Two weeks in Italy. (Sep 2024)

[Puros Y Vino]

Spent two weeks in Italy recently. I love going there. Don't need a reason to. But this time around, I kind of did. My uncle collapsed twice on Xmas day 2023 literally crossing the street to go have XMas dinner with his daughter. Halfway across the street he fell down. No damage done fortunately, but he regained his senses and toughed it out. Next day, same deal. Walked across the street with his nephew to have lunch at this daughter's place. Same deal. Fell. This time they made him go to the hospital. Turns out he needed a stint. He has a week or so long stay in the hospital and then had to take it easy when he got home. By April he was himself again. He had regained most of his energy but relegated himself to taking it a bit easier going forward. He's an early riser and walks everywhere in town. He had asked when I was going to visit when I called him back in February. I finally got a trip booked and went. I arranged things with my cousin, she suggested I spend a week with him and then extended an invite to come with her and her husband to Sardinia. Fortunately, we get along fantastically. She said her sons and his caregivers would have him covered while we were away. I've never been to Sardinia so I accepted! I spent a great week hanging out with my uncle, catching up, running errands, etc. 

Quick backstory. This uncle is on my father's side. They kinda look the same and got up to the same antics growing up. My father passed away 30 years ago. Getting to know my uncle more over the years has filled in the void a bit. His memory is razor sharp and he regaled me with tons of stories. Even after his heart issues, he hasn't suffered mentally. When the week came to an end we said our goodbyes. I do hope I'll be able to visit him again soon. He tells me that his doctor said the stint is good for 15 years so he's determined to get his moneys worth!  😁

Our trip to Sardinia started up in Bolzano and involved a roughly 4/5 hours drive to Livorno to catch an overnight ferry to Sardinia. We made great time on the way down, so we decided to spend several hours in the Tuscan town of Lucca.

We stopped at a nice old restaurant for lunch. Carbornara will black truffle caught my eye, so I ordered it. ZERO regrets! 

Enough background info. I'll get to the cigar details now. My excursions into various cigar shops in the Bolzano area were quite unsuccessful. The one big shop only had Cohibas, Trinidads, RyJ Serie Dor. The expensive stuff. The shop owner did pull a box of RASS out back. I bought two sticks at 15E each and six packs of Partagas Chicos for my walks with my uncle. Other shops in Bolzano only had NC's. Mostly Davidoffs. Nearby in Merano, same deal. Did find a 10 count box of P2's. Each stick was 22E. I passed. The Cuban cigar shortage is real it seems. Most humidors were 80% empty.

This is the lineup I brought from home. The Lanceros were smoked with my other cousin, who is a retired Carabinieri. He's smoked Cubans before he says. The CoLas were absolutely stunning, he couldn't believe how good of an experience it was.

Below is a snapshot of the cigars smoked over the trip. 

A trip to Italy always involves good food, so here's a taste.

Some beers and Pork Schitzel at the Forst brewerey in Merano. (The Alto Adige/Sud Tyrol region of Italy is officially bilingual. German/Italian. It is claimed Austrian territory)

Eggplant Parmeson with Sardinian flat bread (Pane Carasau). Like a papadum. Very addictive.

Mixed seafood fry.

At our "resort" we pre-booked a roast pig dinner. We received an antipasto plate and a big wooden basket of chopped, roasted piggy with some sides.

We cooked a lot of meals in our cabins. My cousin and her husband had a lot of great recipes. These two pasta dishes blew my mind.

First up. Pasta with Bottarga (basically dried, cured fish eggs. Kinda stinky but delicious). Bottarga is a Sardinian delicacy.  Won't find it elsewhere in Italy apparently. Some Bottarga is warmed up in some olive oil to flavour it. Then when done, you sprinkle it on a bit as is.

Next. Pasta with anchovies and olives. Olive oil was warmed up gently and the anchovies were added. If done right, they melt into the oil and disintegrate, leaving the flavour and specks of evidence that there were whole anchovies in there.

Also drank several types of Sardinian wines and beers. Great place to visit. We probably hit about 5 public beaches. A couple of them stretched for several kilometres. White to grey sands, blue/green waters.

