une Canadienne en France

My travel guide/buddy (aka Umi) planned a day trip last weekend to the town of Voiron. It is a 15min train ride from Grenoble and home to the famous Chartreuse distillery. She hooked me with the “free tour and tasting” so we (Umi, Caitlin, Ashleigh and I) set out early Saturday morning for a mini-adventure.

First, we toured through the distillery and tasted the famed Chartreuse. The cellar is gigantic, with huge oak barrels over 10 feet tall. The history of this elixir was quite interesting as well. The highlight was of course, the tasting of the Chartreuse. It has a very distinct flavour and was so strong we couldn’t even finish our glasses (mind you, it was only 11am by this time).

Chartreuse Cellar

Chartreuse – where the name for “Chartreuse Green” originated

After our tour, we found our way to the huge outdoor market in the centre of town (of course) and then to the large city park for a picnic lunch. We had brought all goodies to share and had a yummy lunch in the sunshine. Afterwards we visited a famed chocolate shop, and saw the token cathedral and drank coffee on a patio. All in all, it was a fabulous day!

I love markets!

Umi was so excited to see the petting zoo (and subsequently live animals)

The Cathedral

Umi – are your feet not touching the ground?

Over Altigliss Week (Spring break March 22-29), Nicole and I went to Mestre to stay with her family. Mestre is right beside Venice. It started as the industrial centre of the famous lagooned city and now is one of the many villages surrounding it. We left on Saturday and traveled through the mountains (Torino) to Milan and then across the Italian countryside to Mestre.

We had an absolutely amazing time in Italy. For Nicole, she was so happy to see her friends and family (Stefano, Daniela and Isabella). And for me, I got to experience a true slice of Italian life. Most of her friends spoke a little English, but neither of her parent’s could. It is amazing how much can be communicated with gestures and smiles. Nicole was a very patient translator and her family were amazing hosts. I cannot imagine a better way to see Italy than my trip home with her.

Daniela and Stefano

Isabella and Nicole

Saturday

On our first night in Mestre, we met up with Nicole’s group of long-time friends. They meet every Saturday night in a Church parking lot, smoke a tonne of cigarettes and decide, impromptu, the evening’s plans. After being introduced to everyone, they asked me where I wanted to go. Not knowing anywhere in Mestre I replied, “Somewhere very Italian.” They said, “Great idea.” So after a brief catch up with Nicole, we loaded into three cars and drove off to Kalispera, a Greek pub. Not very Italian, but fun nonetheless. We drank Italian red wine, took photos and chatted. Well, they chatted mostly and I tried desperately to pick up on what they were saying. My few Spanish courses came in very handy (Spanish is quite similar to Italian) as I was able to at least discern what the topics of conversation were.

Nicky’s Posse. 1st to last: Mazz, Nicky, Monica, Giuliano, Angela, Linda, Chiara, Filipo

Sunday

The next day was Easter, so we had a lovely lunch with Nicole’s family. Her mom made a fabulous risotto and we ate until we were stuffed. Her mom even bought us all huge chocolate Easter eggs – mmm, I love chocolate.

Easter Lunch
L to R: Me, Isabella (Nicky’s sister), Nicky, Daniella (Nicky’s mom), Grandpa

Isi and Nicky

That night, we went over to Monica’s house for a relaxed dinner. Nicole told me that “Natale con i tuoi, e Pasqua con chi vuoi.” Which means: Christmas with your family and Easter with who you want. So we spent it with her friends. I had my first Italian pizza, Spritz (a fabulous Italian wine cocktail), and Colomba (Italian Easter cake). Everything was delicious!

Mazz tending the fire

In Italy everyone gets their own pizza. I managed to eat all of mine – I felt very accomplished!
L to R: Nicky, Jiordano, Filipo, Mazz, Monica, Page, Linda, Enrico

Monday

Monday was Page’s birthday and she organized a lunch outing to celebrate. We drove for two hours out of Mestre into the mountains. It was an absolutely spectacular drive. The Italian country side made amazing scenery and I was serenaded the entire way by Enrico’s booming vocals and Monica’s and Nicky’s confident accompaniment. As we climbed into the mountains, we were met by sunshine and snow – the perfect backdrop for an Easter Monday lunch.

