Matt and Jen's Excellent Italian Adventure

Erica and Jimmy - Milan, Isola Bella, Courmayer and Monte Bianco

One of Matt's best friends since they were 2 years old, Jimmy, and his wife Erica came for a visit in June and we had a blast with them. We went to Milan for a day, went to Isola Bella at night, and over to Courmayer in Aosta Valley. (Warning! My picture taking has drastically increased, because Jimmy and Erica brought a new camera over for me that I bought. I finally joined the 'fancy camera' world and splurged on a new Samsung NX300 and it is pretty awesome!).

Group dinner in Piazza di Popolo in Arona

Jimmy and Erica on top of the Duomo

I just found out this (as many times as I have been downtown!) I didn't know you could put your heel on the bull in the Galleria and spin and it brings you good luck!

On Friday evening we took a boat over to Isola Bella with our friend Tyler for some live music, drinks, and dinner. It was only 10 Euro for the boat ride and 1 drink and the theme for the night was Jazz Music. The band had a New Orleans theme and I was really impressed!

Next we took off to Aosta Valley around Courmayeur Mont Blanc (near France). We rented a 400 year old house for the weekend and it actually had a waterfall that runs underneath!

waterfall that runs under house

Outside of the house

Here are some pictures of the views from the house:

One of the items on my Italy 'bucket list' is to take the Mont Blanc Funivie over to Chamonix, France to see Aguile di Midi, however I didn't know that the lift is under construction so you can only go part way! It was still a wonderful trip with fantastic views. Next time I will drive to France and take the lift from there so I can see the other side.

The stop at La Palud

Erica, Jimmy, and Matt on the cable car

Group shot from the top

You can go inside the old control room. Can you see the floppy disk sticking out of the computer? Kind of entertaining that a floppy disk was part of the control system. :-)

You can climb 228 steps to the top!

On the way back down we stopped at the Alpine gardens.

The next day we went for a hike and I swear I was walking on the set of the Lord of the Rings!

Cooking classes on Lago Maggiore Italian Style

Today Matt, Gabrielle and I took a hands on cooking class from 9am - 3:30pm where we slaved away on pizza, pana cotta, focacia, and panzonetti. We used a local cooking school called cooks on the lakes and Francesca was a wonderful teacher! http://www.cookonthelakes.it/

We had the opportunity to cook in her house above Lago Maggiore in a beautiful old Italian home.

Getting geared up and ready to cook

making the panzerotti 'insides'

Make a nice olive oil cover for your olive oil bottle. It is really important to keep the olive oil out of the sunlight.

Another cool tip for those folks who like to eat as naturally as possible, make your own vanilla (you know, the kind you bake with?) at home by filling a bottle with vodka then drop in several vanilla bean pods. As you use the vanilla beans just throw the bean pods into the bottle and store in the refrigerator and it will keep forever!

Focaccia!

Panzerotti

inside panzerotti

Showing us how to handle the dough

Important tip when making pizza...only add the salt to the tomato sauce after taking the pizza out of the oven.

panna cotta

We graduated!

Domodossola Sacro Monte Hike

Gabrielle, Sasha and I took a hiking trip to the Sacro Monte near Domodossala. Hiking in Northern Italy is my favorite thing to do. Yes, the food and culture is great and the art is phenomenal, but the natural beauty of Northern Italy is what makes my heart happy.

Near the Sacro Monte are many hiking trail options, but we chose the picturesque 'A1' route (who am I kidding, in this area they are all picturesque!).