My mother saw that I was in need of a few days away and kindly asked me to join her on a short trip to Trentino. How could I possibly say no? Italy at any time of year is wonderful. So I packed my suitcase and jumped in a train to Innsbruck. There I met my mom and we headed over the Brenner Pass and into Bella Italia. But what would a little vacation be if there were no adventures? And we had our share... I had checked out the Osterie d'Italia, a must-have restaurant guide edited by Slow Food, and picked a place above Bolzano on the Ritten with a fabulous view of the Dolomites.

So up and up we went on that hot summer day. Our car huffed and puffed and soon we reached the top. Before I got out, I said "What's that gurgling noise?" We looked at each other and opened the hood of the car. The cooling water was bubbling. While going up the steep hill the car had become overheated. Well, we were over heated too and we couldn't do anything but leave the car and have something to eat. It could cool down before we headed back down the mountain. So while the car cooled down, we sat outside in the Signaterhof and enjoyed our wonderful meal.

Gnocchi with Chantarelles



Trio of Dumplings (Cheese, Beet and Spinach)

We worried about the car and while we were heading down the hill we started smelling something. I said it smelled like tortillas. So we stopped again and opened the hood. The water wasn't boiling anymore, but there was steam coming out of the engine. Oh dear. A car stopped and we were told that at the bottom of the hill there was a gas station and we should have the guy have a look. It turned out there was no oil left so we refilled that and and the tortilla smell was gone. Next stop was Bolzano where we had a quick look around, but didn't stay very long as we were ready to check into our hotel on Lago di Levico and start relaxing. But we didn't get very far. We passed the toll station and there it was again- the smell of tortillas. We quickly pulled over and again opened the hood. Even more steam and lots of tortillas. Luckily we were right behind the toll station so I asked where the nearest Volvo dealer was as our car was breaking down and we headed over there. A word about our car: it's 18 years old and has been a faithful friend. Volvos just don't die and we weren't going to let it happen. To make a long story short, we left the car at the garage, knowing that Valerio, the mechanic, would take care of it. We got a Ford, which was about half the weight and had about 3 times as much horsepower of the Volvo, in exchange to use until the next day when we could pick up the car again- if there weren't any major problems. And off we went. We didn't get to the hotel in Levico Terme until 7.30 pm but were we glad when we did.

Grand Hotel Imperial

I am not someone who looks at hotels prices and then chooses the cheapest one without really having a look at where the hotel is situated and what it offers. And after we saw the other hotels we had been looking at, we decided the Hotel Imperial was the best choice and definitely worth the money. The hotel is situated in a park which makes the beautiful grounds quiet, shady and restful, there are several soothing fountains, the standard rooms are not too small, which is often the case in other hotels, the outdoor pool was great for cooling off in the afternoon and the lounging area was perfect for an afternoon nap, the thermal indoor pool was relaxing, the food was excellent (more on that later), the spa had reasonable prices (didn't try any treatments, though), the other guests were fairly young and mostly Italian (a big surprise) and the whole atmosphere was restful. And lastly, who wouldn't feel like a princess staying in a hotel that was once the summer residence of the Habsburg royal family?

I'd say the food was a big, pleasant surprise. Food in a hotel is very important for me to be able to give it a good rating. We had half-board, but even if we had only had B&B, I would be taking a careful look at the breakfast buffet. I've had enough breakfasts in hotels that were dry bread, plastic cheese, sugar water and orange colored sticky stuff. The breakfast buffet was wonderful: fresh fruit (amazing peaches and plums), good jam and bread, perfect croissants, high quality ham and salami, and other good sweets. One morning it was apple strudel, the next it was a heavenly almond cream torte.

Dinner was just as good. First an antipasti (smoked salmon, prosciutto and melon), a small salad bar for those who wanted salad, then pasta (squash ravioli, linguine with sword fish, bucattini with cheese and crushed pepper, risotto with asparagus and baby shrimp), the main dish (fish in a tomato, olive and caper sauce, trout stuffed with smoked salmon, tuna) and dessert (warm chocolate cake, almond parfait, tiramisu semmifredo, strawberry and lime ice-cream) and fruit for those who still had room (the grapes were very good).

After a restful night, we decided since we had a fast and strong car we should go to the top of the mountain behind Levico where the spring which is used for the mineral treatments is. Levico is know for it's arsenical and chalybeate springs (presence of arsenic and high iron content). The view was spectacular. In the afternoon before heading back to pick up the car we spent a few hours at the pool. It was a hot day and the pool was perfect.

That night it rained and in the morning we woke up to fresh air. With all those trees in the park, everything smelled so fresh, clean and full of trees. What to do? First we headed to Trento to check out the town. It's a cute, quite town with pretty buildings, many with frescos.

At exactly 12 o'clock the stores close until 3 pm. So we decided to go for lunch. My mother had read that there was a good restaurant in the castle in Pergine (Castel Pergine). In fact we had been driving past it every day. So we decided to check it out. While we waited to be seated, I heard a man and a woman speaking Swiss-German. The woman came over to take our order. While we waited for our food I read the pamphlet about the castle and as it turned out, the castle was bought in the 1950's by a Swiss family, who had roots in Pergine. The food was spectacular.

La crema fredda di pere, canederlini alla robiola di capra nei pistacchi e paprica e caramello balsamico di Modena

Spaghetti al torchio alla rucola con pomodorini picatello, melanzane tonde leggermente affumicate e la burratina pugliese

I've never had pear soup before and certainly not as an appetizer! But the owner assured us it was delicious. And it certainly was. We tried to figure out what was in it. It was puréed pears and probably cream. The little balls were made of sheep's milk and rolled in sweet paprika and pistachios. The decoration was dried  pear pieces and a zigzag of balsamic vinegar. The second course was pasta and extremely good. I'm going to try and recreate it. It was rucola spaghetti with a sauce made of dried tomatoes and pieces of lightly smoked eggplant. On the side was half a burrata globe wrapped in pea tendrils. Amazing!

So what to do with the rest of the day? Well there was Bassano del Grappa which promised to be a pretty town. So we drove through pouring rain through the beautiful Valsugana and arrived in sunny and hot Bassano.

We walked around and walked over the famous Bridge of the Alpini. THE thing to do in Bassano in the evening is to buy a glass of grappa or a drink with grappa in it at the little tavern next to the bridge and then drink it on the bridge. There were groups of people doing just that and having a great time. Not a great, drunk time, but a great time. The atmosphere was very relaxed.

The last day we spent walking in the arboretum which surrounded the hotel and relaxing by the pool. The fountains were so soothing that I fell asleep and had a nice afternoon nap. All too soon my little vacation was over, and I had to head back home. I would have loved to have stayed a little longer, gone for a day hike in the mountains and maybe tried a treatment in the arsenical and chalybeate waters. They are supposed to be good for your skin and calm your nerves.