Caffè Mezzaparte and Attractions in Verona (Italy, Verona)

At Verona (Italy), we visited the Arena, Juliet's Balcony and Piazza delle Erbe (used to be a gathering point in the past during the Rome period). 

Arena

Arena

The Arena was a Roman Amphitheater, which is now being used for concerts and events. As you may notice from the photo, there was a Christmas Market (tents in white) next to the Arena. 

At the centre of Piazza delle Erbe, there was a Chrismas market too! There seemed to be a Christmas market everywhere in Europe. Having seen so many different Christmas markets and they all basically sells all kinds of products (including Christmas products) and local food. Its a good chance to savour their local food at relatively cheap prices.

Lamberti's Tower

The Lamberti's Tower, a 14th century tower is the tallest tower in verona built at the Piazza delle Erbe. 

There were many restaurants around the area and the price were on the high end. After looking around for sometime, we decided to patronise the restaurant called Caffè Mezzaparte which was located next to the Christmas market. 

Main entrance 

Caffè Mezzaparte had a cozy environment with a nice quiet ambience. There were lots of seating capacity  with indoors and alfresco area. There were no one at the alfresco area as it was freezing cold. In Caffè Mezzaparte, there was even a unisex toilet in the basement! 

Menu cover

Although the menu is in Italian, the good news is that there are English, German and French translations in the menu too!  

Minestrone di verdure 8 € (S$12.54)

Minestrone di verdure 8 € (S$12.54)

We ordered a bowl of Minestrone di verdure (Vegetable soup) which cost 8€ (S$12.54) to share. During winter, its always ideal to start off with a bowl of hot soup, especially since we are not used to the cold weather. 

The Vegetable Soup was heart warming. Although we were in an Italian restaurant, the soup reminded me of home - Chinese Soup. It tasted like a Chinese cuisine too (perfect cure if you are sick of european food)! Clear, tasty soup that was full of cubes of potatoe, carrot, cucumber, onion and leek. Simple yet delicious! 

Tortellini panna e prosciutto 8.50 € (S$13.32)

For our main course, we ordered a plate of Tortellini panna e prosciutto (Tortellini with ham and cream) for 8.50€ (S$13.32). Tortellini are navel shaped or ring shaped pasta filled with a mixture of meat and cheese in it. (you can imagine it as our local wantons, with meat in it.) Most freshly made tortellini without artificial preservatives have a shell life of a few weeks.

The Tortellini with ham and cream was served with shredded ham. The pasta was on the outside was firm and the inside was filled with meat.  It was cheesy and tasty. 

Risotto con funghi porcini 9 € (S$14.1)

We also ordered the Risotto con funghi porcini (Risotto with procini mushrooms) which cost 9€ (S$14.1). I thought that this was well executed. The al dente Risotto rice (firm but not hard) was evenly cooked and had the right creaminess - slightly creamy. It was slightly sticky (which is a norm) due to its ability to adsorb water and release starch. The Risotto was incredibly tasty and flavourful, with each mouthful, a rich, strong and distinct fragrance of mushroom would burst out. Mushroom lovers will definitely like this dish. The only issue I have is the lack of ingredients considering the price!

The food that we had was decent but pricey. Please note that the drinks here seemed to be even more expensive. We did not order any drinks and instead drank from our own bottled water. Oh yes, the pizzas are quite good too and can be shared among 2 persons.

We also visited the Juliet's Balcony (Museum).

As you walked into Juliet's House, you will notice this wall filled with love notes and graffiti. There were even chewing gums stuck on the wall. As a result, this wall has been proclaimed as the dirtiest wall in the world. Many visitors believed that writing love notes on the wall would make their love everlasting. 

Left to right: Bronze statue of Juliet, Juliet's Balcony

Juliet's House and Balcony, located in Verona just off Piazza delle Erbe is one of the most visited place in this town. It has been claimed that this is the property of the Dal Cappello family since the 1200s. From this, derives the name Capuleti, the house of Juliet. Hence, since the 1800s, this location has been a tourist attraction  Even Charles Dickens has recorded his impression the this residence in written word. 

Did you notice that certain parts of the bronze statue of Juliet seemed to shine? It was the most touched (worn out) part of the statue. This maybe because there is a legend that if a person strokes the right breast of the statue, that person will have good fortune. Now the question would be how come even the left side seems to shine?

