Italy (Part 2)
Italy…you filled our stomachs with a gluten, diary, wine and nothing but good times.
Venice
To be honest, Tom and I try to avoid places that are on busier more touristic side. But we made an exception for Venice as I had a few art galleries I really wanted to check out and we had heard of the famous Cicchetti we had to try! Not to mention that the city is incredibly beautiful and unique.
Flavours of Venice
Cicchetti, strawberries with blue cheese
Favourite ingredient
Sardines
Favourite Restaurant
Vino Vero
We were lucky enough to have a friend in Milan who grew up in Venice. She gave us some epic recommendations for food and wine and Vino Vero was our favourite. We would head over for an apreitivo every afternoon and next minute we were there for hours drinking delicious organic wine, eating Cicchetti and chatting with the friendly staff.
Other recommendations
Orient Experience
It’s not an Italian restaurant but if you're after something a little different this is your place. Run by refugees from around the world, the menu is made up of traditional dishes from the staffs’ home. This space has a beautiful inclusive vibe with lots of epic flavours from around the world.
Gelato
Gelato di Natura
Of corse we continued our italian challenge of at least one gelato a day. This was our favourite in Venice.
Art
Punta della Dogana
Located in one of Venice's old customs buildings is the Dogana da Mar. This space is the home of contemporary art in Venice. The exhibition we saw was curated so well we were blown away by overall experience. There are a lot of art exhibitions in Venice and it can be a bit overwhelming but we can highly recommend this one.
Grassi Palace
Another incredible space for contemporary art. We were lucky enough to be there when there was an incredible photography exhibition documenting vogue’s history.
Biennale
The Biennale is one of biggest annual art exhibitions in the world and this year it was all about architecture. To be honest, I was a bit sad about this as I’ve had big dreams about visiting the biennale for art. We still went and had a great time nonetheless. We were still amazed by many of the concepts and push for sustainability. It was inspiring to see the drive in so many to make a better future.
Next stop
Dolomites
Tom and I didn’t book anything before we left. Honestly we just ran out of time. We knew we wanted to go to the Dolomites and hike hut to hut along the famous AV1. Alas when we started trying to book our accommodation in the rifugios (mountain huts) 2 days out, the huts were fully booked.
Tom being obsessed with maps decided we create our own root in a different section of the range. It was a bit more work figuring out where to go but in the end I feel like we ended up better off. Our huts were so cute and not packed. The trails were quiet and breathtaking!
Flavours of the Dolomites
Minestrone soup, Laugengipfeli (pretzel croissants) and Apfel schorel (apple and soda water)
Favourite ingredient
Blackberry Jam
Favourite Restaurant
Ristorante Pizzeria Le Giare
We loved this place so much we went 4 times. Great pizza, salad, wine and service
Hiking
The part of the Dolomites we visited was in the SüdTirol region of Italy. Historically, the region was part of the Austro-hungarian empire up until the end of world war 1 when it was given to Italy. This has resulted in a rich fusion of the two cultures. Many people still speak both languages and the mountain food has a distinct German feel about it.
The hiking was primarily steep and hard but rewarding, traversing through alpine forests into the open alpine. Having food and accomodation taken care of in the huts, our packs were light making the whole thing a lot more enjoyable. Nothing better than waking up and the only thing you have to do that day is walk to the next hut. Can highly recommend.
