We flew out of National Airport on USAir to Philadelphia. There was about 1 hour 50 minutes layover in Philly. Then we heard the fateful words, "flight delayed 2 hours". Luther was ready to cancel the whole trip. The gate agent said wait and see. There were LOTS of others in our same boat. Luckily it was only about 40 minutes late so we were able to make our connection. That said I was appalled at the food and service on USAir. The worst yet. The food was next to inedible. The good news was the flight was only 1/3 full so we each got an entire middle row of 3 seats. I did sleep some. The jet lag was minimal.

We arrived in Zurich at about 8AM. Cloudy and 45 degrees. We rented a Corolla but it was a model not brought into the US. After several wrong turns we ended up going through the center of Zurich in morning rush hour. We went through the St. Gottard pass, a 17-kilometer long tunnel popping out in Ticino - the Italian Switzerland. Abruptly everything was in Italian.

We stopped in Lugano for lunch. The town was lovely and situated right on Lago di Lugano. We chose Ristaurante Cyrano at random. It was a little odd. Pasta with gravy (?!) but ok.

I wanted to take some pictures so we walked to the lake promenade and were amused to see a large swan in the middle of the road [see left]. Traffic was barely moving as each car tried to maneuver around him. Finally a German woman managed to herd him off the road and back into the lake.

We found the restaurante Contea in La Nieve where we were also staying. It was raining steadily now. We went to check in and found we were in the annex. All the roads were so small that they were one way. So the man at the desk had to get into his car and we followed him all around the town and back to get to the annex which was really only a little distance from the restaurant. The room was on the second floor above some giant metal wine vats. There were two rooms that shared a small patio. The room was comfortable with wooden floors and good bed nice bath and TV. Not big though. We went for a walk around town in the steady rain and stopped at a wine bar for glasses of wine. Luther practiced his Italian on the nice man who seemed amused. There were several small wine bars with outside tables in this little town. Too bad it wasn't nicer weather.

Dinner was excellent. We walked up in pouring rain with our raincoats over our decent clothes. We were seated in a room with three tables next to the room with the Japanese. We ordered a la carte. They had 3 degustation menus, one was 50 euro one 65 and the truffle menu was 165 euro. I couldn't afford that last one but wanted to try truffles so I ordered a plate of fettuccine with an egg sauce and white truffles shaved all over the top. Excellent and "only" 65 euro. I couldn't go all that way and not try some. I also had the saddle of rabbit with herbs, Luther had vitello al tonno a local specialty and saddle of rabbit too. I had the cheese plate afterwards. All local cheeses and very good. We had a half bottle of Anneis White and Contea Barbaresco Reserva.

We had a nice conversation with the German couple next to us (youngsters). They live in Berne Switzerland. They were surprised that an American could speak such good German and I could too as I joined in. Plus they were surprised that Americans would eat cheese that was not low fat. OH the reputation we have!

Friday Oct 26.
It continued to pour all night long. I had the window open for the cool air. We had a minimal breakfast. We drove over to the Barolo part of the area. It was south of Alba and Barbaresco was north. There apparently was quite the rivalry between them. All the restaurants in Barolo had hundreds of Barolo wines and 2 Barbarescos. All the Barbaresco Restaurants had hundreds of Barbarescos and two Barolos. Ha! We stopped in La Morra and in Barolo. At the wine co-op in Barolo they had a flight of 3 Barolos to taste which we did. They were excellent but one was delicious and we bought two bottles.

It was nearly lunchtime. We had decided to have a big lunch and a picnic dinner today. There was a restaurant recommendation in Barbaresco called Ristorante Rabaja. That recommendation was spot on! We chose the degustation picco. Gosh! That was small? I had 1) antipasti of rabbit with spinach on a bed of salad in vinaigrette. 2) Spinach timbale shaped like a heart in a Parmesan cheese puddle (the best! See right) 3) Thin linguini in ragu with Parmesan 4) rabbit stewed in Barbaresco 5) cheese plate for me and dolce for Luther who had tried valiantly not to have it. We had 1/2 bottle of Gaja Chardonnay and a bottle of Moccogata Bric Balin 2000. Afterward we had espressi and an herbal grappa that was a blend (not great). It was a SUPERB lunch.

We were only 5 km from Nieve (good thing) and found our room after two circuits of the town.

After a nice nap we were up and walking to the very small market in town. We got a nice picnic of ham, salami, cheese and bread. We had already gotten our wine so we were fine. Oh, and it was still pouring...

After our snack we sat outside under the eave as it was still drizzling. Sebastian and Sybil who we met last evening at dinner came home and joined us. Friendliest Germans I've ever met. He had a small cigar and we chatted. She was a language teacher and he was a dentist.

