malika

Norcia is only 40 minutes away. The town is famous for its wild boar and truffles-- which are joined together in some unbelievable sausage-- salsiccia di cinghale trufato (sp?). Cinghale is on the menus of most restaurants, and October is the perfect time to go eat it. I don't have my last trip notes in front of me, so I can't name the specific shop and restaurant that I ate in (I'm sure someone else will chime in). If you're a meat smuggler, be sure to put the sausage in your carry-on, not your checked luggage. My suitcase got lost, and all the sausage was missing when it got delivered to me.

Yes! Eat at the Giacaranda agriturismo: http://www.giacaranda.it Breakfast is only for guests, but I believe they will let others come to dinner. It's certainly worth calling and asking! My sister and I and our two babies stayed in San Marco di Castellabate (1/2 hour north of Marina di Camerota) for a week last year, and loved the region. There is definitely a regional cuisine-- the Cilento was the center of the "Meditteranean diet" research - lots of vegetables, some fish, very little meat. Really amazing vegetables. I very highly recommend "The Food and Wine Guide to Naples and Campania" by Carla Capalbo. It's the bible for the region, llisting food stores, markets, agriturismi, restaurants, producers, wineries... And I second the suggestion for Vannulo. Not just buffalo milk mozzarella and ricotta (oh my god the ricotta), but also butter, gelato, yogurt, and pudding. All of which are delicious, none of which are shipped anywhere - you have to buy them at the farm.

You might also look at Carla Capalbo's book on Tuscany-- I loved her book on Naples & Campania.

Il Frantoio is a splurge, but worth every penny. They don't serve dinner year-round, though - if you're going off-season, you might want to ask. But the breakfast is amazing...more than a dozen kinds of cookies, soft-boiled eggs, yogurt with fruit preserves - all made from fruit grown on the estate - fresh fruit, toast, coffee, warm milk... And every night on your way to bed you'll be offered a small digestif, from about twenty different flavors that they make from fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers (rose!) from the estate. Here's their site: http://www.trecolline.it/english/index_eng.html

In San Sebastian, I particularly enjoyed Gandarias for tapas (23 Calle 31 de Agosto, 34/943-426-362). Are you skipping Bilbao? I had a great time there - it's a very accesible, friendly city, with great tapas bars. Casa Nicolas in Tolosa is a traditional asador. Do you have a car? It's only about a half hour from San Seb. Great place for lunch - go there for the best steak you will ever have in your entire life. Really.

If you go over to Clement St, the name of the used bookstore-- which specializes in cookbooks-- is Green Apples. I think a strong case could be made for Zuni being the best representation of "S.F. food." And off-topic-- there's a website by the Golden Gate Mothers Group that would help you find fun stuff to do with your three-year-old-- they list all the playgrounds in the city, as well as listing indoor activities if it's rainy: http://www.ggmg.org/index.html Have fun!

I've never had trouble being seated alone at a restaurant in Italy, and I've never been treated badly when I've traveled alone there. But I agree that it's one of the least-friendly countries in Europe for solo travelers. It's not that the people are unfriendly, but that dining alone (or being alone) is so unusual. My theory is that it's because Italy has such a family-centric culture-- why go out without your family? When I travel alone, I rely on cafés and bars as places to meet people. But in Italy I'll usually be the only person there alone-- much different than in France or Spain, for example, where you have more of a chance of striking up a conversation with someone at the next table or bar stool.

Mondi is closed Mondays

My sister lives in Rome, in a neighborhood north of the centro. I highly recommend the market there. I thought the Campo di Fiori market was much too touristy, even in November (I was there last Nov). The neighborhood is called Ponte Milvio, and it's just on the other side of the Tiber, over (of course) the Ponte Milvio, a foot-traffic-only bridge-- the oldest bridge in Rome still in use. From the Piazza Popolo, walk outside the gate and take the tram up via Flaminia to the Ponte Milvio. It's just a 10-minute ride, at the most. After you cross the bridge, and you'll see the market on the other side of the street. It's a terrific market-- good meat and cheese as well as fruits and veg. In November, do not miss the clementines, and look out for the mushroom guy. The other important reason to head that direction is to eat the very best pizza a taglio in Rome-- and I tried a lot! There's a bakery called Gianfornaio on the corner (same side of the street as the market, north end of the block). The first section of the store when you walk in is the regular bakery-- you have to go past the cash register into the back section to get the pizza. (There is a separate number-ticket dispenser for the pizza section-- the first ticket dispenser next to the front door is for the regular bakery.) The pizza is baken in long rectangles-- you order by indicating how large of a piece you want cut. You absolutely must try the pizza bianca-- take some home for your dinner instead of bread. All the varieties are wonderful, but some more unusual ones that you might like to try are the spicy potato and fiori di zucca. When I visit my sister, I stop by the bakery on the way to the market, and get a piece to eat while I'm walking around. (The pizza comes out in the morning, it's not just for lunch.) They also sell crackers back in the pizza section, and their regular bakery items are good too (cookies, breads, etc.) Since you're going at the end of November, they'll just be starting to sell the Christmas panettone-- they make several varieties, and they also make a mini version just right for one person. Around the corner from Gianfornaio is an exceptional gelato place, called Mondi. They have a weird closing day-- I'll find out from my sister which day it is. Gianfornaio is closed on Sunday. A few other recs-- for fancy food treats, try Volpetti-- there are two stores, the main one in Testaccio, another smaller store not too far from the Pantheon. The market in Testaccio is also a good, less-touristed one.