Catching up with relatives from my father's side is always a hoot. Most of my mother's family came here (Toronto). I didn't grow up with these folks but my two oldest brother did (technically). My family left Italy in 1967. My brothers were 7 & 8YO. My oldest brother still remembers the people and places there. 

Can't wait to go back! 

[MoeFOH]

Great stuff! Fantastic range of sticks for the trip.

Hope all's well with your uncle. 

Those pasta dishes look & sound amazing - love the simplicity of genuine Italian cooking. 

[Marco_011t556]

Great cigars and good food! You brought so many gems to smoke!!

[chasy]

That, my friends, is a proper write up.

[JohnS]

Thank you for sharing. I very much enjoyed reading this recount!

[westg]

👏 Amazing. Hope all is well with your uncle. 

[Puros Y Vino]

On 9/20/2024 at 9:56 PM, westg said:

👏 Amazing. Hope all is well with your uncle. 

Thanks westg and @MoeFOH He is doing great.  He has a few helpers who accompany him on walks to do groceries go for coffee, prep his meds, house cleaning, etc.  He's got his sense of humor and positive outlook going for him.

[Raskol]

Thanks for the wonderful post.. Happy to know your uncle is recovering well! 

[joeypots]

Well done. Thanks for the post. 

[Squarehead]

On 9/20/2024 at 7:19 AM, Puros Y Vino said:

Spent two weeks in Italy recently. I love going there. Don't need a reason to. But this time around, I kind of did. My uncle collapsed twice on Xmas day 2023 literally crossing the street to go have XMas dinner with his daughter. Halfway across the street he fell down. No damage done fortunately, but he regained his senses and toughed it out. Next day, same deal. Walked across the street with his nephew to have lunch at this daughter's place. Same deal. Fell. This time they made him go to the hospital. Turns out he needed a stint. He has a week or so long stay in the hospital and then had to take it easy when he got home. By April he was himself again. He had regained most of his energy but relegated himself to taking it a bit easier going forward. He's an early riser and walks everywhere in town. He had asked when I was going to visit when I called him back in February. I finally got a trip booked and went. I arranged things with my cousin, she suggested I spend a week with him and then extended an invite to come with her and her husband to Sardinia. Fortunately, we get along fantastically. She said her sons and his caregivers would have him covered while we were away. I've never been to Sardinia so I accepted! I spent a great week hanging out with my uncle, catching up, running errands, etc. 

Quick backstory. This uncle is on my father's side. They kinda look the same and got up to the same antics growing up. My father passed away 30 years ago. Getting to know my uncle more over the years has filled in the void a bit. His memory is razor sharp and he regaled me with tons of stories. Even after his heart issues, he hasn't suffered mentally. When the week came to an end we said our goodbyes. I do hope I'll be able to visit him again soon. He tells me that his doctor said the stint is good for 15 years so he's determined to get his moneys worth!  😁

Our trip to Sardinia started up in Bolzano and involved a roughly 4/5 hours drive to Livorno to catch an overnight ferry to Sardinia. We made great time on the way down, so we decided to spend several hours in the Tuscan town of Lucca.

We stopped at a nice old restaurant for lunch. Carbornara will black truffle caught my eye, so I ordered it. ZERO regrets! 

Enough background info. I'll get to the cigar details now. My excursions into various cigar shops in the Bolzano area were quite unsuccessful. The one big shop only had Cohibas, Trinidads, RyJ Serie Dor. The expensive stuff. The shop owner did pull a box of RASS out back. I bought two sticks at 15E each and six packs of Partagas Chicos for my walks with my uncle. Other shops in Bolzano only had NC's. Mostly Davidoffs. Nearby in Merano, same deal. Did find a 10 count box of P2's. Each stick was 22E. I passed. The Cuban cigar shortage is real it seems. Most humidors were 80% empty.

This is the lineup I brought from home. The Lanceros were smoked with my other cousin, who is a retired Carabinieri. He's smoked Cubans before he says. The CoLas were absolutely stunning, he couldn't believe how good of an experience it was.

Below is a snapshot of the cigars smoked over the trip. 

