Archive for 'Food and Wine'

Italy is known as a gourmet country and foodie destination and there are lots of different dining experiences that one can enjoy while holidaying in Italy. Some are conventional but elevated and delicious and others are more unique and unusual. If you have found a vacation rental in Veneto and are planning on enjoying some culinary experiences and adventures while in the area, then you should definitely pencil in a visit to the rather special Osteria senz’Oste.

This restaurant offers a very unique dining experience as it famously does not have any chefs or waiters present! The name literally means, “restaurant without hosts” and they aren’t kidding. Located in a picture-perfect and exceptionally pretty 19th century farmhouse, set amongst vineyards on the hills of Cartizze in Veneto, it boasts the most amazing views over the lush landscape that unfolds beautifully below.

In the last post, we noted that while great coffee is readily available all over Italy, Trieste is the coffee capital and, for coffee lovers, a must-see destination. To try the great variety of incredible types of coffee available and learn all about the rich history of the city, you simply need to find a vacation rental in Friuli Venezia Giulia and spend some time in her coffee shops. These establishments include the Caffè San Marco, where James Joyce penned The Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man or Caffè Tommaseo, the city's oldest surviving establishment which was opened in 1830 or the beautiful Caffè degli Specchi. However, if you are planning on visiting Trieste and ordering coffee, you'll need to take note of some very special terms and phrases. The city has its own coffee language that even Italian speakers and Italians from other parts of the country sometimes struggle with. So, if you're planning on ordering coffee in Trieste, keep these phrases at hand:

While coffee, and especially great coffee, is something that one can find readily all over Italy, some places are particularly famous for their brews or serve up slightly better cups of the black stuff than others. Among these destinations, Trieste is undoubtedly one of the best of the best and unmissable for those who want to vacation in Italy. If you're a coffee lover, find a holiday rental in Friuli Venezia Giulia and get stuck into all of the rich history and delicious beverages that they have to offer in the city...

Coffee may be a daily, permanent fixture of most of our lives but until the 18th century, it was not something that Europeans were familiar with. It was originally an African and Middle Eastern drink and likely originated in either Ethiopia or Yemen and was invented around the 15th century. In the 16th century, it spread to Turkey and Iran and then to the Mediterranean in 17th century and the first coffee house opened in Venice around 1629. By the 18th century, there were plenty of coffee houses in Italy and in Trieste, in particular as Emperor Charles VI had made the city a free port, allowing them to receive beans from coffee plantations all around the world and to supply coffee houses throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The hot summers and rich and verdant soils in Apulia make for the perfect conditions to grow and make some delicious wines and, as a result, there are lots of wineries and producers in the region. For a long time, the region was not known for making particularly high-quality wines however, in recent years, there has been an active effort to correct this and some highly regarded producers have cropped up. Among them is Antica Enotria, a vineyard located a few kilometres from the Gulf of Manfredonia. If you have found a vacation rental in Apulia and want to spend a day sampling great local wines and learning more about the production process, it is an excellent option.

Italy is home to many delicious dishes, foods and products but one of the most recognisable food items of all has to be Baci. These chocolate “kisses” are one of the most famous sweets from Italy and can now be found in stores and supermarkets all over the world. Coming from Perugia, in the region of Umbria, they are made by Perugina, which is the leading chocolate brand in Italy. Made of chocolate and hazelnut, a popular combination of flavours in Italy, and wrapped in metallic blue and silver foil with stars and the logo on them, they are an iconic chocolate. If you have a holiday rental in Perugia and are visiting the area, you can visit their factory, and take a tour, drop into their chocolate museum, and take a chocolate-making class while you're there but, if you have found a vacation rental anywhere in Italy, you'll be able to readily get your hands on these tasty treats. Be sure to treat yourself and to buy some to give to your loved ones!