I'm not a drunk. I did not go to Valdobbiadene to drink endless bottles of prosecco in solitude. I wanted to hunt down a tavern. More specifically, The Tavern Without a Host ("Osteria Senza Oste").
If you'd heard about an unmanned rest stop up on the face of a hill, in the middle of a vineyard, where it is stocked with cheese, salumi, eggs, bread, jam, biscuits, juice, cold beer and prosecco; with tables, chairs, cutlery and proper glassware; where instead of any service staff, there is simply a box to pay for what is taken, would you not go?
Getting there was slightly tricky. I had to find a town I could get to by train and I had to find the closest B&B which would allow me to get to the tavern on foot. I wanted to spend everyday up there. Somehow I knew I was going to be a repeat customer for all 5 days.
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| The view from the B&B. The tavern is the first building from the left, a fifth down from the top. To get there, I have to walk anticlockwise towards town (right of picture), cut across it, pass the church (tallest structure is the bell tower), walk along a curvy stretch of highway, cut across some vineyards and walk along a gravel path. |
I'd woken up at 6 in the morning, left Florence by 7, got to Valdobbiadene by 1 in the afternoon, right smack in the middle of siesta. I was starving from having eaten nothing and there was no lunch to be had. I dumped my bags and headed straight for the tavern.
Lunch was a surprise, the view was incredible, the weather perfect, the tavern was unreal.
Lunch was a surprise, the view was incredible, the weather perfect, the tavern was unreal.