Saturday Oct 27
We woke up to partly cloudy skies. I was elated. I looked out the window and there was sun shining across the horizon. I suddenly realized it wasn't clouds I was looking at, it was the Alps! They formed a solid wall as far as I could see. The were glittering as the morning sun hit their tops. They looked suspended above the earth. I took a lot of pictures from our balcony on this day.

The sellers were up and down the aisles each with a little refrigerated stand with a clear curved top. Inside were displayed the truffles. There were both white and black. The black were much cheaper. I bought truffle butter, truffle honey and truffle cream. I itched to buy a truffle but was told they keep a week and need refrigeration. I didn't want to spend the money and then not be able to keep them properly and they would ruin. A small one cost about 30 euro.

This time we REALLY had a hard time finding our room. When we did finally find it I was sure I'd have no problem finding it again but won't have the opportunity, as this day was our last day here.

We dined again at La Contea. We had the 50-euro tasting menu. We had the amuse bouche (same as before) they served champagne with it which was nice. Then we had veal in tuna sauce served cool. Then we had a "soft tart" I believe it was spinach, very soft in a sauce. Next gnocchi in a cheese sauce, and finally, the "roast". It fell apart so must have been braised. Finally we had flan and petit fours. All very good but not notable.

It had been a glorious day. Sunny and warm with not a cloud in the sky. The rain made me really appreciate it. We sat on our patio with grappas.

Sunday October 28
The day dawned gray and chilly. We had breakfast, packed up, paid and I got my Buon Ricordo plate!!!

We made good time to Laggo di Garda where the plan was to go up the scenic route after we got to Brescia. Bad plan. The traffic was awful and we got lost. When 1PM came we stopped at a pizzeria and had pizza for lunch. That was fine though. The drive was really interesting. A narrow road hugged the lake. Sometimes high above the water sometimes not. But there was so much fog you couldn't see much. Too bad, it could have been spectacular.

On the way north from there into the Tyrol we started to see patches of blue sky.

We checked into the Hotel Grien. I was disappointed. It was much smaller than I remembered from last time. But it still had the nice duvet covered beds and Tyrolian atmosphere so it was ok.

There were not a lot of people there at this time of year. It was between "seasons". Five tables were populated at dinner. One American which was surprising as this was pretty out of the way. The restaurant had a big long table full of antipasti to which you helped yourself before the first course. All of them were really good.

Monday October 29
Morning dawned very cold but brilliantly clear. We were planning a hike. Breakfast was good. I picked the Müsli and added nuts and dried fruit, yoghurt and a little milk. Good.

We picked up a wanderkarte at the desk and chose a route and started out. We picked the old Post path where the postman used to walk. Wow what a walk he had! We turned around after about 1/2 hour and headed down to town. Stopped for water and coffee. Then bought another map at the information center and I got post cards and we bought a picnic. Then we chose another route.

It was extremely uphill and for a very long time. Combined with the elevation it was tough. I'm not a fit as I used to be. Then Luther took a wrong turn which was even worse uphill. Finally he figured out his mistake and we backtracked. After that it was quite pleasant but it was a long hike. About 4 hours. We had a picnic in our room.

After a relaxing afternoon we went to dinner. For antipasti I had a nice arugula salad with shaved Parmesan and vinaigrette. Then I tried a cherry tomato and rolled stuffed eggplant thing, a grilled radicchio, caramelized onion and more! Then my first course was potato soup and then Rabbit with tomatoes and olives.

October 30
It was cloudy and rainy. We had planned a drive to another town with a Buon Ricordo restaurant. It was so cold and the passes so high that it started to snow. Then we chickened out. We ended up being lazy. We bought a nice picnic and relaxed. I finished my book which was "Water for Elephants" which was great. Luther said he didn't like "wasting" his vacation. But a day of relaxation was not bad a thing. It was a spa afterall!

Dinner was good. I was a little bored with it now. There was a single woman here who sat behind us at meals. Wonder what was up with her.

October 31
Off to Zurich. Sunny. Figures. But after we drove through the Brenner pass into Austria it clouded up. It was sun and clouds the rest of the way. Pretty drive through mountains and pretty valleys. We stopped beside the Bodensee for lunch in Rorshach at a lakeside restaurant. We had beers and nice fish dishes. We got into Zurich and we didn't even get lost!!! But we couldn't get near our hotel. So we parked in a parkhaus and had to drag our suitcases quite a long way down the cobbled streets.

The Hotel Adler was nice. It was right in the center of the old part of town. A pedestrian area. The room was modern and on the 5th floor. Nice bathroom. We went for a nice long walk. The city was sporting autumn colors along the river. We shopped along Bahnhoffstrasse, the ritzy shopping street. We stopped in a Trattoria for wine and then went back to our hotel and reserved for dinner in their restaurant. Its specialty was Fondue.

Later:
I did order the fondue and it was yummy and lots of fun.

November 1
The flight back home was uneventful. We even managed to get an earlier flights out of Philly so got home at around 6PM.