Tag: wine

Get Your Sleep On – Altarocca Wine Resort (Orvieto, Italy)

Leave a comment

Altarocca Wine Resort is a fantastic retreat for those who want to get away from it all, but also who want to visit the nearby town of Orvieto during their stay. We stayed here for 2 nights in the middle of our Honeymoon, on our way to a longer stay in Tuscany and on the Italian Riviera.

We actually added this hotel and stop to our itinerary after, while I was planning our stay, I noticed that a friend of mine from the UK had just stayed here and had posted some photos on Facebook of his stay. I had to find out where this place was. Luckily, my friend answered my frantic FB chats almost immediately and gave me some info and his full recommendation.

Full disclosure: I formerly worked for a company in Argentina that has built and now operates a wine resort and spa in Mendoza, and I really wanted to see Altarocca Wine Resort especially due to my love of wine and curiosity!

We arrived just before dusk, which was unfortunate because the views from the resort are simply amazing.

Altarocca Wine Resort

One of the views from Altarocca Wine Resort

You really feel like Continue reading →

Alla Vecchia Bettola (Florence, Italy)

Leave a comment

Our Florence hotel concierge  (Cosimo at Villa Tolomei) recommended Alla Vecchia Bettola for dinner one chilly, late October night during our honeymoon and it was just what we were looking for.  The name itself means “The Old Tavern”, and it definitely has an old, rustic feel to it.

It’s not romantic by any means, with its communal tables, frantic energy and bright lights, but the food here was excellent and the unlimited red table wine was a fantastic deal (4 euros per person?). This is truly a place where locals eat, but there are travelers here, too.

Be prepared to exercise your Italian food vocabulary muscles or to ask a lot of questions of the waitstaff when trying to figure out what you want to eat. Some are very familiar, and some are extremely foreign (even to me, who grew up eating Italian food and going to Italian restaurants since before I could even speak).  We asked for a few explanations of some of the dishes, and the waiters, while somewhat rushing through responses, were as helpful as they could be in helping us craft an Florentine dinner of epic proportions. Continue reading →

Ora D’Aria – Michelin star dining in Florence

Leave a comment

My husband and I went to Ora D’Aria on our honeymoon in October and we were really looking forward to our meal there based on reading about the chef and the place in general. However, we were a little disappointed with our meal and I think that, for the money, we had better meals elsewhere at a better price.

IMG_3618

THE FOOD

We did the Tuscan autumn tasting menu and each course was good, but not great.

 IMG_3623

I think the amuse bouche was actually tastier than the actual courses, which was really unfortunate because I think it set us up for disappointment.  It consisted of a pint-sized portion of steak tartare with caviar and truffle oil, tempura fresh cherry tomato and prosciutto “sandwich”. Continue reading →

In Vino Veritas – Casa Bleve (Rome, Italy)

Leave a comment

If you find yourself in Rome doing the whole tourist thing near the Pantheon, and have some cash to burn and a hankerin’ for some vino, strut your fabulous butt over to Casa Bleve and enter perhaps the most luxurious wine bar and restaurant that you’ve ever been to.

I had Casa Bleve on my list of “must-sees” in Rome after scouring the boards over at Chowhound to find the best wine bars in Rome. After a careful selection process (which was pretty much just figuring out what was close to stuff that we wanted to do – and that people could agree was a good place), Casa Bleve was “it”.

And “it” did not disappoint.

A mini Versailles dedicated to the tasting of delicious, gourmet Italian food and appreciation of wine, the nectar of the gods, the downright opulent surroundings made Frank Sinatra look like a hobo. But, now that you’ve read this post, you’ll dress nicely before you go. Unlike us…We felt like Continue reading →

Hilton Malta - Pool

Get Your Sleep On – Hilton Malta (St. Julian’s, Malta)

2 Comments

My husband and I spent the first leg of our honeymoon at the Hilton Malta, a luxury property situated in St. Julian’s Bay, Malta, and I could not be more pleased with our decision to stay here! We had looked at several other hotels on Malta and, after reading reviews, decided to cancel another reservation and book here instead. While the other property we were looking at was very nice, I think it’s the best decision we could have made.
IMG_3452

Pro-Tip: Get a room in the newer part of the hotel and upgrade to Executive Level. It’s worth it.

IMG_3453

Apart from a beautiful Executive King room in the new part of the hotel (Room #1158), what made our stay so special was Continue reading →

In Vino Veritas – Enoteca Al Duomo (Orvieto, Italy)

Leave a comment
The Enoteca Al Duomo: My husband and I loved this place so much that we came here twice in one day during our honeymoon back in October.  Aptly named, this enoteca is literally next to the famous Duomo in Orvieto, Italy. Looking at the front of the amazing façade, it’s on the left-hand side, on the side of the building (facing the beautiful striped sides of the duomo). Can’t miss it.

It was truffle season so we opted for a full-on truffle lunch: bruschetta assortment including truffle bruschetta, tagliolini with fresh truffles, and then a prosciutto and truffle sandwich on fresh ciabatta.

Enoteca al Duomo in Orvieto, Italy
Bruschetta

 

Enoteca Al Duomo in Orvieto, Italy
Cheese plate…including truffled cheese

Continue reading →