I'm the mother of an almost-six-month-old, and I'm thinking a lot about how to raise a daughter with a good palette. Rice cereal (the traditional first food in America) doesn't seem like a good start-- I certainly wouldn't eat it very happily. So I'm wondering about other countries and other traditions-- What's the traditional first food for babies in China? (I'm also going to post this in the following forums: Italy, Spain, Japan, India, France, Middle East, and Mexico. Apologies to those who run across this question in other places!)

I'm the mother of an almost-six-month-old, and I'm thinking a lot about how to raise a daughter with a good palette. Rice cereal (the traditional first food in America) doesn't seem like a good start-- I certainly wouldn't eat it very happily. So I'm wondering about other countries and other traditions-- What's the traditional first food for babies in Japan? (I'm also going to post this in the following forums: Italy, Spain, France, India, China, Middle East, and Mexico. Apologies to those who run across this question in other places!)

I'm the mother of an almost-six-month-old, and I'm thinking a lot about how to raise a daughter with a good palette. Rice cereal (the traditional first food in America) doesn't seem like a good start-- I certainly wouldn't eat it very happily. So I'm wondering about other countries and other traditions-- What's the traditional first food for babies in India? (I'm also going to post this in the following forums: Italy, Spain, Japan, France, China, Middle East, and Mexico. Apologies to those who run across this question in other places!)

I'm the mother of an almost-six-month-old, and I'm thinking a lot about how to raise a daughter with a good palette. Rice cereal (the traditional first food in America) doesn't seem like a good start-- I certainly wouldn't eat it very happily. So I'm wondering about other countries and other traditions-- What's the traditional first food for babies in Italy? (I'm also going to post this in the following forums: France, Spain, Japan, India, China, Middle East, and Mexico. Apologies to those who run across this question in other places!)

I'm the mother of an almost-six-month-old, and I'm thinking a lot about how to raise a daughter with a good palette. Rice cereal (the traditional first food in America) doesn't seem like a good start-- I certainly wouldn't eat it very happily. So I'm wondering about other countries and other traditions-- What's the traditional first food for babies in Spain? (I'm also going to post this in the following forums: Italy, France, Japan, India, China, Middle East, and Mexico. Apologies to those who run across this question in other places!)

I'm the mother of an almost-six-month-old, and I'm thinking a lot about how to raise a daughter with a good palette. Rice cereal (the traditional first food in America) doesn't seem like a good start-- I certainly wouldn't eat it very happily. So I'm wondering about other countries and other traditions-- What's the traditional first food for babies in France? (I'm also going to post this in the following forums: Italy, Spain, Japan, India, China, Middle East, and Mexico. Apologies to those who run across this question in other places!)

When my sister first moved to Spain, she was a vegetarian. She would tell waiters that she was a vegetarian, and needed to order dishes with no meat. She would order what they suggested, but often it turned out that there was meat in the dish. When she would complain to the waiter, a common reply was "But there's no meat in that-- just ham!" You'll do pretty well with pintxos, I think. They're displayed out on the counter, and have pretty simple ingredients, so you'll be able to see everything you're eating - no hidden ingredients! Walk through the Casco Viejo and try a bunch of places-- And if you can eat bacalao - since it's not a shellfish-- you'll still get to eat lots of traditional (and contemporary) basque food.

My favorite guidebook was Cadogan Guide's Amazon bookBilbao and the Basque Lands. It has a small section on La Rioja, but has wonderfully detailed info on San Sebastian and Bilbao, along with the rest of the Basque country (French and Spanish). The other book I'd recommend is Barrie Kerper's Amazon bookCollected Traveler: Northern Spain edition. It's an anthology of articles and book excerpts, along with an A-Z advice/info section. I found two of my favorite hotels from her book.

I agree with Janice about the Hotel Arce-- it's a wonderful place to stay, in addition to having wonderful food: http://www.hotel-arce.com In fact, the Hotel Arce is one of my very favorite hotels, and I have a very short list - just two! We wanted to eat at Les Pyrenees, but it was closed - check their schedule (I didn't) to make sure that they're open the day you want to go.