Stretch-your-legs break. L to R: Nicky, Linda, Chiara, Page, Monica

The Rifugio (a type of Italian restaurant that serves traditional Italian mountain cuisine) Page had chose was perched high on the mountain side, affording it a great view of the valley.

The view from the restaurant.

As we entered we were met with a cacophony of noise – cheers, chatter, laughing and singing. The atmosphere was electric and the smell of food was amazing. Our stomachs were growling and we couldn’t wait to be seated. After a “short” wait, we finally we shown to our table. The waiter plunked down bottles of water, sparkling water and red wine at both ends of the table and quickly took our order. There were no menus handed out; the waiter listed the few choices offered for each course and Page picked an array of each.

First course – tris di penne all’arrabbiata, pasticcio e pasta con funghi e piselli
Second course – grigliata mista di pollo, manzo e maiale, servita con polenta
Third course – tiramisù fatto dalla Page, sgroppino e caffè

We ate pasta, bbq meat (done right in the restaurant) and delectable tiramisu and drank wine lemoncello and coffee. Everything about the lunch was absolutely phenomenal. I was in Italian food heaven for the entire afternoon! The lunch lasted three hours and was accompanied by the most amazing “Italian family” atmosphere. The restaurant was booming with energy and warmth and we were in no hurry to leave. We ate and drank to our heart’s content; so stuffed that we almost couldn’t get up.

** Most of the lunch photos are courtesy of Filipo (Thanks Pippo!)

The Birthday Girl, Page

L to R: Mazz, Page, Linda, Chiara

Monica and Nicky

Nicky and me

L to R: Enrico, Chiara, Linda, Page, Mazz, Filipo, Giuliano, Angela, Monica, Nicky, me, Jiordano

L to R: Chiara, Linda, Page

Page’s amazing tiramisu – I don’t know how we all managed to eat the HUGE slice she dished out, but it was worth it!

Page with her lunch guests:

1st to last: Mazz, Me, Guiliano and Angela, Chiara and Linda, Jiordano and Enrico, Nicky, Filipo, Monica

After we finally dislodged ourselves from our seats, we took a few photos in the remaining sunshine and started out trek back down the mountain. On the way, we stopped at a look-out to take a few pictures of the sunset. (Can you tell by now that the Nicky’s friends love photo ops?)

The girls

L to R: Page, Linda, Mazz, Nicky, Guiliano, Angela, Linda, Filipo, Monica, Enrico, Jiordano, me

Filipo with the girls:

The drive home

That night Nicky and I watched The Bodyguard (Whitney is amazing) and contentedly relaxed, our stomach’s so full.

Tuesday

Tuesday was our “Venice” day! After a yummy breakfast of cake, fette biscottate, jam and coffee (our morning ritual prepared by her mom) we were off. Venice’s scenery was everything it is talked up to be. The labyrinth of canals and narrow pathways made for an amazing afternoon of sightseeing. Even Nicole had a great time wandering around, playing tourist for the afternoon.

The other main activities in Venice include shopping, riding in gondolas and eating next to the water. Nicole and I did two of the three (She refused a gondola ride: “Gondolas are overpriced and meant for tourists. And it is not at all romantic; the water smells disgusting!”). At lunch we tried a Venetian dish comprised of onions, peppercorns and sardines which was surprisingly good and we watched all of the silly tourists ride by in their gondolas! We did a little but of glass shopping (which Venice is famous for) and didn’t get too lost. Having a tour guide that speaks Italian was a definite bonus! We spent five hours there and could have spent another ten discovery more of the tiny islands. One the bus ride back to Mestre, we deemed the trip to Venice a definite success!

View from Rialto Bridge

Piazza San Marco

Basilica di San Marco

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View of the lagoon from the gates to San Marco

Gondolas everywhere!

My favourite little Italian

View from our lunch table

Mmm, coffee – Nicole and my addiction! Even the sugar packets are Venice themed.

Oh so chic!

We finished off our night with a nice dinner at home. I made dinner for Nicole’s family to thank them for the hospitality. Luckily there were no disasters in the kitchen and dinner turned out great (except that it was a little late – my usual style). Everyone must have liked it because Nicole’s mom had me write down the recipes for her. Actually, she had me tell them to Nicky who had to write them down in Italian. This was definitely the most challenging task of the meal. I need to start paying better attention to the proportions I use as I seldom use recipes as strict guidelines!

