Isola dei Pescatori, Stresa, Italy

Oh wow...It's the end of the year already! Yet, I've already planned next year's trips! *excited* But I have yet to finish writing the whole story of this year's vacation destinations. Need to hurry up....so, here we go:

After about 15 minutes on the water taxi, we finally reached Isola Pescatori, otherwise known as "Fishermen’s Island". It was said that about 50 people live on this island. We quickly went on to explore this rustic and interesting island; and the view from this island was fantastic! Here are some pictures taken on the island...




The mainland, with the alps in the background...






The weather was so perfect - sunny and windy. But at times, it got too cold for a summer midday. Then again, this place is surrounded by the snowy alps...

A Berries Chocolate Cake for My Petit Guest

I had a petit guest over at my place last week...She was visiting with her parents. So, as a treat, I had baked her a berries chocolate cake. She loves and enjoys being photographed but she won't share the limelight! She will stretch out her hand to fend off anyone trying to pose beside her! Eccentric? Maybe...



Peek-a-boo!











Look at those little fingers picking up the berries... such immaculate grace...




Little Miss Demure enjoying some private time in the guest bedroom...









After freshening up, petit guest was ready to enjoy her cake...




While petit guest enjoys her muffin and cake, to bake them, you'll need:

Berries Chocolate Cake You need: 1 cup of all-purpose flour ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 eggs ........................................................................................................................................................... 2/3 cup of brown sugar ........................................................................................................................................................... 1/2 cup of plain yogurt ........................................................................................................................................................... 1/2 cup of olive oil ........................................................................................................................................................... 1/3 cornstrach ........................................................................................................................................................... 1/2 cup dark chocolate fudge ........................................................................................................................................................... chocolate chips ........................................................................................................................................................... Some berries ........................................................................................................................................................... Steps: 1. Preheat the oven at 360F ........................................................................................................................................................... 2. In a large bowl, beat Eggs & brown sugar, add olive oil , yogurt, flour, cornstarch& mix well ........................................................................................................................................................... 3. Add baking powder & Chocolate fudge. Mix well ........................................................................................................................................................... 4. Pour the chocolate chips and berries (optional) ........................................................................................................................................................... 5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes ........................................................................................................................................................... 6. Let the cake cool and spread some extra chocolate fudge. Arrange some berries on it.

Lake Maggiore

Lago Maggiore

I'll skip the story of our third day in Milan for now... Will do that in the next entry.
Anyway, it's a pointless if you don't visit the lakes district, when you are in Milan. So, on the fourth day, we made a day trip to the beautiful Lake Maggiore!

We did not opt for a tour group, so we had all the opportunities and time to explore the lake and its surrounding areas at a leisurely pace. It was Mr Cafe Elysium's second visit, but my first.

Located on the south side of the Alps, Lago Maggiore is the second largest lake in Italy, but the largest in southern Switzerland. There are some famous islands (or isola in Italian) nestled in this lake - Isola Madre, Isola Bella and the Isola dei Pescatori. Collectively, they are called the Borromean Islands.

So, we left the hotel at the crack of dawn, to catch the first train from Milano Centrale FS to Stresa. We managed to have a quick breakfast at the hotel, and packed some snack from the train station kiosks, since the journey would take almost two hours.

Milano Centrale FS
... Look at the clear, blue sky! The weather was so fabulous that day - it was so gloomy and rainy just a day before.

Bought the train tickets from this kiosk. Thankfully, it was a super-friendly kiosk...

While waiting for the train, we packed some snacks, and had these yummylicious frozen cappuccino!


And as usual, Mr Cafe Elysium went on his coffee hunt...

Drop me a coin... Summer is making way for the cold shivers...

That's the train, behind me, that would take us to Stresa.

After traveling for almost two hours, we reached Stresa!

From this quaint train station, we had to walk only 15 minutes to reach Stresa's town center where Lake Maggiore is located. As we strolled, we took in the breath-taking views of the journey, taking pictures of what caught our fancy...

Spiral chimney? One would wonder if this is merely for cosmetic appearance, or if there is any practical function to it!





A glimpse of Lake Maggiore...

Scenes around Stresa....





We opted for the water taxi to get to the islands, since the ferries seemed to be jam-packed. Furthermore, a water taxi gets you there faster and with lesser fuss. The adrenaline rush ticks as we ride the waves in the water taxi!




The very awe-inspiring Isola Bella...


This is the Isola dei Pescatori... and yes, we visited this island first!

Click here to read my entries about:

Isola Dei Pescatori

Isola Bella

Pomegranate Pavlova

Speaking of pavlova, my favorite is those available at Delicious - the Berrylicious Chocolate Pavlova to be exact. I love its sourish taste, and its pinkish - caramelish colour. I've been wondering all along, what gave it that color I'm sure it's not from the food colouring agent, no? That's the reason why I find their pavlova tastes slightly better than others, too.

But one day, while I was on the FaceBook via my BlackBerry, Delicious uploaded their pavlova recipe on their fan page. It was their sacred pavlova recipe! How cool! Only then I got the answer! They added some balsamic vinegar to get that sourish taste and colour! Few days later, I decided to bake my own pavlova. So I went through their page again, but.... the recipe was gone! I should've copied the recipe on spot! I will, next time.

With no good, reliable guide, I went ahead and made my own version pavlova, the Pomegranate Pavlova!


My Pomegranate Pavlova with strawberries

For the base:
•Preheat the oven to 160 degree Celsius.
Beat 2 egg whites with a pinch of salt until peak, add some balsamic vinegar and fold it slowly. Add 200 grams of confection sugar and mix the batter slowly. Bake for one hour. Left to cool in the oven with the door open.

Top:
Spread with butter cream + a teaspoon of lemon juice , arrange some pomegranate & strawberries.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and the best Gelato in Milan.

So, we spent a few hours at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele before we continued strolling Milan. I love the bookshop on the Galleria's ground floor - their book selection was massive! What goes well with books? Coffee! By tea time, we found ourselves seated at the terrace of Zucca inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. Their super good coffee glued us to the seat, spending sometime people watching!


GALLERIA VITTORIO EMANUELE
The top floor houses the one and only seven-star hotel in continental Europe, the 'Town House Milano'.



Zucca Milano! Zucca is Italian for pumpkin.


Duomo di Milano, the most spectacular icon of Milan. We hiked up to its roof the following day. The view from up there was simply breathtaking. Will write about it in an upcoming entry.

We continue strolling the city but I received a call from Malpensa Airport, saying that the missing luggage has already arrived at the airport! So we decided to head for the airport to pick it up at 6PM.






GELATO!

While strolling the streets, I lost count of the amount of gelato I had chowed down! In the week prior to Milan, I had my gelato rendezvous in Mykonos. Having had so much gelato there still didn't stop me from more gelato hunting in Milan. It was the height of summer, so gelato was the hottest item in town!








CHoCoLAT
Ranking top on my list of best gelato shops in Milan was Chocolat Cafe! Their ice cream were simply fantastic! Chocolat was located at Via Boccaccio 9, tucked between the Metro stations of Cardona FNM & Conciliazione.

Tips: Their chocolate ice-cream is the best! strong,bitter,creamy & powerfull. Enjoy it alone or mixed with the "Green Gold" Bronte, the famous pistachio from Sicily.