off to Friuli - part 2

this is part 2 of our Friuliano wine trip... for part 1 click here
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Sera woke us on Friday morning and we all went downstairs for breakfast in our cottage's kitchen. Our friends soon joined us and we enjoyed bread, coffee, tea, fruit and cookies before heading out.

Our first stop was the cantina comunale in Cormons

Later on we went to the Cantina and had a break in their courtyard.

At Mulin Vecio in Gradisca d'Isonzo I had, sadly to say, the worst dining experience I've ever had while living in Italy.  We initially chose the restaurant because it was recommended by the Slow Food guide, which is normally spot on with reagrds to restaurants and good eating. In this case they couldn't have been more wrong, however and I'm planning to write them to warn them that their reputation is on the line if they keep promoting this establishment.  We had booked a table outside and so when we weren't greeted at the entrance, made our way to the courtyard, where the table was set up for our party. Everyone was hungry and eager to eat and the kids needed to be fed first. When we finally found someone who seemed to be popping in and out of the kitchen (not a waitress exactly) and asked her to heat the baby food, we didn't get a response, just the jar snatched from my friend's hands.

Now, we're lucky that in Italy little kids are accomodated for at all but after our experience with the crayons and the dominoes from the night before you can imagine our surprise at the contrast. Another friend at the table tried to explain the gesture saying that the Friuliani are just brusk like that, but as I suspected, there was more to the story.

The baby food arrived warmed to satisfaction 15 minutes later and we still hadn't seen any wait staff. It seemed as if no one worked there. When we finally did find the waiter and asked for the menu he said there was none (not uncommon for a small restaurant in italy) and began to list the dishes. Pasta and Fagioli, Baccalà con Polenta or Hot Dogs and Crauti.... and that's it. That's all they had!

Well, now having wasted 30 minutes of our lives and the baby eating we couldn't walk out and were stuck with the selection, none of which suitable for either Sera or I.  In the end we ordered 4 pasta fagioli, a salumi plate and a baccala.  After another 30 minutes only teo of the pasta fagioli turned up at the table and the salumi on a styrofoam platter. After having cancelled the others which never arrived we went inside to pay the bill only to discover that the whole debaucle cost 30 euros per person!!  It was infuriating. Not having a written menu meant they could charge whatever they wanted and we'd have to pay it.
Avoid this restaurant!

It was 26 degrees outside and sunny when wre got back to La Subida so Sera and I changed into bathing suits and head down to the pool to check things out.  The main part of the pool was sectioned off as closed but the shallow area was open so we dangled our feet in the very cold water for a while before Sera jumped in for a quick dip. I couldn't handle the temperature and decided that for me up to the knees was fine. Afterwards we played in their garden and playground and then went back tot he room to rest up for dinner.

This photo of gustobase is courtesy of TripAdvisor

We ended up wandering around the town of Cividale del Friuli in search for somewhere to eat. Settling upon Gustobase, an adorable tiny cafe located in Piazza Paolo Diacono, we grabbed a corner boot in the back and proceeded to order pretty much every starter and pasta dish on the menu (afteral, we didn't really have lunch).  The food and service was gorgeous from start to finish, the atmosphere delightful with retro digital clocks and wood panelling, as well as a healthy wine cellar.  This meal entirely made up for lunch!!


gustobase
Piazza Paolo Diacono, 24

33043 Cividale del Friuli, Italy
tel: 0039432731383

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To come in part 3: Trieste, a long walk, Pordenone