The jealousy is eating me alive....... wish I was going, too! I was in Euskadi for two weeks in October, so I do have a couple of travel (not necessarily food) suggestions to add. In Bilbao, we particularly liked Bertón for pintxos - they have Joselita Gran Reserve jamón serrano. Also, we LOVED our hotel in Bilbao- the Ostatua Iturriena. It was right in the Casco Viejo, and would be a fine place to stay with kids (unless you need a pool). And the park outside the Guggenheim is wonderful - don't skip taking your child there! There's an interactive fountain, and really great play structures. I haven't seen it mentioned much - I think it's relatively new - but it really should be talked about more. I played in the fountain for 20 minutes, and I'm 35 years old. I imagine that a 4-year-old could spend a very ecstatic hour. In Tolosa (you'll probably be driving close), please go to Asador Nícolas for lunch. It was one of the two best meals of our trip (the other was Arzak). We had a huge ribeye (for two people) grilled over a wood fire, the best piquillos of the trip, and got to visit the wine cellar. (Ask to see the cellar - it's just downstairs - we followed some other patrons down there.) And in San Sebastian, at least one of you should do the thallasotherapy circuit at La Perla. It takes 1 1/2 hours and costs about $10/person. (You have to bring a bathing cap, or you can buy one at the desk.) I don't think that it would be appropriate for a 4-year-old, though. We stayed in the Hotel Niza, which we liked very well. And a warning - We had heard good things about the coast drive from San Seb. to Bilbao, but we regretted driving that way. We really like to drive, but that particular drive was too long/windy/narrow/stressful to do in one day. We left about 10, and stopped for lunch in Getaria, then drove to Bilbao, arriving around 6. It would have been better to do Getaria as a day trip from San Seb, as it sounds like you're planning to do. Have a terrific time!

I think we're probably going to end up just going for tapas in Hondarribia, or maybe sitting at one of the seafood restaurants for some soup. We're having lunch in St.-Jean-de-Luz that same day. For most of the trip, I anticipate having elaborate lunches and light dinners... if not tapas, then something small at a casual restaurant. Casa Nicolas in Tolosa is definitely going on the list, and Kokotxa, too. Thanks!

Thanks for all the input-- Hotel Chilo looks wonderful-- I wish they had their hours posted on their site, though. Lots of places seem to be closed on Mondays since it's not tourist season. I'll give them a call when we're there next week. And thanks for giving me the info on Ithurria. Sounds like we'll skip that one, which is OK-- We'll have beans in Tolosa, and I didn't like the idea of skipping a meal in St.-Jean-de-Luz-- ttoro for lunch that day. One other place that I've found restaurant (and market, bakery, and other) suggestions is in the back of Gerald Hirogyen's cookbook, The Basque Kitchen. Although he's French Basque, he does have recommendations on both sides of the border. Just occured to me that Hirogyen (hope that's spelled right - I didn't look it up) might not be well known outside the Bay Area-- he's a chef with a couple of restaurants in San Franciso - Fringale and Piperade.

