Tag: pasta

Skol! Our Trip to Scandinavia Day #6 “Don’t Come Here (Copenhagen in May) For the Weather”

by reissmd, posted in Copenhagen

Today was billed as a day with a lot packed into it “Don’t be late, we have lots to do”. And we were not deceived. We did have a very full day but got a great start by having a wonderful night’s sleep. After breakfast we met our local guide for the day and headed onto the bus. We were told that we would be doing a lot of street walking. The tour guide warned us when crossing the street be careful of the “Psychopaths”. We asked him to repeat himself and without hesitation he again warned, “When crossing the streets be careful of the psychopaths”. We remained bewildered and our expressions must have revealed our confusion so he further explained, “Yes, the bicyclists have the right of way so you will need to be aware of their location on the CYCLE PATH”. Okay, got it.

The morning tour was complicated by rain and cold weather. We did a short walk before getting on the bus. During the drive we passed a number of historical sights and then found this one:

The Little Mermaid.

Our guide said that the statue has been the victim of multiple cases of vandalism including twice having her head cut off and once being completely demolished with explosives. Why would anyone want to hurt this sweet thing?

We did some more touring from there but I have to tell you being on a boat or bus hearing a tour guide go on and on about fact after fact just doesn’t do it for me. Patrice said she disagrees and likes that aspect. Hmmmm, see below.

Robert and Patrice taking in every word the tour guide is saying on the boat portion of the activities.

We were given a midday break to have some lunch and get some rest. We found a nice place where we could get some authetic Danish cuisine.

Can you get any more authentic Danish food than some good old Italian pasta with burrata cheese?

Then we were back on the road with our guide making sure to avoid the psychopaths. Our next stop was a bit out of the city. We passed some gorgeous homes on our way to Frederiksborg Castle. This place was beautiful inside and out. Here is a picture approaching from a distance.

Frederiksborg Castle (Frederiksborg Slot 10, 3400 Hillerød). The picture doesn’t adequately show its beauty.

After the castle we headed to dinner for an authentic Danish meal (unlike the Italian food we had for lunch) at Gamle Humlebæk Kro (are you impressed I could type the Danish letter æ?). The dinner was great but the highlight for me was a mindreading/card trick I performed for the group. People laughed at the jokes and were blown away when I picked the correct card. I promised to do my calculator trick the night before the trip ends and people were very excited. My magic ego got a major boost today.

The master magician and his assistant.

Tomorrow we fly to Norway.

Til i morgen.

Europe 2022 day #6 “Bobby Flay, I Am Not”  Bologna, Italy 10/11/2022

by reissmd, posted in Bologna, Italy

Last night we had a wonderful dinner at Ristorante Donatello (Via Augusto Righi, 8, 40126 Bologna BO) at the suggestion of our friend Dominic.  We had a luscious meal and a very interesting experience.  

Patrice tried to order the “Three Pastas”, a dish that allows you to choose three different kinds of pasta to enjoy. The waiter informed us that this was an order for a minimum of 3 people so we had to choose something else.  While waiting for our meals another couple was seated next to us and they too tried to order the “Three Pastas” selection and were given the same advice.  We joked if they had been a little earlier we could have ordered it together. They further considered their choices and then the wife said, “He will eat two portions and we will have the “Three Pastas”.  Sure enough, the three pastas came out and they proceeded to down the whole thing.  Next, the waiter brought them a large meat and potato dish and they devoured most (but not all) of that.  We were done with our meal but I had to wonder if they ordered anything else.  We thought we were overdoing it by ordering an appetizer to share and two entrees.  Their 4 entrees (and possibly more) put us to shame. 

Our appetizer (mortadella) which we enjoyed but didn’t finish.
Tagliatelle ragú which Patrice could not finish.
Our waiter said the veal was Donatello’s signature dish. It was great but too much for me to finish.

As you can see we were overmatched by these 3 reasonably sized dishes. Our new friends were in a league of their own.

