Erica's Italian Adventure: Arco & Lago di Garda

Surprise! Kiwis grow in the north east of Italy! Who knew?!?! "Lucky" for me, I have a "gift" that allows me to smell their stinky sweet fragrance so I know when I am within 50 feet of a kiwi tree, with out even seeing one.

For my last week in Italy for 2011 Reva and I stayed with a lovely family in the town of Arco, just on the north bank of the Lake Garda (Lago di Garda). It was a bit of culture shock when we arrived because it felt much more like Germany than Italy. The food, the architecture, and even the organized sense of time and space were much more Austrian/German than anything else we had experienced.

Lago di Garda is known as the lake for adventure sports (windsurfing, kite surfing, kayaking, etc.) and the town of Arco is world famous for it's rock climbing. Needless to say, I felt very much at home with a North Face store in town and a lot of gear being hauled by people around me.

The cypress trees reminded me of Tuscany but the architecture here was quite different.

This is the farthest north that olive trees can grow. There is a microclimate right here in Arco that allows the olive trees to survive. Olive oil from this far in the north east tastes very different from the rest of Italy. Here it is buttery, mild, soft and lacks that peppery kick that we often associate with Italian olive oil.

Wine production is prevalent here but the system for growing the vines and the varietals here are also different, much more in line with Germany an Austria, with the shining stars being whites. Wines from this region are difficult to obtain in the US as much less is exported from this region than any other in Italy.

Note how the vines are directed up and out on an arm instead of split or forced to grow to their sides in a straight line.

Reva and I loved our time with the Campetti family. This was our view from our bedroom.

One night Reva and I made black bean burritos- a real treat in Italy! The entire family came over to experience our Tex-Mex adventure.

Our days were full with pruning the flower beds, clearing out the vegetable garden, cleaning the chicken coop, mowing the lawn (with a gas mower that did not like me) and learning all about the cuisine from the Trentino area.

Oh and we also picked walnuts one day. Yes, these are walnuts! you must remove the icky black outer shell and then crack the inner shell in order to get the nut.

YUMM!! Sausage and sauerkraut! I love this stuff.

Just south of Arco is a town on the north edge of the lake called Riva del Garda. Reva loved this town because of the name and we both loved the location.