This itinerary has been planned with two people in mind. I, of course, have planned the trip around food. However, for my partner Catherine to go along with my part of the plan, she requires "at least two hours" of exercise each day - hence the hiking. Hotels are pretty set, but if anyone has restaurant, shopping, or other suggestions, let me know. I thought I had the trip planned down to the last little detail, but actually I've got lots of meals to fill in. Favorites in the Tolosa/Ordizia region? Anyone spent much time in the Pyrenees? I was thinking about the Hotel des Pyrenees in St. Jean Pied de Port for lunch on the 18th or 19th, but I'm getting a little concerned about the credit card bill that may be waiting for me when I get back... Seems like a few less expensive options should be in the plan. Thanks for any input, and I'll report back at the end of the month-- Th. 14th October – Bilbao Sleeping: Iturriena Ostatua Eating: ? Doing: Museum of the Basque, shopping, Mercado de la Ribera Hiking: Catherine won’t be here yet, so I can just wander aimlessly F. 15th October – Bilbao (Catherine arrives) Eating: tapas in the Casco Viejo Doing: a couple of hours at the Guggenheim Sat. 16th October—Bilbao to Beruete Sleeping: Hotel Peruskenea Eating: lunch in Azpeitia or Tolosa, dinner at the hotel Doing: driving to Beruete with side trips to Gernika (to see the oak), Ordizia (to buy some cheese) and perhaps the Sanctuario de San Miguel in Excelsis, Hiking: in the woods around the hotel Links: Hotel Peruskena Sun. 17th October—Beruete to Auritz Sleeping: Hostal Burguete (former Hemingway haunt) Eating: lunch at Etchemaïté (Larrau, France); dinner—Hostal Loizu (Auritz) Doing: visit to the Sanctuario (if we didn’t get to it yesterday) Hiking: in the Bosque de Irati Links: Bosque de Irati Hotel Etchemaïté M. 18th October—Auritz Eating: ? Doing: ? Hiking: ? T.19th October—St.-Etienne-de-Baïgorry Sleeping: Hotel Arcé Eating: dinner at the hotel Doing: maybe a visit to one of the Gorges Hiking: ? Links: Hotel Arcé W. 20th October: Baïgorry to Hondarribia Sleeping: Hondarriba Parador Eating: lunch – ttoro in St.-Jean-de-Luz OR “cassoulet” in Ainhoa (I saw several mentions of the cassoulet in Ainhoa here or on Chowhound, but no one specified a restaurant name.) Doing: drive with stops in Ixtassou (cherry preserves), Espelette (peppers) and Irouleguy (wine). Hiking: Old smuggler’s road from Sare to Zarramundi and back Th. 21st October—San Sebastian Sleeping: Hotel Niza Eating: lunch at Arzak, tapas dinner in the Parte Vieja Doing: did I mention lunch? Hiking: really, this day is pretty much all about the lunch. If Catherine insists, we can walk along La Concha,maybe see the Comb of the Winds, or up Mount Urgull Links: Hotel Niza F. 22nd October—San Sebastian Eating: lunch at in Getaria (Elkano or Kaia); dinner tapas Excercise: La Perla spa – gym & thalassotherapy circuit Links: La Perla Sat. 23rd October—San Sebastian Eating: lunch at Akelarre, if I can get a reservation. If I still haven’t heard back by the time I leave, I’ll call from Bilbao when I arrive, and also try stopping by the restaurant as soon as we get to San Seb. Doing: visit Chillida-Leku museum Hiking: climb Mount Igueldo Sun. 24th October—San Sebastian to Bilbao Eating: ? Doing: drive along coast Hiking: ?

Thanks for all the hints! My clothes worries have been laid to rest... Can I ask, Doc (and is that what I should call you?), where you ate in Getaria? I want to have lunch there one of the days I'm in San S., and was looking at Kaia-- love to know anything about it, or if there is a different/better choice for lunch there. I'm going to post my itinerary, too, in a new thread-- I'm a sucker for reading other peoples', so I figured there would be a few folks who would like to see it, whether or not they want to give comments & advice!

Those are good, interesting questions... This will be my third visit to Spain, but my first time travelling there with any sort of money-- I'm usually a budget traveller, with the ideal of staying as long as possible. But our business is doing relatively well, which means that I can be a little more "spendy" than I'm used to - and Arzak seems like it's as spendy as it gets! The business also means that I can't take off for two or three months - I've got eleven days in the Basque country, plus five in Rome visiting my sister. In fact, I think this may be my shortest visit to Europe-- Yes, reading here was part of my restaurant-choosing process, along with reading a lot of magazine and newspaper articles.* I knew I was going to have at least one spluge (I'm hoping to make it two), and I had it narrowed down to Martin Berastegui, Karlos Arguiñano, Arzak, and Akelarre. There's a lot of debate on this site about the Martin B, and it does seem like he may have spread himself a little thin, so I took that off the list. KA was also going to be a hotel splurge and a surf day, but my partner voted for an extra Pyrennes day instead of surfing, and we decided that the Hondarribia parador would be our hotel splurge, so that got knocked off the list. I've requested reservations at both Arzak and Akelarre, but haven't heard back from the latter yet. Special meals at home? Well, in Santa Cruz our choice of good restaurants is very very slim. We've got great taquerias, but for special meals there are really only two restaurants worth eating at, in my opinion. We've had some good meals in San Francisco and Berkeley, but I tend to like the descendants of Chez Panisse - Zuni, Cafe Rouge - and while the food is delicious, they are not formal restaurants at all. So that's what's leading to my first time eating at a starred restaurant. Part of me wonders if it's worth the hype... On the other hand, while most of the French starred restaurants I've read about seem to emphasize elaborate preparations and involved sauces, the Basque restaurants always mention fresh, local ingredients first and foremost, which ties in very nicely with my California "seasonal, local, organic" sensibility. * My best find during the research/planning part of the trip has been the Collected Traveler series by Barrie Kerper: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-h...6777890-2507151 I'm using the Northern Spain edition for this trip, but I'm sure that the rest of the series is just as good. They are anthologies of articles, along with traveling hints & tips - guidebook recommendations, research resources, etc. The book is like an annotated, personal, clip file.

Thanks - that's exactly what I needed to know-- I've been wondering about whether or not I needed to bring a "fancy" outfit that I would only wear once, not to mention the usual fashion crisis about what shoes to wear!