Entries from September 2008 ↓

Today I will talk about espresso, maybe the most famous Italian coffee, because it’s not only drunk in all bars and restaurants in Italy, but now more and more also abroad.
Espresso is made with a quite complex machine where pressurized water comes in contact with compressed coffee powder, coming out through a kind of nozzle.
There are now many types of those machines, not only for bars but also for home. I always prefer drinking it from a professional machine.
A good espresso coffee is served in cups that are warmed up keeping them on top of the machine. The coffee is freshly grinded and its aroma can vary a lot, depending from its quality, but also from the machine. The real espresso is very creamy and it’s just a very small quantity, absolutely not a full cup, even if the cups are already very small!

Tourists are often quite surprised by this kind of concentrated coffee, they prefer sipping coffee slowly.
That’s why seeing Italians in the bar is very funny and almost hectic, as they don’t drink their coffee, they just “throw” it in!
Being in a crowded bar in any Italian city at 9 a.m. is actually a very eclectic experience. All these people ready to go to work in their very stylish suits, still with their sunglasses on their nose (even if it’s raining), rush into the bar and push each other at the counter. The real amazing thing is that every single Italian likes his coffee in a different way. Who takes it “pure”, who wants it with sugar, some prefer it with cold milk, some with warm milk. You have also a category of people that besides those 4 basic categories also like it in a big cup. In this case the range of “special requests” becomes very wide. In the “big cup” people not only drink a cappuccino, no, they sometimes want a “spotted milk” (means 90% milk against 10% coffee), but also this can be adjusted with many variations. Others want a big cup with coffee and warm milk but “with a lot of foam”. Then you have those who have a particular attention to health, they will order a “deca” but sometimes specifying that it must be HAG (the importance of a brand…). Others like to go back to origins and order a barley coffee. I really admire our barmen!
What about myself? I like a normal espresso and I just add some sugar in it. It’s a matter of fact that I’m not a fantasist regarding coffee….

Last September 12th was Illy’s birthday and we had a dinner with her parents at home. For the event we drank a Champagne Vieille Reserve that we bought in Champagne region during our holiday in France. This wine is produced by Godart et Fils, a little producer in Moussy, just 10 minutes from Epernay. We found that this wine is very good, genuine and handmade. We appreciate these characteristics when we drink this kind of wines because a little producer is able to transmit the passion of his work.
Very different from Franciacorta wine and Italian sparkling white wines in general, this champagne has a yellow colour, a fine perlage and a very good taste.
Genuine and authentic is the label too, but in the context it fits perfectly…..

Thanks to a personal connection, we had the privilege to make a guided visit to an historical winery of Beaune, the Maison Louis Latour.
We had the possibility to visit their vineyards in the marvellous village of Aloxe-Corton, to see their incredible cellar and taste some of their wines. This visit taught us so much about the French wine tradition, and specifically about the Bourgogne. We learned so many things about the different appellations, as Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Village, about their grapes and winemaking techniques, about the very strict rules applied to the production of every single bottle.
After our visit we went directly to a wine shop in Beaune to buy few bottles: when we will drink this wine in few months, we will relive the beautiful moments of our holiday and think again about the amazing vineyards of Bourgogne.

We spent the last night of our French trip in Aloxe-Corton, in the “hotel de charme” Villa Louise, a lovely place, surrounded by vineyards, with nice rooms, friendly people, and an excellent and original breakfast served in a very tastefully furnished living room.

Holiday in France

In the late afternoon we finally arrived at Château de la Villatte and there we concluded our day in a marvellous room, so big, so authentically aristocratic, with the real charme of a house that still maintains the spirit of a noble family.
We actually only met one person there, the madam that had answered my e-mail to confirm the reservation and that welcomed us at our arrival. She was shy and straightforward, but in a kind of understatement with her casual clothes, just explaining where our room was, where we should go for breakfast, how the lights worked and other practical things like that. She only asked at what time we wanted breakfast (and if we wanted tea or coffee) and then disappeared, apologizing that she had a lot of work to do. We relaxed in the room from which we had a wonderful view on the park, then we went to Laval for dinner. We were the only guests in the house as we didn’t see any other car. We left the house just closing the door but didn’t see her again. Laval by the way is a very nice town on a river, with an imposing castle and ancient walls, we had dinner in a simple restaurant specialized in raclette, fondue and other dishes from Savoye. When we came back to the château the entrance door was still unlocked and we went to bed. We slept in the biggest bed ever!

The day after, we woke up quite early and by 8 a.m. we were ready for breakfast so we entered the dining room she had showed us, also very accurately renovated and furnished and we saw that the table was perfectly prepared for two, with warm coffee, orange juice, bread, croissants, jams: just ready for us at 8 a.m. as we had asked. Classical music was playing in the background and we had breakfast like two aristocratic persons in their private mansion. The lady didn’t show up, so we went upstairs and finished packing our luggage and when we came back downstairs, I noticed a letter on the snooker table at the entrance. I approached and there was a hand written letter on prestigious paper, where only few words said “Thanks” and the price of the room. As I knew that credit cards are not accepted in these private houses I had already enough cash, so I put the right amount on the table, leaving also my business card with few words thanking her for her hospitality. Manu was quite surprised and said we should better call her and give her the money personally. But I said no, I absolutely felt this was the way she wanted us to leave.
Still quite astonished by this unusual attitude we stepped into our car and in the moment that we started moving, we saw the lady leaning out of the door and waving energically her hand in our direction, greeting us with a big thankful smile.

Holiday in France