La Dolce Vita
We spend our first night in Italy in fair Verona, where Shakespeare himself found inspiration for one of the most tragic love stories of all time. Or did he? Rumour has it that Shakespeare never travelled to Italy, but based his play on Matteo Bandello’s Italian novella, adding his own creative flair to the plot. Although we cannot know for sure if the two lovers really existed, it is certain that their aristocratic families did. The Montecchi and Cappelletti families are mentioned by Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy, some 200 years before Shakespeare is recorded to have put pen to paper.
Kicking ‘pizza' month’ off with a bang, we order what must certainly be the most Italian meal of all – the Pizza Margherita. According to legend, the famed Margherita was created in 1889, 28 years after the unification of Italy, when Queen Margherita paid a visit to Naples – a city widely regarded as the birthplace of pizza. In order to honour her visit, a specialty pizza was created resembling the colours of the Italian flag – red (tomato), white (mozzarella) and green (basil). The Margherita (with mozzarella) and the Marinara (without), remain favourites of pizza purists throughout Naples today.
But pizza wasn’t always a dish favoured by the rich. The first pizzas were simple wood-fired flatbreads, served to the fishermen down on the docks, as a hearty and cheap breakfast. Fancy trimmings such as tomatoes were unheard of – until the Spaniards claimed the the southern half of Italy, from Naples to Sicily, as part of their kingdom, introducing the humble tomato from the exotic Americas.
Determined to stay awake past 9pm, we purchase tickets to Carmen, Bizet’s famous opera. Surely, the lively and gorgeous Carmen will cure us of our jetlag! In true Italian fashion, the opera, set in the ancient Verona amphitheatre (Italy’s third largest, behind the Colosseum and Capuan), is delayed for an hour due to union strikes. Needless to say, Andre and the myriad time-sensitive Germans around him, are not impressed. The epic opera is already set to run for 3.5 hours and the idea of perching upon a stone step for an hour more, with but a measly cushion for padding, is more than anyone can bear.
Carmen is a difficult and demanding woman, driving one lover to prison, while she seduces another. We stay for two acts – until our nether regions are numb and our eyes are heavy – before dawdling off to bed, completely unaware of Carmen’s impending death. If only we had had the stamina to see the show through until the end!
We duck up to Lake Garda, Italy’s largest lake, to have a spot of fun in the sun, before the beautiful late August weather is gone for good. From its crystal clear waters, edged with jagged mountains – to its small lake-side villages, dotted with clusters of umbrella-shaded tables, Lake Garda is every bit as beautiful as Lake Como. What Lake Garda lacks in celebrity status (hello George Clooney), it makes up for in vastness. Spotting a SUP rental shop, we decide to make our paddle board debut. Not entirely graceful, but certainly better than we had hoped, we make a circuit of the calm cove, our quad muscles complaining bitterly after several weeks of rest. Depleted, we stop to devour a plate of bruschetta, paired with a crisp cold beer. Simply … Bellissimo!
Cruising our way across Italy to Cinque Terre, sun-roof down and V8 roaring, we soon discover that anything goes when it comes to Italian roads. If you find yourself being overtaken by a smart car or a Fiat Panda, hurtling along at 200 km/h, switching lanes, with a hand more or less constantly on the horn, don’t take it personally. (For a culture that is renowned for its relaxed nature, the Italians have certainly mastered the art of overtaking.) Relax. Imagine yourself in one of Enzo Ferrari’s beautiful creations – flying down the freeway – in a hurry to be absolutely nowhere. Life is good. Life is beautiful. Life is sweet.
Surrounded by our beloved Melburnian gang (whom we have missed dearly!), empty pizza boxes scattered across the table, we cover all the important topics: How does an Italian bidet differ from a Japanese bidet? What is the etiquette for bidet towel usage? Who is our current Prime Minister? (God help us.) Will they ever finish the NBN rollout? Do we need to watch an instructional video on the usage of said bidet? No need, Andre has lined up a demonstration for 7am the next morning.
Our time in Cinque Terre is a blur of leisurely cornetti and cappuccini breakfasts, train trips to the pastel-hued fishing villages that dot the cliffs and lazy long lunches of anchovies, pasta and crispy wood-fired pizza. But the traveller’s life is not all sunshine and amazing meals. On one fateful night, Andre orders a plateful of donkey that arrives at the table still braying. It’s completely inedible and we can’t resist the urge to enquire: Why the long face? Poor Andre is not impressed by our horsey quips.
The next day, fuelled with the energy of an agile donkey, Andre grasps his nordic sticks in preparation for our first big hike since Andorra. The ascent from Corniglia, the smallest of the five villages, is stunning – but steep – winding through olive groves, vineyards and flowery meadows that quickly set the scene for a truly memorable day. The never-ending panorama over the rugged cliffs of the Italian Riviera is breathtaking and meant to be enjoying at a leisurely pace — or so we tell ourselves — as we stop to enjoy a long lunch of spaghetti marinara with postcard-perfect views. Despite the lunchtime drizzle, we press on, reaching Monterosso in time for gravity-defying towers of gelato in the piazza, before boarding the train back to our home base.
We hold a memorable second-last night family dinner at La Taverna Del Metallica, sipping on pints of creamy red beer, as we work our way through plates of testaroli (a fluffy pancake like pasta, cut into diamond shapes and drizzled with parmesan and olive oil) and mountains of slow-cooked pork. Apparently La Taverna Del Metallo is known for its raging heavy metal soundtrack, but we can’t hear it over the nail-biting ‘rose ceremony’ that Andre and Tim have decided to conduct (much to the dismay of our fellow diners). Having purchased 5 stunning red roses from a street vendor, nothing will stop Andre (the Bachelor) and Tim (the loveable Osher), as they embark on their acting debuts. A fun night is had by all, with any lingering romantic tension resolved over dessert.
Bidding farewell to the gang, we climb aboard the white wonder wagon, artfully cramming Sarah and Timmy into the backseat (like the well-behaved children that they are). We’re off to Florence, stopping en route in Pisa, as one must, for a carefully choreographed photo with the leaning tower.
Until Firenze! Ciao!
