One of the greatest ways to travel in Italy is by our small Bulli and AgriCamper, a similar though smaller variant of FrancePatience or Landvergnügen. It gives you a map of farms, vineyards or other rural places that offer a place to stay for the night, often for free, and the deal is typically that you buy some small stuff that they offer.
After Valpolicella, we headed for in Monzambano in the Mantua area and arrived at the “medium” whine farm Cantina Gozzi only to wait for the heavy rain to stop, which in turn created a wonderful mud wonderland – as we soon had to find out. We were shown a nice place among apple trees on the meadow, but it was so soaked from the rains of the past days that even our not-so-heavy T5 bulli drifted side-wards and was stuck. So the Seniore came with a rope and a small tractor (while it was still raining cats and dogs) and tried to pull us out, but it was too weak. So he called his two sons and with a stronger tractor we all managed to get our bulli to a safer ground and place. Everybody was wet afterwards, but they would not accept thanks. Such friendly and helpful folks. Simone could do her Pilates in a old barn.
Of course be bought some wine and self-made tea later, as we would have without the help. The kids were watching the horses, admired the gazillions of machines and were running in the mud. What else can you give them 😉
Next stop was Bibbiano in Reggio Emilia, again a winery with a ristorante during week-ends, Corte dei Landi, with a very kind host.
He told us about plans to install solar panels on the roofs and the challenges to become energy self-sufficient. We bought a solid piece of Parmeggiano Reggiano from red cows, the best as we were told, and he gave us some eggs directly from his hens, to be boiled and eaten right away. How delicious. The kids had the whole yard for themselves to play. They also do cooking classes. Next time we pass by …
Again, this is a great way to travel through Italy, you get in contact with the hosts, you learn about their lives and listen to their stories, you can train your language skills beyond “kitchen Italian”, and you get really really good stuff directly from the producers.
Leave a Reply