Thursday Night Dinner

Another great dinner at Flavor Bistro--4 courses with 4 wine pairings for $24.95.

Sogliola Con Peperonata--Local Sole Served in Slow Cooked Peperonata Topped with Spicy Aioli, paired with 2015 Bodega Colomé Torrontés, Valle Calchaqui, Salta, Argentina

Quaglia Arrosto--Pan Roasted Quail Served with Lentils, Bacon, Escarole & Homemade Petite Gnocchi in Sugo D'Erbe, paired with 2014 Shoofly Wines Pinot Noir, Victoria, Australia

Brasato Di Maiale--Slow Cooked Sonoma Style Pork Cacciatore Topped with Organic

Fingerling Potatoes, Arugula, Pecorino & Gremolata, paired with 2013 Seghesio Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, Sonoma

Limone-Mirtillo Vol-Au-Vent--Puff Pastry Filled with Lemon Curd Topped with Blackberries Served in Strawberry Coulis, paired with 2012 Bonterra Vineyards Late Harvest Muscat, Bartolucci Vineyard (Organic), Lake County

2016 10 06

Savoia Excelsior Palace Hotel, Trieste

I booked our first night at the Savoia Excelsior Palace Hotel in Trieste.

The 4-star hotel is in the center of town and faces the gulf of Trieste. It's part of the Starhotels collection. It was built in 1911 and has always been a hotel. There's valet parking at the hotel but we found free parking on a nearby street. Street parking is free from 8 pm to 8 am Mon-Sat, free all day Sunday. Wifi was free.

The public rooms are grand.

Hall leading to our room. Beautiful stained glass windows.

We were upgraded to a 2-room suite. I think it was because we arrived after 9 pm and were only staying 1 night. The bed was comfortable and the marble bathroom was luxurious.

Breakfast was included and it was quite a spread. There were hot items, cold cuts, fruit, cereals and a huge pastry offering.

2016 09 03

Italian Autostrada and Autogrills

We arrived in Venice and picked up a rental car at the airport. Our destination for the first night was Trieste, 146 km and 1 1/2 hours away. We hopped on the Autostrada, the Italian highway system. It's a toll road and cost €10.90 for the Venice to Trieste leg. 

I had read about Autogrill, roadside restaurants on the Autostrada, that were supposed to be fantastic. 

http://www.saveur.com/article/blog/a-day-of-autogrills-eating-through-italys-rest-stops

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/autogrill.htm

There was a Ristop, another chain of restaurants, about 25 minutes outside Venice but I held out for an Autogrill, which we found 5 minutes later.

This Autogrill had a self-serve restaurant, a deli counter and a store selling specialty grocery items.  They also had free bathrooms.

We picked up a tray and bypassed the salads and cold items and stepped up to the hot food station. It was 8 pm and the pickings were slim. My husband ordered a maxicotoletto di pollo (chicken cutlet)--€8.90 and rosemary potatoes--€3.90. The chicken was tender but I thought a little pricey. The potatoes were delicious and reasonably priced.

I ordered the linguine with clams and mussels--€6.90. I think this would have been better if it was freshly prepared but when I stepped up to the counter, this was already in the pan so I got the leftover. The pasta was past al dente so I was disappointed.

Surprisingly, you could purchase individual servings of wine at the Autogrill. Hopefully, they're for the passengers and not the drivers.

Later on in the trip, we saw an Autogrill that spanned the highway. We weren't ready to eat then but maybe we'll try it on another trip.

2016 09 03

Layover in Frankfurt--Rheingau Wine Festival

We had a 5 1/2 hour layover in Frankfurt. Since it's quick to clear customs and the airport is only a 10-minute train ride from the center of town, there's no reason to sit at the airport. Plus, there was a wine festival in town--Bonus!

At the Frankfurt airport, follow the signs to the S-Bahn and buy a ticket from the machines.

The tageskarte day pass was €9.10, less than 2 one-way tickets from the airport to town and back (€4.65 each way).

The Rheingau Wine Festival was held at Freßgass in downtown Frankfurt (near Alte Oper). We took the S-bahn from the airport and got off at Taunusanlage, 1 stop after the Hauptbahnhof (main train station). 

The festival covered the length of a city block. There is no admission to get into the festival. You'll find numerous stalls featuring wines from the Rheingau region (mainly Rieslings), as well as food stalls. Make sure you have cash.

