Wandering around the Italian Town of Brivio

I spent five days in Italy at the end of June and it was absolutely glorious. I was visiting my friend Sue, with whom I worked in South Africa twenty years go. Sue holds a very special place in my heart (for many reasons); she saved my trip to New York City in 2009 when she arranged for me to stay with her sister when my accommodation fell through at the last minute.

We decided to explore the nearby town of Brivio on my first morning there. Our first stop was Tofè Cafè where we enjoyed coffee and pastries under the trees, while looking over the Adda River. I learned that you need to order caffè latte or latte macchiato because if you just ask for latte (milk), they will bring you steamed milk. Funny that.

It felt so good to be in Italy again and to breathe the mountain air deep into my lungs. I wasn’t even too bothered by the cloudy skies although I was hoping for some sunshine during my trip. It’s heading into autumn here in England and we’ve only had a few days of summer weather.

After finishing our pastries, we wandered up to the Ponte di Brivio and circled back into the town. Brivio is nestled in the heart of the Lecco province in the Lombardy region, and benefitted historically from its strategic position on the river Adda between Milan and Bergamo.

With its cobbled streets, charming buildings and picturesque riverside views, Brivio was just the tonic for my weary urban soul.

I learned all about Nerone, Brivio’s beloved mascot who finally passed away last year. Despite being feral, he was cared for by the town’s residents and news of his death was published in local newspapers (see Prima Merate and La Stampa). he is missed and has a bench dedicated to him now.

It will surprise absolutely nobody that I was already considering moving to this little town by that morning. Italy and the Balkans always have that effect on me.

We walked past this closed down ristorante and I began to dream further. What would it take to take over the property and do it up again? Alas, more than I have. I learned many years ago that I’m good at working for people but not so good at motivating myself to take care of my own business.

After our short exploration, it was time for lunch. We headed into Serendipity Cocktails & Food for a traditional worker’s lunch. The workers lunch is a heavily subsidised meal that usually costs €12 - €15 and includes a set menu, with very little choice, plus sides, water, coffee, wine or beer. I ordered the Venus rice risotto with prawns, cherry tomatoes and vegetables to start and liked it so much that I ordered it several more times during my short trip. Venus rice is naturally black. Sue had the Sardinian gnocchi to start. For main course, I had the strips of beef with balsamic vinegar and Sue enjoyed the Milanese plaice with tomato sauce.

This was only the first in a series of excellent meals and I finally feel like this trip broke the curse of our Italian road trip in 2014 where we made very poor culinary choices.