge.  A breathtaking nature walk that winds thru the Gorge's valley, several wooden bridges and pebble paths criss-cross the clear mountain waters

As always, the views from the castle were spectacular, although the air wasn't super clear.

We even had enough time to finish off the excursion by stopping in Llubjlana, the capitol of Slovenia.  It was a gorgeous city with great architecture and history.

Wanna check out more pics?  Here ya go!

Ciao,
Mike

The Badger's Wedding

My good poker buddy, Patrick "the badger" Osburn, has always been a confirmed bachelor, so when he said that was engaged to his lovely, italian girlfriend, Silvia, I found it a little hard to believe. But the heart has mysterious and unknowable secrets and on a perfect spring day, Patrick and Silvia wed in the Vicenza City Hall in a small, understated affair. :)

The Commune di Vicenza is in a 500 year old palace in the middle of the city with a large, airy inner courtyard.





We waited here until the main matrimonial hall was available. It is quite popular to get married here (you can see why!) so the bookings were very closely scheduled.





After the ceremony we went for a stroll and some photos on the Piazza dei Signori, the main square at the heart of Vicenza.



The reception was at wonderful restaurant called il Castello nestled in the foothills west of the city. The food was delicious; the views were spectacular.

All our best to Patrick and Silvia.

Tanti Auguri!
Mike & Cyn

More Pics!

April Cooking Class at M&B's

We'd been enjoying going to other peoples cooking classes so much, that we decided to organize our own. The irrepressible chef Mauro and his always classy wife Bari organized a wonderful spring menu for us and even helped celebrate Cyn's birthday.

Al pays close attention as Chef Mauro strains the sauce

Assembling the little rabbit legs




We really enjoyed the results!

Good Times!

More Pics.

Ciao, Mike