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One Day More
Sep. 10th, 2003 12:21 pmFinished my work today as expected. It’s a nice feeling to get everything out of the way. Changed my flight as planned and I’m heading home tomorrow morning. If all goes well, I should be home in time for a late dinner. Although it will feel like early morning to me due to jet lag. I’m debating on whether to go to the office Friday or not. I have so much loose end work to deal with in regards to this trip, but I’m sure I’ll be wiped out. Eh, I’ll decide tomorrow.
The president of the company I was working with wanted to take me to one of his favorite restaurants today. It was about 20 miles north of Milan, on Lake Como. It’s a beautiful place, the Alps are visible all around and just on the other side of the visible mountain range is Switzerland. The water at the lake is a nice, clear bluish green. It was sunny and beautiful there. It’s a popular vacation spot. I even had one British tourist in the restaurant why there were so many Americans there. I told him that I had never heard of the place and had no idea. Mr. President said that there was a training center/hotel nearby and it was likely a seminar that brings us Americans there.
My buddy Heather always wants to know what I ate, so I’ll describe it for her (and anyone else reading). The appetizer was sliced eggplant with tomato sauce and sliced zucchini. Now I picked this out of curiosity. I usually am not an eggplant/zucchini person, but in the sake of trying new things, I picked this out. Well, it was delicious naturally. I may have to investigate other such dishes that I believed were “yucky” as a kid.
The first course (Italians usually have a primary and secondary course) was a rice dish with a cream sauce made from the local wine called “Inferno”. The name is a description of the area where the wine is made. It was exceptional. It had a tangy, tart taste, but was almost sweet at the same time. It literally melted with every bite. My second course was medium well steak with sage and olive oil with pan cooked potatoes and vegetables. Again, it was incredible, just a nice blend of flavors. Lunch was naturally served with wine, the local favorite “Inferno” something or other.
Now I usually don’t drink wine too much, because I’ve never really found a good wine. It was always too tart for my taste. This wine had a smooth, lightly tart flavor that was very appealing. I even considered buying a bottle to bring home, but I figured my luggage was too heavy as it was. Desert was “neuget” with chocolate and cream sauce (ice cream), but a flavor was not familiar with. Very good. Lunch was finished with a cappuccino that was so bitter I nearly made nasty faces, but I didn’t want to insult my host. It didn’t fool him, but he laughingly told me to add sugar next time.
From there, Mr. President and I went sightseeing around the area; we drove up to the top of one of the mountains so I could get a full view of the lake and surrounding villas. I took several pictures of the breathtaking view and even saw a couple of 1,000 year old churches. Incredibly impressive.
On the way back we stopped at a small bar for a restroom break and a coffee. While my host was in the restroom, a weirdo noticed my digital camera hanging around my neck. He fired off rapid fire questions and I finally had to stop him to let him know I didn’t speak Italian. Once he realized I was American, he kept asking if I spoke other languages, like German or Spanish. I tried to tell him I spoke only English and a barely working knowledge of French. Still, he wanted to chat. Finally, he gave up and left about the time my host showed back up. Very strange feller, not sure what to make of him.
Well, my first foreign trip ends in about 16 hours. Looking forward to getting home. I’m sure my next trip will be equally exciting.
The president of the company I was working with wanted to take me to one of his favorite restaurants today. It was about 20 miles north of Milan, on Lake Como. It’s a beautiful place, the Alps are visible all around and just on the other side of the visible mountain range is Switzerland. The water at the lake is a nice, clear bluish green. It was sunny and beautiful there. It’s a popular vacation spot. I even had one British tourist in the restaurant why there were so many Americans there. I told him that I had never heard of the place and had no idea. Mr. President said that there was a training center/hotel nearby and it was likely a seminar that brings us Americans there.
My buddy Heather always wants to know what I ate, so I’ll describe it for her (and anyone else reading). The appetizer was sliced eggplant with tomato sauce and sliced zucchini. Now I picked this out of curiosity. I usually am not an eggplant/zucchini person, but in the sake of trying new things, I picked this out. Well, it was delicious naturally. I may have to investigate other such dishes that I believed were “yucky” as a kid.
The first course (Italians usually have a primary and secondary course) was a rice dish with a cream sauce made from the local wine called “Inferno”. The name is a description of the area where the wine is made. It was exceptional. It had a tangy, tart taste, but was almost sweet at the same time. It literally melted with every bite. My second course was medium well steak with sage and olive oil with pan cooked potatoes and vegetables. Again, it was incredible, just a nice blend of flavors. Lunch was naturally served with wine, the local favorite “Inferno” something or other.
Now I usually don’t drink wine too much, because I’ve never really found a good wine. It was always too tart for my taste. This wine had a smooth, lightly tart flavor that was very appealing. I even considered buying a bottle to bring home, but I figured my luggage was too heavy as it was. Desert was “neuget” with chocolate and cream sauce (ice cream), but a flavor was not familiar with. Very good. Lunch was finished with a cappuccino that was so bitter I nearly made nasty faces, but I didn’t want to insult my host. It didn’t fool him, but he laughingly told me to add sugar next time.
From there, Mr. President and I went sightseeing around the area; we drove up to the top of one of the mountains so I could get a full view of the lake and surrounding villas. I took several pictures of the breathtaking view and even saw a couple of 1,000 year old churches. Incredibly impressive.
On the way back we stopped at a small bar for a restroom break and a coffee. While my host was in the restroom, a weirdo noticed my digital camera hanging around my neck. He fired off rapid fire questions and I finally had to stop him to let him know I didn’t speak Italian. Once he realized I was American, he kept asking if I spoke other languages, like German or Spanish. I tried to tell him I spoke only English and a barely working knowledge of French. Still, he wanted to chat. Finally, he gave up and left about the time my host showed back up. Very strange feller, not sure what to make of him.
Well, my first foreign trip ends in about 16 hours. Looking forward to getting home. I’m sure my next trip will be equally exciting.