Just in case we didn’t have enough food yesterday we arranged to have a cooking lesson today.  Pietro, our guide and instructor, met us at the hotel at 9:00 and escorted us to the local market.  He had all sorts of interesting information to pass along.  The market was quite a scene with hanging meats and a variety of cheeses to choose from.  We bought the necessary ingredients and then headed to the cooking school.  

Choose your pork.

Pietro then taught us the ins and outs of making pasta.  It was fascinating.  After the lesson was completed we got to enjoy the fruits of our labor, I mean we got to enjoy the pasta of our labor.  The meal was delicious and Pietro said we did an excellent job of producing the pasta ……… for beginners.  

Bobby “Flay” Reiss mixing the pasta dough.
Squeezing the potato needed for the gnocchi.
A small portion of the pasta we made.
Our answer to Bobby Flay and Julia Child beaming over our creations.

If you are going to be in Bologna and would like to learn how to make pasta contact Barbara Zaccagni at Il Salotto di Penelope by calling +39 348 8713781 or find them through Trip Advisor or their website (https://ilsalottodipenelope.it/en/home-2/). Tomorrow we leave Bologna and head for Venice.  On the way we are going to visit Ferrari and see if we can get a deal on a new car.

Ciao

Europe 2022 day #4 “I Can’t Believe I Ate the Whole Thing”  Bologna, Italy 10/9/2022

by reissmd, posted in Bologna, Italy

Yesterday we arrived at the home of Italian pasta, Bologna.  We have eaten at a restaurant in Los Angeles that boasts that their pasta is flown in daily from Bologna.  So last night we were very anxious to sample the pasta in the world’s capital for the signature Italian food.  Yes, we had dinner at a restaurant just steps from the hotel and ate ……….. pizza.   Our waiter seemed overworked and not so thrilled to see us but he warmed up very quickly when we started to speak Spanish instead of English.

I didn’t eat the whole thing. I had some help from Patrice.

Today we had a three-hour walking tour with our guide, Giulia (aka Julia).  Like all our guides she was fantastic.  We got to see the cathedral (What is a town in Europe without a huge, ostentatious cathedral surrounded by people struggling to make a living?) and a variety of religious artifacts dating back over 800 years.  Imagine seeing places built in the 12th century and still standing.  Structures that had to endure two world wars and numerous natural disasters and remain erect.  Why is it, that in Los Angeles something 50 years old is considered a “tear down”?

Yes, they have some extremely old buildings here but I still need to ask if anyone has studied structural engineering in this country?  We all know about the leaning tower of Pisa, well this place has two buildings that lean.  See the photo below and I swear to you I was holding the camera straight. 

Two leaning towers in Bologna. Simply known as Le Due Torri (The Two Towers).

The staff at this hotel (Hotel Touring; Via dè Mattuiani, 1/2, 40124 Bologna BO) is fantastic.  Everyone has been very cheerful and gracious as you would expect at any high-end hotel.  Their hearts have been huge even if the room (especially the bathroom and shower) have not.  We wanted to make reservations for dinner the next few nights and Patrice thought it best if we go to the front desk to ask for help.  I told her I would go in case the lovely Elena was working.  I mean I wanted to go so the lovely Patrice didn’t need to be bothered.  Patrice wanted to go in case “the handsome Marco” was there so we both went.  When we arrived Elena wasn’t there but the also very lovely Giulia (not our guide, Giulia) was on duty.  She was very helpful and while we were waiting, Marco arrived.  I said “Buon giorno, Marco”.  He then said hello and asked me my name which I told him and then he looked at my wife and he said, “Buon giorno, Patrice”.   Hmmmmmm.  By the way, my laptop wants to change giorno to groin!  Hmmmm again.

The beautiful Giulia and handsome Marco (Giulia is on the left).

One thing of interest I have noted during our short time in Italy is the numerous people I see wearing clothes emblazoned with either LA or Los Angeles.  If so many Italians think Los Angeles is a great place. I think I will plan a trip there very soon. 

Ciao