Food Glorious (Italian) food

The best

Let me start by saying that the bar is set pretty high for food in Italy when the McDonald's restaurants have gourmet filled rolls and pastries on the menu alongside their Big Macs or in this case a 'Mozzarillo', which comes with a slice of Mozzarella on the all-beef pattie.

I had some wonderful food during my three weeks there ranging from street fare to top class restaurants. Right at the top of the list of my favourites is the gelati. Oh. My. God. it is SO good and everyone ( yes everyone) eats it. You can order it in a cup or a cone. I always went for the cone because let's face it, it doesn't look too classy licking out the cup right at the end. But o

h my word, it is satisfying to pop the last bit of cone into your mouth and know that you've had the last drop off yummy goodness.

These are my top three flavours:

1. pink grapefruit (which I paired with lemon... yum)
2. melon (cantaloupe) Oh yes. mmm (tips head back and drools like Homer Simpson.)
3. amarena. (cherry mixed with vanilla) It simply OOZED extravagance.

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There was a period BC ( before children) when I only used to have black coffee for breakfast, but since the kids came along, I've been a cereal and toast kind of gal. That would only change if I was at a hotel and was offered a full English Breakfast, because as far as I'm concerned, any meal I don't have to cook myself is a bonus!

However, breakfast is quite a different proposition in Italian hotels. Fruit juice - blood orange or grapefruit - seem to be pretty standard - and are quite sweet compared with Australian juices.

There is a token effort with cereal and fruit, but the main event is the cold meat, cheese and hard boiled eggs that are eaten with rolls, and the filled sweet pastries and tarts that I would associate more with desserts. Often the hotels will serve fresh fruit and yoghurt too. Coffee served with a jug of steamed milk is pretty standard and I usually got two cups out of my pot. I have to say that a good Italian breakfast was a fine way to start to the day.

The very best breakfast I had was in Venice. I don't think I will ever forget the fresh bread roll that I filled with a scrape of salt free butter, a generous smear of Philly cream cheese, a slice of ham and a two or three black olives. Oh My. It was good - and I enjoyed it even more when I had it again the next day.

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I was in the back streets of Venice when I bought my first slice of pizza. It only cost me two euros there, but when I bought the exact same thing near the Rialto bridge, it cost me four. I guess location is everything.

When you buy it by the slice, you get it on a square of white butcher's paper and it's all a bit precarious eating it on the go. I was amazed that I didn't end up wearing mine all down my front because the hot melted cheese had no grip at all on the tomato base.

As a rule, toppings are kept very simple. I usually went for the mushroom one - and that was all it had on it after the tomato and cheese - a few scattered slices of mushroom. Back home there would be 6,7,8 toppings - sometimes more on a typical pizza

Now on the other hand, the sky's the limit with pasta. There are so many shapes and flavours and regional specialities that it's hard to keep track of things. Our guide, Father Joe, certainly knew the best places to go for terrific pasta and sauces.

My top five pasta dishes:

1. Black ravioli filled with sea bass with a light tomato sauce (Venice)
2. Risotto al funghi (Lake Maggiore)
3. Pesto lasagne. (Portofino) This was two sheets of pasta and sauce. We actually folded it on itself to give it the appearance of more layers. It still tasted good though.
4. 'Strangle the priest pasta' with a zucchini flower sauce (Rome) Magic
5. Trofie with pesto (Vernazza)

I may have to put a pasta maker on my Christmas list. It will be very hard to go back to 'bought' pasta after this.

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Sunday lunch in the outdoor patio of a restaurant in the countryside on a glorious Autumn day is a remarkably civilised way to spend three or more hours. We saw families - many with young children - at this lovely place on the Appian Way.

I don't think my kids would cope with sitting still that long even now. We sat down to four or maybe five courses (none of them huge, thankfully) and we knew we were eating truly authentic Roman fare.

The standout for me was the arrival of the two suckling pigs that were baked crispy brown. I can just about hear the crackling break when the waiter tapped it with his knife blade.

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The dessert that still makes my mouth water is the Panna Cotta we had in Pisa at a sidewalk cafe. It was served with 'fruits of the forest' and it had the most divinely smooth and even texture. It was a little slice of heaven.

Technically it's only cooked cream mixed with gelatine - but I'm told it is quite tricky to get it right. I found out that the hard way when I ordered it at another restaurant a few days later. It was rubbery on the bottom and runny on the top. Not so nice.

Now I can't finish this blog without mentioning two other tasty morsels that don't quite fit in anywhere else:

1 We went to a restaurant that is near the Pope's summer residence. It was a huge meal and quite lovely - but one of the antipasto dishes was particularly memorable: a thick slice of potato topped with a slice of gorgonzola and a sliver of carrot. it was only two bites big, but oh my... it was so delicious my eyes crossed for a moment.

