One day prior, a different type of tornado touched down in the Lombardia region just north of Emilia-Romagna.  Our friends, Nathan and Danielle landed in Milan and a whirlwind of food, fun, wine was about to begin – our own path of chaos would be carved throughout northern Italy.

Our very good friends, Nathan and Danielle

I picked them up at the airport while Jen stayed home to prepare a proper welcome – an Italian pranzo (lunch) done right.  We greeted them with an aperitivo (an alcoholic beverage used to stimulate the appetite) and then began stuffing them with salami, prosciutto, lardo (cured meat – basically just pork fat thinly sliced), cheese and olives.  Then it was on to the pasta course, with a simple red sauce before our secondo, veal Milanese.  Next of course were the salads and then dessert – fresh fruit and pastries we bought that morning.  Plenty of wine flowed throughout the meal and we finished with grappa.  The only problem… our large lunch had an effect opposite of our intention to keep them awake and perky in order to stave off jet-lag.  They were both crying out for a nap, but we were merciless with our plans.  We whisked them to downtown Como, where we walked off lunch and eventually made our way to a bar for happy hour outdoors under the sun. Continue reading Tornado Touches Down in Italy →