Tag Archives: Tremezzo

Bellagio, Castles, Como, Family Stories, Food and Drink, Friends, Happy Hour, Humor, Photography, Restaurants, Sipping Espresso, Travel - Europe, Travel - Italy

The Perfect Recipe – Great Friends, Food & Tons of Fun

Sometimes living abroad is hard.  Like when you miss a good friend’s wedding in upstate New York – an event that turned out to be the social gathering of the year (according to Facebook pictures and word of mouth). Thankfully Dave and Jill completely understood when we declined to come.  Or when one of your best friends tells you that he’s planning on “popping the question” via email, because there’s really no easier way.  Those are the types of conversations that should be reserved for a late night in a neighborhood bar, complete with lots of back pats and free rounds for the groom-to-be.  Thankfully, Josh was great about keeping me in the loop, sending us pictures of his wonderful proposal to Abby in Charlestown earlier this year (and even calling us via FaceTime shortly afterward).  So, yeah – living abroad can be hard when you miss these special moments in your friends and families lives.  However… when we’re able to host our friends and family here, we are always grateful for the experience abroad.

Abby, Josh, Jill, Dave, Jen and Julia

For that reason, we were absolutely thrilled when we heard that Josh and Abby were going to come visit us.  We coordinated the timing of their trip so that they would be visiting during a beautiful time of year and the start of Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.  As soon as they booked their airfare, I reserved our train tickets to Munich, which I’ll write about in the upcoming post. Continue reading The Perfect Recipe – Great Friends, Food & Tons of Fun →

Como, Family Stories, History, Landscape, Sipping Espresso

Villa Carlotta’s Beautiful Gardens

There is a wonderful town along Lake Como, called Tremezzo.  Most people have heard of Bellagio, which sits on the exact shore opposite Tremezzo, but the lesser known town is a true gem with far fewer tourists crowding the streets.  Tremezzo is home to a couple of our favorite restaurants and gelaterie (ice cream parlors).  It is also home to Villa Carlotta, a 17th century treasure that has been beautifully restored and maintained.

Villa Carlotta

Jen and I have been wanting to visit Villa Carlotta since we moved to Como.  The beauty of the villa and the gardens are well known in this area and attract thousands of visitors each year.  We had planned on going in March when my aunt and uncle were visiting, but the villa is not open to the public until the 15th (just a few short days after they departed).  Since the gardens are the main attraction, the preservation society wants to ensure all the flowers are in full bloom.  Jen and I decided that since my mom is a big fan of gardens, we would visit while they were here (read about the first part of their trip HERE). Continue reading Villa Carlotta’s Beautiful Gardens →

Como, Family Stories, Food and Drink, Landscape, Recipes, Sipping Espresso, Travel - Italy

Keeping It In The Family

1 Comment

I don’t know who was more excited… Jen to see her parents or Jen’s parents to see their granddaughter.  It was close, but judging by the suitcase of presents exclusively for Julia, I would give the edge to Jen’s mom, Diane.  Of course, this suitcase (along with the 42 other suitcases Jen’s mom, dad and sister brought) got lost somewhere over the Atlantic and didn’t arrive for another two days (the airline had to hire a Mack truck to deliver everything in one trip).

Julia playing with Nonna on Day One
As you’ve no doubt surmised from above, Jen’s family came to visit recently.  They wanted to see the country they love, their second home that has been overtaken by three squatters, their kids and their granddaughter (not necessarily in that order).  And we were thrilled to see all of them.  Since the timing was right with their work schedules and nursing school (Jen’s sister, Jessica had just graduated), they were able to stay a full month.  We had plenty of down time relaxing and plenty of time on the go-go-go.  Since so much happened during this month, the story of their visit will most definitely be broken into a few posts.
“I LOVE the view up here!” 
Julia chilling with Jess by Lake Como

Continue reading Keeping It In The Family →

Como, Family Stories, Food and Drink, Humor, Restaurants, Sipping Espresso

Eating On Top Of The World

4 Comments

Last week, we received a visit from our Uncle S. and Aunt Deborah who were traveling through Europe on business.  They had planned a stop over visit us before traveling by train to their next destination.  We had also coordinated with Jen’s mom, who was departing on the same day they arrived, which saved us a trip to the airport and allowed us to spend the day in Milano (never a bad thing).  Whoever said planning is overrated never had traffic and a two year old to contend with.

Julia with her great-uncle S.
Julia was sad to see her Nonna leave, but excited to have new visitors to play with.  She instantly recognized S. and Deb as they arrived through customs.  Since it was early evening when they landed, we took them back to our condo and had a “light” dinner of bread, salami, salami piccante (spicy salami) prosciutto, cheese, a cannelloni bean salad, acciughe in salsa verde (anchovies in green sauce), insalata finocchio (fennel salad) and insalata caprese with some wonderful buffalo mozzarella.  Franco and Claudia came downstairs to join the party and brought some additional goodies of their own.  Of course, we had more than a bottle or two of some good vino along with grappa and limoncello to wash it all down. Continue reading Eating On Top Of The World →