Italy

For the 3 weeks in October last year discovering Italy by car, ferry, bus and train, I had just an amazing time. I didn't need to force myself to love anything. My love for the great food, the wine and the people was automatic and unconditional.

You would think it would be a very easy question to answer if someone asked me about my favorite place in Italy but it's very hard to answer indeed. Venice, Milan, Rome, Florence, Bari, Salerno or Naples are all incredible places as they are all really beautiful and each of them offers a different perspective.

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of coffee and in Vietnam, I usually drink coffee with lots of condensed milk. One day during our time in Rome, I refused to use the public toilet at the railway station because they were charging 1.5 euro. I walked across the road to use the toilet in a cafe and had the best espresso (and a pee) for only 0.80 euro. From that day, I started to drink espresso every day and sometimes I had quite a few.

A funny story I can recall related to the squid pasta I ordered in Venice. During the meal, my friends were laughing at me and I wondered why. I went to the bathroom and I was shocked to see I had a very black mouth. I decided I would never eat squid pasta anymore even though I actually loved it very much.

In Venice, I couldn't believe the restaurants served prosecco as the house wine. Along with the Spritz, a cocktail popular in the north of Italy, the prosecco was a special experience. I've never really been a sparkling wine drinker but now I'm converted. When we got back from Italy, I vistited the local wine shop and have had at least one in the fridge ever since.

I know it has taken me a long time to start blogging again. I hope I can write a few more posts about Italy while the memories are still fresh.