There were over 30 wineries participating. Step up to the booth, ask for a taste and buy a 0.1 liter glass of wine, 0.2 liter glass or a bottle.

This is a 0.1 liter glass of wine and averaged €2-4 per glass. Sometimes, there was a €2 deposit for the glass. Bring it back to the winery when you're done and you get your deposit back.

Tented areas to sit and enjoy your wine and food.

There was one booth selling hot smoked salmon plates. If this was on my Norway trip, I would have gotten a plate.

Instead, I was looking for more traditional German food and found this wurst stand.

Wurst with Brotchen (bun)--€3.50. I love German sausages, especially the spicy mustard that comes with it.

My husband opted for the Currywurst--€4. Essentially, it's cut up wurst with a BBQ sauce and powdered curry sprinkled on top. I didn't care for it. He also ordered Pommes--€2.50. Too starchy and not crispy enough for me.

Nearby is the Alte Oper--the former opera house. Today, it hosts concerts.

Nearby, water pipes are exposed above ground.

We chose to walk the 20-minutes back to the Hauptbanhof. We passed the Eurotower--former seat of the European Central Bank until 3/2015.

We took a detour to see the Main.

Hauptbahnhof in Frankfurt.

Be sure you get on the right train. This is an inter-city train that stops at the airport. This is NOT what you want.

Follow the signs to the S-Bahn and take one that stops at the Flughafen/airport.

2016 09 03

Slovenia--My New Favorite Destination & Northern Italy

We just returned from a 2-week trip to Slovenia and northern Italy. I was asked, "Why Slovenia?" My office mate had gone and he showed me gorgeous pictures of the Julian Alps so that was a good enough reason.

The first 2 weeks in September was a great time to visit. The weather was perfect--high 70s to low 80s and there were beautiful sunny days in Slovenia. It was already getting cold in the Dolomites so any later would have been too cold.

I was pleasantly surprised by our Lufthansa flight. We had a non-stop flight from San Jose, California to Frankfurt then another non-stop flight from Frankfurt to Venice. The seats were spacious and reclined almost 45 degrees There was an entertainment system with over 50 movies at every seat.

At the Venice airport, we picked up a rental car from Maggiore. The Fiat Panda was tiny. It had 4-doors but I'm not sure it would have been a comfortable fit for 4 people. And, the trunk was barely large enough to fit 2 small suitcases. We liked the small car though because it allowed us to get in small parking spaces.

So, why is Slovenia my new favorite destination? Slovenia is an incredibly beautiful country with great scenery, interesting culture, good food and it was so CLEAN! The children are taught at an early age not to litter and there is NO litter. The cities are clean; the trails are clean; even the streams and rivers are clean. The water is so clear, you can see to the bottom of the river.



2016 09 04

Good Day Cafe, Vallejo

We had planned to have lunch in Sacramento before we left. We were stuck in traffic on Saturday morning getting to Sacramento and didn't want to sit in traffic again, so we decided to leave Sacramento at 8:30 am. We had breakfast in Vallejo instead. Sad that we have to make plans based on traffic patterns.

We searched on Yelp and found Good Day Cafe in Vallejo. It's located at 314 Georgia Street. They had a crab omelette that we wanted to try. Unfortunately, they didn't get their shipment of crab and it wasn't available.

Corned Beef Hash & Eggs--$12.95. You could choose fried rice, red country potatoes or hash browns. You also chose toast, biscuit or fresh baked corn bread. The corned beef was odd. It had spices that didn't quite meld well with the dish. It was also greasy and not crispy enough. On the other hand, the hash browns were perfectly crispy and delicious. 

Country Fried Steak & Eggs--$12.50. I loved this dish. The country fried steak was well made with just the right amount of spices. The gravy on top was delicious.

Freshly baked corn bread was dry.

Chicken & Waffles with 2 eggs--$15.95. The chicken was crisp and well seasoned but the scrambled eggs were dry.

The waffle was also dry.

2016 09 25

Governor's Inn Hotel

We spent the night at the Governors Inn Hotel, located at 210 Richards Blvd.

The hotel is located near the Sacramento River. The hotel itself was nice but the neighborhood was kind of sketchy. I think being west of Hwy 5 may have been a little less sketchy.

The room was huge. There was free wifi and free breakfast of pastries, make-your-own waffle and juices.

The hotel was a 30-minute walk along the bike path next to the Sacramento River. We came across this concrete boat that was abandoned. Not sure what it used to be.

2016 09 24