Friday, May 20, 2011

Il Palazzo, Brisighella

We had an outstanding meal last night with everything grown and raised locally and organically, including the wine from the owner's vineyard.  I drank most of the bottle myself.  The name is Rosso el Palazzo and it is a Sangervese.  The pasta was handmade, the salad from the garden and the chicken from the neighbor's farm.  It was truly memorable. We staggered to bed after finishing the entire bottle.

We had breakfast on the terazza overlooking the vineyard.  It consisted of  home made jams, bread, butter and Italian coffee.  A typical Italian breakfast. We then walked two miles into the town of Brisighella, a medieval town in the hills.  We wandered around soaking in the atmosphere.  In the afternoon we took the 10 minute train ride to Faenza, a larger town in the same area, where we had a quick lunch and explored the medieval part of town.  After the short ride back to Brisighella, we relaxed on the terrazza and chatted with the other guests, two couples from California.

As dinner time rolled around we decided to dine al fresco on the terrazza since the weather was so spectacular.  Another gourmet extravaganza awaited us along with a bottle of Hectore's wine from the vineyard we were looking at.  Of course, everything was grown locally and organically and picked that very morning.  This woman should write a cook book.  She offered to give me some of her recipes.
After dinner we took a long, quiet, relaxing walk.  It is so beautifual and peaceful here.  I am having flashbacks of my childhood summers in the Catskills.  I really don't want to leave, but Hectore will drive us to Faenza tomorrow, which will commence the next part of our journey.  After another wonderful Il Palazzo breakfast we will head south to Santa Marinella, a small village on the Mediterranean, not too far from Civitavecchia where we will board the Mariner of the Seas in a few days.  This brief three day sojourn in the mountains was a welcome respite from our frantic travels.  I really love this place and am grateful to a friend for recommending it. 

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