2 The other was my introduction to Limoncello on my last night in Rome! Hoo boy, it packs a massive punch. It's made with some incredibly overproof alchohol and lemon zest ( and sugar). I would have loved to bring back a bottle or three, but all of the bottles had long, fragile looking necks and I wasn't prepared to risk it in my luggage. Alcoholic lemon scented clothing anyone?

Half of my time away was spent with a privately arranged tour, the other half was spent on my own. I am grateful to the tour organisers: Father Joe Villa, his brother John and our local guide Michela, who exposed our group to some amazing foods that I suspect the average tourist might miss. I had some less than stellar meals when I was travelling on my own.

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and the worst

Typical tourist fare at Il Duomo Florence: set menu, four courses 9.95. I should have been suspicious. It was too close to the main tourist attraction and it was far too cheap.

But I was too footsore and hungry to look for anywhere better.

I'll grant that the service there was quick - and the beer was good. The waitress was back within minutes of my order: antipasto, salad, pasta and lasagne. Umm the only trouble was, it was all on the same plate.

Oh dear.

But I guess you have to have the bad to better appreciate the good.

Next time: My WTFery moments

I'm baaackkk

I've been back home for nearly two weeks now and it's safe to say I'm over my jetlag, almost recovered from the cold which stirred up my asthma, and not quite so traumatised by the memories of the seemingly never- ending flight from Abu Dhabi.

I've decided I need to focus on the good things about my trip because they really did outweigh everything else. I had a fantastic time. Everything went to plan: the weather was good, all of my bookings were honoured, planes and trains left on time and the hotels I arranged myself were all very comfortable.

Knowing that a blow-by-blow run down on three weeks in Italy would be as boring as batshit, I will give you instead:

Three moments that took my breath away.

1 My cooking class in Tuscany

There was a very special moment that afternoon. Our class was being conducted in the kitchen of a very old house in the village of S. Donato in Collina, which is half way between Florence and Siena. We were learning to make ravioli and our instructor was preparing the filling of spinach, ricotta and parmesan. We were drinking chianti while we worked and I could feel the sun at my back. It really was a glorious day.

There was a gentle breeze coming in through the window, and every time I turned around this is the view that faced me. I recall thinking that things couldn't get much better.

Then Alex (our instructor) started to grate some fresh nutmeg... and somehow they were. Bliss.

The ravioli were delicious by the way.

2 The Pisa Baptistry echo.

The Pisa Baptistry is a large domed building that stands near the Leaning Tower and the Cathedral (which is a bit wonky too - but you have to look hard to spot it.)

The Baptistry has the most superb acoustics thanks to its perfectly domed roof. Every half hour the guard comes out to the exact centre of the structure, calls for silence and waits until you can hear a pin drop.

Then he sings a single note and it echos around the dome for about ten seconds. Before that first note has a chance to fade away completely, he sings a different note ... and then another. Before we knew it, the most exquisite harmonies were being built and I was standing there with shivers running up and down my spine. It was absolutely spellbinding.

3 The chairlift ride from Anacapri.

This chairlift takes passengers on a six minute ride to the very top of the Isle of Capri and gives the most amazing views over the whole island, the town of Anacapri and the Bay of Naples.

The ride starts like any other chairlift amid lots of bouncing and grinding of cogs, but they are left behind within a minute. The rest of the journey is spent in near silence. No-one speaks. Even the people on the return trip don't say a word as you pass them by.

We started by passing low over the back yards of a few houses, but then we angled upwards. Soon my feet were skimming the tops of oak trees and there were wonderful scents of flowering trees wafting upwards as we passed by. I have no idea what they were, but they smelled lush and green. The higher we rose, the sparser the greenery became, but that was compensated for by the breathtaking views over the Bay.

When I reached the top I caught the eye of my companions, who had been seated just behind me. We agreed that it had been one of the most peaceful six minutes of our lives.

The return trip was lovely too, but there was something extra special about that ride up the mountain.

Honourable mention 1. Florence.

I knew that Il Duomo is the dominant feature of this city. It towers above everything else and can even be seen from the highway that bypasses the city.

But even knowing that, I was surprised to turn the corner of a narrow city street and to boom, find it literally standing right in front of me. It brought me up short.

Honourable mention 2. Rome

Our hotel was only a stone's throw from St Peter's and we had arranged to attend an early service there before the crowds were unmanageable. As our group walked towards the Basilica, the pink of the dawn light was still glowing on the dome. It was breathtaking.

The service was conducted in Pope JP2's Polish chapel- one of many chapels downstairs - and while sitting quietly at the back, I could hear chanting from another chapel to our right and a hymn being sung in German from a chapel to our left. It was an odd combination of sounds but it was actually very moving.

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Next time: The best (and worst) food.