New Year's Eve 2007

We had the best New Year's Eve in many years at the Relais Villabella in the countryside outside of Verona at the edge of the village of San Bonifacio (Verona Province). http://www.relaisvillabella.it/
A 'relais' is French for a country home or chateau with a small number of rooms and a dining room. This particular relais is on sprawling acreage which you enter by passing through a medieval stone arch, up a long curving drive, through towering trees, and at night, tiny white lights.

Our friends Agnes and Alexander
had last been here twelve years earlier.
The VillaBella has sustained a lasting
reputation for fine dining in a beautiful
old building. They were delighted to make the arrangements for New Year's Eve at this beautiful place, to show us another side of Verona.

I don't know if you'll be able to read the menu.
We were served 8 courses, with wines to accompany each course (not for me, folks ;) , not to worry) by the most gracious staff I have yet encountered in Italy, save for the Locanda Cipriani on the Island of Torcello in the Venetian Lagoon. The only course I could have eliminated was the ravioli, only because it was 9 stars instead of the perfect 10 stars of every other course. The cuisine was 'high Italian', rather than regional specialities...more what you would find in a top restaurant in Rome.

La Creme di zucca con riduzione di aceto balsamico e cuore ghiacciato al gorgonzola (cream of pumpkin with a balsamic reduction and a chilled heart of gorgonzola)

Not since my accident in February 2003 have I danced so much, and had so much fun. Of course, a regular 4-hour-interval course of Advil all day helped prepare me to boogie. The DJ was on fire, playing great mixes of Italian, Spanish, French and American songs, all flowing seamlessly into each other.

The wait staff timed everything to the minute, so that hundreds of champagne flutes filled with Mumm's Cuvee Privilege 'Cordon Rouge' were raised at precisely midnight, with the last dessert course following ten minutes later.

Then, at 2 AM, a buffet of more casual typical Veronese fare was put out for those who hadn't eaten enough earlier. Groan.We skipped it, leaving at 2:45 AM. Agnes and Alexander dropped us off two blocks from home so that we walked through the sub-freezing night air to the apartment. Then I had a piece of traditional panettone...couldn't resist.

The entire evening was elegant and delicious. We're hoping to go back again, maybe this time we'll rent a room.