I Gotta Say, Renting A Canalboat As A Place To Stay Is Pretty Darn Cool

Leading up to the trip, I had booked a hotel for the first night in Amsterdam, and then of course the hotel in Stresa, Lake Maggiore for the five nights in Italy.

But, I had procrastinated on booking the last three nights in Amsterdam.  There was only about a week left before our trip when I remembered I had not done it.  So, I went on Booking.com to find an apartment.  There were only a multitude of hotels, which I was ready to resign myself to booking.  Some of the hotels were large canalboats, but they are had shared bathrooms.  Personally, I don’t like the idea of shared bathrooms, but I can assure you Carol HATES the idea.

However, I struck gold on VRBO.  I found a private Canalboat at 509 Jacob Von Leppenkade.  The canal is apparently the Jacob von Leppenkade, but I'm not sure that's right.  Here’s the link to Canalboat.  I really liked the idea of a Canalboat, and I was sold on this one by the patio.  I imagined us having our evening bottle of wine on Canal as other boats glided past.  We would wave or salute them with our wine glasses and they would do the same.

And, that’s exactly what happened.  And more. . .it was quite spacious, and about the same nightly price as the one-bedroom mid-range hotels popping up on Booking.com.  So, for the price of hotel room, we had our own Canalboat with a patio, a good sized-kitchen, a very large living room/dining room, a bathroom bigger than we expected, and a comfortable bedroom.  The WiFi worked better there than it did at our luxury hotel in Italy.

Carol made eggs and toast every morning for breakfast, and spek twice (a European bacon).  We had room in the small fridge for some beer, my sparkling water, and Carol’s regular water, along with some food.  We ate dinner there the first night, as Carol made tortellini in the kitchen.  We dined out on the patio.  It was magic.

The biggest concern with the Canalboat is that one time I would be locking the door as we were going out, fumble with the keys, and watch them sink into the Canal.  Like Ralphie, I definitely would have said “oh fudge.”  Fortunately my fear led me to keep a tight grip on the keys until I crossed the short wooden ramp and got on to land.

Amsterdam temperatures were mid-70s during the day and mid-50s at night, so we left the windows on the canal side open.  Early one morning we were both woken by a flock of ducks flying down the canal and squawking (we fell back asleep).  

The first night, after spending hours driving to Milan’s Malpensa Airport and waiting at the terminal, we stayed close to home.  After grocery shopping for simple, but important items such as sparkling water, cookies, eggs, bread, we went to “Grapedistrict,” our local wineshop, and picked up a few bottles of wine for imbibing on the Canalboat patio.

I had two conference calls, and then we went for a drink at Toussaint Café, a half block from where we were staying.  It came highly recommended by our host, and we immediately could see why.  We sat side by side at an outdoor corner table, watching the world go our little corner of it, enjoying a drink and an appetizer, and taking in the café scene in Amsterdam.  

The place was so perfect we made dinner reservations for 8:30 on Saturday night.  We then went back to the Canalboat, Carol made dinner, and we relaxed into the evening on our patio.  It was a perfect evening.

The Canalboat was a dream come true.  We will always remember our Canalboat fondly.  Highly, highly recommend!

What follows are more pictures of the Canalboat at 509 Jacob von Leppenkade than you ever expected.

Our canal view at dusk.

The bedroom

Entryway and hallway

Don't drop the key in the canal!

The kitchen

Living room.  Not shown:

The dining room part of it.

Carol making dinner.

Our patio.

The ducks were loud and have very cool feet.

View down our canal.

View up our canal.

View across our canal.

Our street, and maybe the canal name too.

From the bridge.  Our Canalboat

is the one just past the one with

the small white boat tied to it 

on the left.  Love all the trees.

That's the one.

Cool canal reflection.

Our Triumphal Return To Amsterdam

The only hiccup in our return to Milan airport for the return flight to Amsterdam was trying to find gas to fill up the car.  If a gas station had been central to the plot of “Deliverance,” we managed to find two potential filming locations.

We had driven 90% of the way to the airport before seeing our first gas station.  And it was from the early 1960s.  Finally, I just gave up and pulled out of the station.  With seven miles to go to the airport, we stopped in one from the 1950s with no indication of how to pay, who to pay, and how to pump.  They were both in the middle of the woods, so leaving was the better part of figuring it all out.

I was resigned to paying the skyhigh per liter rate at Avis when, with three miles to go, we came to a more modern station.  The attendant ran to our car as we pulled in, smartly filled up the VW, whipped out the credit card machine, touch the card, and go.