Caffè Mezzaparte (Italy, Verona)

Piazza dell'Erbe, 8/a, 37121 

Verona, Italy

Tel:  +39 045 590590 ‎

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Paradise Pub Restaurant (Switzerland, Montreux)

We visited Chillon Castle (Château de Chillon) before lunch.

Chillon Castle (Château de Chillon)

Chillon Castle 3 km away from Montreux is one of Switzerland's best known castle. The Castle is strategically located at the shore of Lake Geneva, at the foot of the Alps. In the past, it played an important role as it controlled the road and lake which was used as a trade and military route.

Chillon Castle (Château de Chillon)

As we were leaving, it started to snow. Chillon Castle is open for tours daily except for the 1st of January and 25th of December.

We had lunch at Paradise Pub Restaurant, an eatery located in Montreux, Switzerland along Grand Rue which is the stretch of road along the picturesque Lake Geneva. This is the same stretch that holds a Christmas Market every year during November to December. As I visited during the month of December, I managed to visit the Christmas Market. There were many stalls that stretch along the road and also the lake side selling food, hot alcoholic drinks, handicrafts, Christmas decorations, candies, souvenirs and hold different activities. It was an interesting experience. We decided to adjourn for lunch after walking half the Christmas Market (It was too big!).

We looked around for a restaurant before finally deciding to settle for Paradise Pub Restaurant. Some of the reasons for eating here include its English menu, more affordable compared to the rest and also there seems to be alot of locals in there.

Paradise Pub Restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor dining. As it was winter, everyone sat indoors to escape from the freezing cold winter.

Paradise Pub Restaurant had a large sitting capacity. The above picture shows just one-third of the restaurant. There were many locals in the restaurant and that was part of the reason why we decided to patronise this restaurant.

Salad Buffet (self-service)

The restaurant offers a wide variety of food; some of which were displayed at the counter while some could be cooked upon order. Customers can help themselves to the Salad Buffet which is self service at a cost of 3.2 CHF (S$4.18) per 100grams.

Left to Right: Salad Buffet , Bulgar Wheat Salad

Bulgar Wheat Salad is a regular feature in Europe in their Salad Bar. (The Bulgar Wheat is a type of cereal food made from different types of wheat with high protein and nutritional values.)

Look at the wide variety of food available! If only it was a fix priced buffet.

Part of the English Menu

Their menu is available in several languages including French, German, Swedish, English and even Norwegian language! It's good to be able to have the full information to make an informed choice on what to order. Did you spot any items unusual in the menu? Something which you can't get in Singapore.

Read on to find out as I ordered it. Anyway, we decided to order their A La Carte dishes. 

Soupe Du Jour 5 CHF (S$6.56)

We ordered a Soupe De Jour ("Soup of the Day") - Tomato Soup to share. It was great, not too sour and not too creamy.  

Cordon-Bleu with French Fries 16.90 CHF (S$22.09)

Cordon-Bleu with French Fries 16.90 CHF (S$22.09)

The partner ordered the Cordon-Bleu which is a breaded cutlet dish with cheese in it which is then fried. The Cordon-Bleu dish originated from the Switerland. 

Cordon-Bleu with French Fries 16.90 CHF (S$22.09)

The Cordon-Bleu was delicious. It arrived warm and the cheese it it was oozing out once it is cut into half. The meat well seasoned, was tasty.  

Horse Steak with French Fries 18.90 CHF (S$24.70)

I ordered the Horse Steak with French Fries which was priced at 18.90 CHF (S$24.70). The main reason why I ordered Horse (meat) Steak was because I had not eaten horse meat before and was curious on how it would taste like. Not too long after this trip, the 2013 horse meat scandal broke out. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland was the first who reported the presence of horse meat in beef. Through the scandal, it reported that horse meat was mixed with beef because horse meat was a lower cost ingredient. Thinking back, it was weird that all the steaks at Paradise Pub Restaurant - Horse, Beef, Chicken and Lamb were all priced at the same price (i.e. 18.90 CHF). Since horse meat was cheaper... it should have been priced cheaper.

Anyway back to the food. Ordering the horse steak is similar to ordering a beef steak. You will be asked if you would like yours - raw, medium or well done. I requested for mine to be served well done as it was my first time eating it.

The Horse Steak with French Fries was served with french fries (of course), a slice of tomato, slices of lettuce and a small piece of horse meat (steak) that was topped with butter. The Horse Steak was dry and very tough. I had a hard time cutting it into bite size. Taste wise, I felt that it had a slight weird after taste upon the first bite. After that, for the subsequent bites, it seemed to be similar to beef, just that it was tougher - much harder to cut and chew.