A trip to Italy always involves good food, so here's a taste.

Some beers and Pork Schitzel at the Forst brewerey in Merano. (The Alto Adige/Sud Tyrol region of Italy is officially bilingual. German/Italian. It is claimed Austrian territory)

Eggplant Parmeson with Sardinian flat bread (Pane Carasau). Like a papadum. Very addictive.

Mixed seafood fry.

At our "resort" we pre-booked a roast pig dinner. We received an antipasto plate and a big wooden basket of chopped, roasted piggy with some sides.

We cooked a lot of meals in our cabins. My cousin and her husband had a lot of great recipes. These two pasta dishes blew my mind.

First up. Pasta with Bottarga (basically dried, cured fish eggs. Kinda stinky but delicious). Bottarga is a Sardinian delicacy.  Won't find it elsewhere in Italy apparently. Some Bottarga is warmed up in some olive oil to flavour it. Then when done, you sprinkle it on a bit as is.

Next. Pasta with anchovies and olives. Olive oil was warmed up gently and the anchovies were added. If done right, they melt into the oil and disintegrate, leaving the flavour and specks of evidence that there were whole anchovies in there.

Also drank several types of Sardinian wines and beers. Great place to visit. We probably hit about 5 public beaches. A couple of them stretched for several kilometres. White to grey sands, blue/green waters.

Catching up with relatives from my father's side is always a hoot. Most of my mother's family came here (Toronto). I didn't grow up with these folks but my two oldest brother did (technically). My family left Italy in 1967. My brothers were 7 & 8YO. My oldest brother still remembers the people and places there. 

Can't wait to go back! 

Great pics Frank,I'm happy for you to spent some time with family.I will pm you later

[El Presidente]

One of the great FOH food/travel/cigar writeups! Thank you Frank. You made me feel like I was there. 

[ha_banos]

We went to Lucca on our trip couple years ago. Amazing town. And many more near by in the region. 

Glad you had a blast! Looks and sounds a really fulfilling worthwhile visit.

[Fugu]

Thanks for the travel report and that background story of your family, in particular your father's brother (hope he is well again!). Touching. Can much relate to it.

How has it been on the Regionales front?! Did you manage to get hold of some SLR 'Cradles'?

[frenchkiwi]

Nice travel diary focusing on the things that matter!

I had the joy of spending a week in Italy last year, I was all prepped for wine drinking but surprised at the quality of those Artigianali beers.

Another highlight was trying a few Toscano cigars, full of what I call Kentucky Fried tobaCco, tasted like smoking a campfire or English pipe mix with plenty of Latakia in there and a touch of bourbon on the side.

[Puros Y Vino]

7 hours ago, Fugu said:

Thanks for the travel report and that background story of your family, in particular your father's brother (hope he is well again!). Touching. Can much relate to it.

How has it been on the Regionales front?! Did you manage to get hold of some SLR 'Cradles'?

The CC stock was brutal. Best I could find was. Box of RASS and P2.  The shop in Bolzano had some Cohiba and Trinidad boxes sitting around.  Most shops only had NC and mostly Davidoff.  

[Fugu]

Ok, that’s a shame to hear. One should think they’d have at least a few boxes of the new RE available in shops.

[madandana]

Thanks for sharing Frank!

[Mr. Japan]

Brilliant. Next time come to Campania region.

[mnsmokes]

Looks like a fantastic time. Italy is always a great choice! 

[Glass Half Full]

Great news about your uncle — and wonderful recount of the time w family.  You’re kind to share. 
Happy for you to have the grand experiences — and to look forward to more time to come! -cliff 

[Vetteman]

Very nice! The food pics have made me hungry.

[Puros Y Vino]

Various pics of the sites along the way.

View of Bolzano from up high. 

Entrance to the city of Lucca in Tuscany.

The beach in front of our "resort" in Sardinia

A smaller, quieter beach we spent most of our time at a short walk away.

My mid-morning smoking spot by the beach shown above.  That little tree provide just enough shade at the time of day I'd go for a smoke.

Left my mark at the end of one massive beach, as every good Canadian abroad should do. 😁