Returning the car in the Malpensa Airport (we had flown into xxxx Airport, clear on the other side of the city) was a bit tricky, as the Avis Rental Car return sign was hard to see.  However, one illegal swerve across oncoming lanes (no oncoming cars at that time!) and we were on our way into the terminal.  

Given how messed up European airports are this year (especially Heathrow in London and Schipol in Amsterdam) we took the “get there three hours early admonition seriously.”  With no bags to check however (all carry on).

We arrived back in Amsterdam and only had to wait a few minutes for our pre-booked taxi.  At 35 Euros, it was literally 40 Euros cheaper than the cab we had taken a week earlier.  Suffice it to say, I have to believe that the first cab took us for a ride, literally and figuratively!

Arriving at our Canalboat, we were met by the property manager, who gave us a quick tour, pointing things we needed to know, and left us to our own devices for the next three nights.

A Lunch Stop In Lago d'Orta

After the winery tour, we headed to Lago d’Orta, a much smaller lake than Maggiore.  On the other hand, it is also very picturesque, tucked in amongst mountains with views to the Alps in the north.

And, there’s an island and cute town, Orta San Guilio.  We parked at the top of the town, walking down to find a restaurant.  We weren’t there for anything by lunch and views, and that’s what we found.  The restaurant was the worst we ate at in Italy, but it still suited our purposes.  Pressed into a little courtyard between three buildings, it had no actual views of the lake or mountains, but we were famished, so we weren’t picky.

After lunch, we ambled down to the lakeside to admire the views, the town market, and the various comings and goings.

Carol wanted to do one more load of laundry in Stresa, so we hiked back up the hill to the car and headed out.

After some time working at the hotel, including a couple of Zoom calls, we went into Stresa, did laundry, wandered around people-watching, looking at shops, and picking out potential restaurants.  When we went back to our first choice at 8pm, we got nixed because we had no reservations.  We were able to be seated at our second choice, and the food was delicious.  After having toured the Travaglini Gattinara winery that morning, we shared another bottle of that.

Our time in Italy was coming to an end, but we had enough time to sit on our balcony at the Villa & Palazzo Aminta (It’s a villa AND palace all in one!) and marvel at the night views.

In the movie from the 1950s,

the church bells are pealing

loudly from the steeple.

Lago d'Orta, part of the town,

 and part of the island.

The island.

More mountains

surrounding Lago 

d'Orta.

Random Dinner Selfie

 

This selfie was overlooked at first, so it gets its own post.  That's it, that's the post!

Towering Views

As we were leaving the winery, our guide Silvana (I learned her name!), pointed to an ancient tower a top of the highest hill in the area and recommended visiting there.  

When Silvana said we would see the vineyards, from the hill, we decided we had to go.  There's also a chance of seeing the tall buildings of Milan as well.  

It wasn't a far drive, but negotiating our way along the tight switchback roads, Carol and I were hoping nobody would be coming down the hill.  Either side of the road was steep uphill, with the vineyards visible.  It was a short drive, but a very cool one.  

We got to the parking lot on top of the hill as the views opened around us.  There were no other cars there, but there were two groups picnicking, as well as a small chapel. The only bummer is that there was a high chain link keeping us from exploring the Torre (that's "tower" in Italian, as I show off my mad language skills).

(Editor: "Mad" is the right word to describe you, but just the wrong usage in this case.)

The Torre dates back to the 11th-century, with improvements dating from the 14th-century.  Old stuff is always interesting to us, but the views were the main course here.  Carol was able to pick out skyscrapers in Milan, off in the distance.  I used my camera zoom lens to confirm her sighting, but alas it was too hazy for anything to come out in a photo. 

Vineyard selfies are among the best selfies

To the north, there were spectacular views of the vineyards climbing up and down hills, with the distant Alps in the, um, distance.  (Editor: Great use of the Thesaurus!).  Milan lay to the southeast, with the village of Gattinari directly south of us.  It all made for a remarkable tableau.

Vineyards and mountains.

A celebration of the burgeoning

wine region of Gattinari.

This Torre is over 1,100 years old.

San Pietro Church and the village of Gattinara.

Italian flag a top the Torre.

The rolling hills of the vineyard.

A Pretty Awesome Wine Tour

At the urging our hotel sommelier, we decided to drive the 40 minutes to Travaglini Gattinara, a five generation winery that grows Nebbiolo grapes.  About three miles out, we turned off the Autostrada (the Interstate) and headed through a pretty ugly section of industrial and big box stores.