I guess after this little adventure, I will be sticking to beef.

After lunch, we continued checking out the Christmas Market along Grand Rue and took photos of the stunning view of the Alps. As you may have noticed the Christmas Market consisted wooden chalets which are along the lakeside path.

Paradise Pub Restaurant (Switzerland, Montreux)

Grand Rue 58 

Avenue des Alpes 37

Montreux, Switzerland

Location 

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Restaurant Bahnhof Röstizza and Kleine Scheidegg (Switzerland, Kleine Scheidegg)

Originally, we had wanted to visit Mount Titlis. However, as there was an avalanche due to heavy snowfall the night before, we had to decide on an alternative. In the end, we decided to visit Kleine Scheidegg which is located 2061 metres above sea level at the base of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. During winter, the Kleine Scheidegg is a famous ski resort area surrounded by the beautiful view of the Swiss Alps. As such, we headed towards Lauterbrunnen to take the rail train to Kleine Scheidegg. 

Along the way to Lauterbrunnen, our bus was stopped at a checkpoint just before approaching the winding mountainous road. In fact, all vehicles were stopped. The checkpoint was established to inform and ensure that all vehicles attached snow chains on their tires as it was snowing heavily and the road was icy. Even with the snow chains on, our bus had to travel at snail pace. For the first time in this trip, everyone (including myself) on board the bus fasten their seat belts. Safety first! It was an hair raising experience when the bus began going up the mountain which was a narrow single lane. There were some instances when I really thought the bus looked like it was going to drop down into the cliff or there might be an avalanche. In fact, we did witness a small avalanche right in front of us and our Italian driver with over 20 years of experience went 'dangerous, so dangerous'. I am so glad we are back alive! The group of us being Singaporeans were all hoping to see lots of snow before we left Changi Airport. Well, we got our wish (in fact it was a case of too much snow). 

A photo taken on board the bus. Look at the amount of snow on top the roof of the house and the car. It was an eye opener watching the various types of vehicles remove snow and ice from the roads.

Left to right: Lauterbrunnen station, Map of Streckennetz de Jungfraubahnen 

The map of the Jungfrau Railways Network (Streckennetz de Jungfraubahnen) is shown on the top right of the photo above. Lauterbrunnen station where we took the rail train is on the left of the photo. 

The scenery that unfold as we took the rack rail was stunning. What a beauty right? Our rail train had a snowplow attached at its front to clear the snow from the rail track. We past by Wengen which is just below Kleine Scheidegg.

At Kleine Scheidegg, it was snowing heavily and the temperature was negative 15 to 20 degree celsius! This was the coldest we got to experience during the entire trip. Luckily we brought our heat packs. We did not stinge on it as we used up several of the toe, hand and body warmers. 

We headed over to Restaurant Bahnhof Röstizza which is located 5 minutes away from the rail station for lunch. The restaurant was packed with people, mostly young kids and teenagers who were from the ski schools. Despite the crowd, the service was efficient. We were served our food within a short time. 

Bread

The bread which is accompanied with a bowl of soup. You can request for more bread if required.

Minestrone Soup with Fresh Vegetables

Minestrone Soup with Fresh Vegetables

The soup that was served was the Minestrone Soup with Fresh Vegetables. A robust and absolutely tasty bowl of soup. 

Bratwurst with Rosti

Bratwurst with Rosti

For the main course, we had the Bratwurst (sausage) with Rosti. The Rosti is a common dish in Switzerland and in fact many Swiss people consider this a national dish.  Look at the amount of Rosti given. Even though I am someone who loves potato, I could not finish the Rosti. This was also partly because it was a tad too salty. The sausage was also on the salty end. 

Pudding

For desserts, we had pudding. The pudding was similar to beancurd, wobbly, silky soft. Accompanied with a fragrant sweet tasting caramel sauce, it was a hit among us. 

After our food, we went ventured out into the snow. It snowed so heavily that we were advised not to bother to rent snow equipment as the snow was too deep in most areas. Nevertheless, the group of us had a great amount of fun as we went out and played with the snow (including snow fight and burying each other in the snow)! The snow was so light and fluffy that we could not make a snowman. The depth of the snow was so thick that some of us sunk into the snow at certain areas. Some parts were knee deep while the some were up to our waist! What a memorable experience. We lasted close to half an hour outside. Quite an achievement considering that it was so cold; -15°C to -20°C. 