Wednesday

Wednesday was a relaxed day at home. Nicky had homework that she tried to do and I made a list of the homework I needed to work on (the list was as far as I got!) After dinner we met up with her University and friends for Spritz. Nicole’s University campus is in Treviso (the University of Venice has a number of satellite campuses) another town close to Venice and Mestre. We found her friends at the campus and then wandered down to a pub for a few drinks. They had a great catch-up with Nicky and a birthday drink for Pasty (one of the friends).

L to R: Marco, Stefano, Marco, Cippo, Diego, Luigi

L to R: Me, Pat, Vale, Pasty and Vania

I have no more Spritz left!

Thursday

On Thursday I set out to Florence for a day trip. The train ride is about two hours each way, but Florence was completely worth the trip. I spent the day wandering through the streets and trying to see as many sites as I could. The one main attraction that I wanted to see was the Duomo museum. Unfortunately, I had the same luck with museums this day as I did in Paris. I managed to go to Florence on the during the Free Art Week – admissions were waved at all art venues. The line for the Duomo almost wrapped around the building just to get a reservation. Needless to say, the Duomo was out. So instead I went to the Uffizi. It is an old palace that has been converted into a museum. I mostly wandered through the expansive gardens though, but did tour through the Costume wing. Before I knew it, it was time to go catch my train back to Mestre. Florence was beautiful, but it was a little lonely walking through the streets alone after having spent the last five days surrounded by people.

The Duomo Di San Giovanni

The Duomo Di San Giovanni

The line-up for a reservation at the Duomo Museum

Waterfront property

Now that’s a pink bike!

The entrance to the Uffizi

The gardens at the Uffizi

Disheveled, someone felt sorry for me and offered to take a photo!

The Secret Garden; Italian-styles

Florence from the top of the gardens

Spring is here!

The view from behind the gardens

The view from the park bench I sat at to write out my postcards

Once I got back to Mestre, Nicky and I met up with Monica, Filipo and Chiara. Chiara took us to a great little Italian wine bar for dinner and drinks. We sat out on the patio, under the heat lamps and drank phenomenal red wine. It was a VERY Italian venue. We had a great night in the “Italian ambiance!”

Friday

Today Nicky and I headed out to Treviso to look around her campus and have lunch with her University friends. Her satellite campus houses only the International Trade faculty, so it was quite small; but lovely nonetheless. We took a quick peek around and then headed out for lunch. There ended up being over a dozen of us so the meal was quite entertaining. We had French fries, Panini, Tramezzini and Spritz – a very Italian lunch.

Nicky is not happy – we missed our train and had to wait an extra hour!

She is trying to teach me the art of the pout

Lunch with (L to R) Silvia, Pasty, Vale, Pat, Stefano

More coffee!

Afterwards Nicky and I went to United Colors of Benetton (which is from Treviso), but it was closed for lunch. Lunch in Italy is from noon to three! So we headed back to Mestre .

Tonight was our last night in Italy, so I offered to make dinner for Nicole’s friends. Italians seem to only eat Italian food, so I offered to make them anything they wanted. We settled on Greek cuisine (only Mazz had had it before). I managed to make a feast for thirteen in Nicole’s mom’s tiny kitchen that everyone enjoyed. We laughed so hard and once again ate too much. The highlight of the meal: the look on Nicole’s and Monica’s face when then bit into the cheesecake for dessert. I know – not Greek, but it was specially requested, so I made an exception.

As away gift, Filipo made Nicky and I a DVD slideshow of our “Week in Italy.” He had to take time off of work on the Thursday just to finish it in time for our departure. It was an amazing good-bye gift – Nicky and I were both sad to leave. I am already thinking about when I will be able to go back to see them all again. I am trying to post the video on YouTube  – I’ll let you know once I upload it.

Saturday

Nicky packed so much that it takes her and Monica to close the suitcase.

We trained back to Grenoble after a phenomenal spring break. Nicky spent a lot of the 9 hour trip sleeping while I spent most of the time looking out the window. Italy was amazing and I feel so fortunate to have met everyone that I did. The invitation is open now for them to plan a trip to BC!