I quipped to Carol, "well, you can tell we're in wine country."  Then we started rolling through a couple of smaller towns, over the Sesia River, and into the medieval village of Gattinara.  We turned off the main road and it got small town/rural very quickly.

The GPS took us to a dirt road, past the winery, before we realized it wasn't behind the gated fence that Waze insisted it was.  It was a private house, with a dog happy to see us.  And by "happy to see us," I don't mean in that friendly, tail-wagging way most dogs have, but more in the "I'm going to tear you apart limb by limb and have you watch me eat you part by part as your brain loses consciousness" way that a few dogs have.

(Editor: Whelp, that got dark quickly.  Like pitch black 2am moonless night dark.  Blogger: Huh?  Whoa, sorry, I think I wasn't fully conscious whilst writing that last paragraph.  Wonder what I said.  ((Reads post:)) Whoa.  Sorry about that.  Nothing see here.  Time to gently move along!)

Anyhoo, as we pulled up to the actual winery, a non-descript, albeit largish, brick building, I was worried this was going to be a wasted trip, or, if not, at least a letdown from what we were promised.  We were met by a young woman who was to be our tour & tasting guide for the winery.  

We had a bottle of their Reserva wine the night before with dinner at Lo Stronello, and took an instant liking to it, so this seemed to be a bummer.

When she said, "we'll start with a video," I was sighing inwardly.  Carol looked at me, and in that loving way spouses have, rolled her eyes.  Great, it's 10:30 in the morning, and we're a long way from anywhere else worth being!

Then the video started.  It was actually pretty interesting, as it showed how they cleared and created a new field for more vineyards.  So that was of interest.  And, we also realized that tour consisted of us, and our guide, and that was it.  No other people there.  That was something to like.

And then it all got very cool.  She took us into the bottling/labeling room.  First, we watch an older woman from the village putting labels and ribbons on the magnums.  She had row after row of magnums set up in front of her.

She's done a lot of labeling by 10:45 am.

Very tempting to try to sneak one out.

A magnum!

Then she walked us over to the bottling machine, and we watched the workers feed the empty bottles into the assembly line, where they were spiffily cleaned by machine, filled, and corked.  The daughter of the owner, Cinzia Travaglini and her husband, the winemaker, was working the bottling.  

The bottles then went through a back and forth process to shake the cork tight.  Then the foil was deftly put on by the same machine, and finally out the other end where another worker stacked them in boxes.  It reminded us a lot of watching the bottling production line at Bold Rock, a cidery in Nelson County, Virginia.

The old bottle mold.

The bottles being cleaned, filled, and corked.

Of course Carol is happy, she's standing

next to a LOT of great wine!

The bottles are constantly moving on

this part, to make sure the cork has

a nice, tight fit.

And last in the process, the foil gets 

put onto the cork/top of the bottle.

The tour could have ended right there and we would have been happy with it.  But wait, there's more.  Just before we went into the vat room, the owner glided by and introduced herself to us.  I remember at one wine dinner in the Del Ray area of Alexandria, the owner answered my quizzical query (Editor: Nice alliteration!  Blogger: Quite!) as to why he was there by saying, "You sell one bottle at a time."  I have to believe it wasn't a lucky chance that she ran into us, but we had a nice chat and we were charmed that the owner took time to meet us.

Next we went into the vat room, where our guide (she never us gave her name, I guess she didn't care about the fame that comes with being named by name in this widely read blog.)

(Editor: Named by name? Blogger: Forget it, I'm on a roll.)

Everyone should have a tower

of wine in their house, no?

They have a lot more vats than 

this in the tank room.  And

every time the winery buys

another one, the vat maker

says, "Tanks a lot!"

(Editor: Are you drinking copious amounts of wine right now?  Blogger: Believe it or not, no actually.  Although that's not a bad idea.)

So that was all pretty cool, and then we went down to the barrel rooms.  There are two -- one with huge barrels aging the wine for a longer period of time, and one with regular French oak barrels for a shorter aging period.  I will let the pictures tell the story:

I will let you figure out which are the

smaller barrels and which are the larger ones.

Then she took us into the very modern family wine library, where they are storing bottles from the many different years.  The winery was started in the 1920s.  Wine had been made in the town since the Romans, but the focus had always been on quantity and not quality.

Travaglini started focusing on quality in the 1958, when Giancarlo Travaglini inherited the winery after his father passed away.  It's also the year of an interesting innovation that helps the winery stand out from others.  If we are socializing and I pull out a bottle of Travaglini Gattinara to share with you, I will tell you of that innovation, but I'm not telling that story here. 