This was the scenery on the way down. Beautiful right? The road on the bottom right looks icy. 

Restaurant Bahnhof Röstizza (Switzerland, Kleine Scheidegg)
Kleine Scheidegg 
Röstizzeria GmbH 
3801 Kleine Scheidegg
Tel: +41 (0) 33 828 7828 
Opening Hours: Open 365 days a year from 8am to 930pm
Website
Location

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La Bonne Cave and Landmarks in Lucerne (Switzerland, Lucerne)

After touring the old Chapel Bridge and the Old Town of Lucerne (also known as Luzern), Switzerland, we went about looking for a place for dinner. There did not seemed to be many places around that offered food, more for shopping. Part of the reason could be because it was Winter; some of the shops may have closed early. As the weather was freezing cold for us (slightly below 0 Degree Celsius), we were in a rush to look for a place for a quick dinner - in fact anyplace will do.

So long as it fitted the 3 criteria;
- quick (as we were hungry)
- indoors (to escape from the cold)
- serves food 

As such, we found ourselves in La Bonne Cave which is a restaurant located directly besides River Reuss. There were two other reasons why we came here. It was because the menu had English translation and it was less pricey compared to the other restaurants. 

As you may have noticed from the decoration and environment, La Bonne Cave looks more like a wine place. In fact it is. The name of this place is actually called Weinwirtschaft Weinladen La Bonne Cave. The word 'Weinwirtschaft Weinladen' means 'Wine Shop' in English. Nevertheless, we went ahead and ordered our dinner.

Hausgemachte Tagessuppe (Klein) 6.50 CHF (S$8.50)

We ordered the Hausgemachte Tagessuppe (Klein) 6.50 CHF (S$8.50) which when translated to English means Homemade Soup of the Day (Small). The soup of the day was Tomato Soup! It was quite a small bowl of soup and was very sour. 

Bread

Bread which was served together with the soup. Nothing great about the bread, it was average. 

Gambas 'All' Aglio E Peperoncini (Klein) 17.50 CHF (S$22.87)

The partner ordered the Gambas 'All' Aglio E Peperoncini (Klein) which cost 17.50 CHF (S$22.87). It was essentially an Aglio Olio style spaghetti served with roasted black tiger shrimps with garlic and hot pepper. This Aglio Olio style spaghetti was decently executed. Many tiger shrimp was given and they were fresh and succulent.

Feuerspaghetti 17.50 CHF  (S$22.87)

I ordered the Feuerspaghetti (Klein) 17.50 CHF (S$22.87); Spaghetti with hot curry, sliced chicken and china vegetable. This was a unique dish and unlike any curry I have tried before. The curry was not spicy, similar to a thick, starchy peanut sauce with a slight hint of curry.  The china vegetable in this case consisted of mainly slices of carrots and cabbage. To be frank, I did not like the taste of this dish and wished that I had ordered something else.

Overall, the ambience at La Bonne Cave was quiet, cozy and homely. It looked like the perfect place for a quiet date and chill out. In fact to me, it seemed more of a place for wine rather than food. Food wise, it was not impressive.

There are several landmarks to visit in Lucerne.

Old Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke)

The Old Chapel Bridge also known as Kapellbrücke built in 1333 to protect Lucerne is the oldest wooden covered wooden bridge in Europe. The Watch Tower (Wasserturm) which you see in the photo is an eight sided citadel made of bricks. It was used as a watch tower, torture chamber, and prison. Both the bridge and Watch Tower are a key tourist attraction of Switzerland. The Old Chapel Bridge is just outside La Bonne Cave.

Old Town of Lucerne

The Old Town with its well preserved 14th century town walls, cobbled squares and buildings. There were murals on most of the buildings walls.

Lion Monument (Lion of Lucerne)

Since were were at Lucerne, we visited the Lion Monument (Lion of Lucerne) which was nearby. The Lion Monument carved out of stone depicts a dying lion in memory of the Swiss mercenaries who lost their lives during the French Revolution at the Tuileries Palace in Paris. The lake at the bottom of the monument was frozen.

Postillon Hotel Lucerne

Postillon Hotel, our Hotel for the night. ~Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!~ 

 The view from our room.

Lake Lucerne

Postillon Hotel is located next to Lake Lucerne.

That's all for this post. Stay tuned for more.

La Bonne Cave (Switzerland, Lucerne) 
Rathausquai 1
6004 Luzern
Lucerne, Switzerland
Tel: +41 41 410 45 16
Website
Location

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