Changing plans (Friuli, Italy - Day Three)

It seems that no matter how much planning you do, fate has another plan in mind and thus you must stay flexible. In these situations I think it is important to remain philosophical and not allow things to drag you down, as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I should try to get the most out of it. So for the fifth time since arriving in Europe I returned to the Dusseldorf area in the hopes of finally collecting my residency card/working holiday visa, that would not only allow me to continue travelling in Europe beyond my 90 day tourist visa (which expires on Sunday), but also have the opportunity to join two of the best wineries in Germany for the harvest later in the year. I had to do some shifting of my days, and had to leave Friuli early to make my flight from Milan, but at least now I can head back to Italy sooner and not miss any time in my next region. As long as I can get some appointments after Easter. For my final day in Friuli I only had one brief appointment, at Venica & Venica.

Venica & Venica in Friuli

Once in a lifetime (Friuli, Italy – Day Two)

One of the guiding principles of my trip is to attempt to enjoy regional cuisine along with the regional wines as often as possible. My theory is that the cuisine of the region organically developed to match with the wines of the region (up until about 40 years ago), and if I can understand the food of the region I may better understand the wines, and the experience will strengthen the memory. The major difficulty I have with this principle is the restrictions of my budget, which is important I adhere to if I want to travel for as long as I intend. This isn’t much of a problem, except that the food I can afford is not always the best. For this reason I always relish any invitation I have for lunch or dinner with one of my winery hosts, not only because it is a free meal. The occasion has increased since arriving to Europe, particularly Italy where I have enjoyed lunch and dinner on numerous occasions. The food experience I had on my second day in Friuli however, was one of the most surreal and amazing, and will stay with me forever, as you will read below.

Does it get any better than this?

You’re welcome (Friuli, Italy – Day One)

If you close your eyes, ears, nose and brain, you can almost imagine what Venice must have been like centuries ago when it ruled a vast merchant empire the envy of the world, enough to inspire Shakespeare to set his famous “The Merchant of Venice” in. Shutting off the senses is vital, as the tightly packed streets are filled with either tourists from around the world, or those working to support the tourism industry. Venice is hardly a city that people live in, and for this reason after two days I was pretty sick of it. I shudder to think what it is like in summer, but if it is anything like Paris then it’s almost not worth it. Everything is a little bit more expensive and far from authentic. Thank goodness they at least have one youth hostel, which had possibly the worst breakfast so far on my trip, but in Venice 23 Euro is nothing to sneeze at. After a weekend wandering the allies and canals I drove up into the other great white wine region of Italy, Friuli. It is similar in some ways to Alto Adige, in the sense that it shares history and culture with its neighbouring countries Austria and Slovenia, it is predominantly white wine focused and there are a range of both indigenous and introduced varieties. What it doesn’t have in common is the micro-climates, as Friuli is a much more Mediterranean climate where they get a lot more rain and warmth, and thus the varieties and styles differ. In spite of the slight difference in culture (and language), the warmth and generosity is the same.

Yours truly with the Rosazzo Abbey behind me