The owner and her husband are the fourth generation of the family to be making wines, and are coming up on the winery's 100th anniversary. 

After that, we went back upstairs, this time to the wine tasting room.  First, our guide showed us a vineyard map of the area.  Travaglini owns 57% of the vineyard space in greater Gattinara, and is constantly looking to expand, buying up little plots here and there to expand.

Our guide then brought out a charcuterie plate to have with the wine (mercifully smaller than the one from the hotel wine tasting on Monday night).  We tasted three different wines, all of which we enjoyed.  They sold for 6.70 Euros, 11.90 Euros, and 20 Euros each.  Each were much better quality than similarly price wine.  We could have tasted six wines, but at noon with a drive still ahead of me, I thought an intelligent decision was better than a stupid choice, so we went with the three.  Which was plenty.

The winery won't do a direct ship to the US, but she gave us info on different ways to order their wines in the US, so I fully plan to.  As we were saying our fond farewells (we really liked our guide, and the wine made us fonder of her!), the owner stopped by again to chat, and forever earned my eternal appreciation by giving us a branded waiter key double-hinged wine opener.  It came in handy in Amsterdam and was not confiscated going through airport security (we did carry-on only) in Milan and Amsterdam.

My only disappointment was that we didn't get to see the vineyards, but I had a plan to drive the dirt roads past the vineyards.  Except it all turned out cooler than that. 

Food Adventures In Italy

Every dinner we ate in Italy was fantastic.  We were uncharacteristically lazy and ate three dinners at the hotel's terrace.  The food was so good, and the commute back to our room consisted of a four story elevator ride.  So that was hard to argue with.

The only thing I didn't like is that they didn't relax their dress code for the 95 degree days.  For breakfast you could wear shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals.  I drew the line at a t-shirts, but did wear my Oofos (most comfortable footwear ever invented!) and shorts to breakfast.  

The first night at dinner I showed up in shorts and Oofos and was forced to go back to my room and change.  They enforced the long pants and shoes/sneakers despite the unprecedented heat wave.  So I changed, came back, and then watched some guy wearing a Carhartt t-shirt and jeans be seated.  So classy!

Anyhow, Tuesday night we had reservations at Lo Stornello, smack in the middle of downtown Stresa. 

Lo Stornello is a Michelin Plate restaurant.  And it was fabulous.  I had raviolis with shrimp in them for the first course.  I'm not good at remembering to take pictures of my food, but trust me, the presentation was first class.  My second course were perfect lamb chops. Carol enjoyed her gnocchi first course and beef second course.

They have a great wine list, including wines from the winery we were visiting the next day (Wednesday).  

By the way, the restaurant we ate on another side street in Stresa at Wednesday was also quite tasty.

However, any mention of a meal in Italy needs to include the lunch we had at the top of Mount Mottarone on Sunday.  The charcuterie plate (highlighted in an earlier post) was simply amazing.  No matter where we ate, we were winners.

A Short Post of Riffs on Italy

Rick Steves is the patron saint of American travels to Europe.  His TV show is great, his travel guides are easy to use and full of good info.  However, his guide dissed Stresa.  

However we enjoyed the times we went into town.  Even if the streets were not pedestrian only (some were), there were few cars, so I could walk right in the middle of the street.  There were five gelato shops (we stayed loyal to one).  There were fine little shops, many restaurants of varying quality, and, of course, the lakefront affords timeless views of a spectacular nature.

Traffic circles are the best way to keep traffic moving, and not just in cities.  Instead of four-way stops, or traffic lights out in rural areas, traffic circles keep traffic moving safely.  You have to slow down as you come to a traffic circle, but you don’t have to stop (unless a car is coming through the circle, obviously).

The Italian leg of our trip was fantastic, except for the heat, of course.  The food, culture, wine, and more of the country make it, without question, the second best in Europe (a ways behind Spain, and a smidge ahead of France).  Readers are allowed to disagree.  (Editor: Wow Glen, you are soooo open-minded as to allow people to have differing opinions.  Blogger: Thanks, I know.)

We covered a lot of miles in Italy, driving from the airport into Milan, driving from Milan to Stresa, up Mount Mottarone, down and around the other side of the Lake for the cliffside church and the Rocca di Angera, out to the winery, and then to Lago d’Orta.  Other than our adventures in Milan and the switchbacks going up the mountain, driving was pretty easy.

 

A Few More Pics

 

Our balcony.

The hotel pool, which

we enjoyed twice.

Not as hazy, which led to the. . .

. . .clearest picture of the Alps from our hotel.