Sometimes the stars align and you find the perfect little hotel, or b&B, or cafe, or whatever it may be. We're lucky enough (with thanks to Fred and Paula) to have one of those places in Paris. And now, it would seem we have one in northern Italy, too. "La Rose e Il Leone" (The Rose and the Lion) is a small, family-run bed and breakfast about twenty minutes east of Verona.
A compound of two villas (plus pool, garden, orchard, vineyard) belongs to the Poli sisters: Giovanna, Valeria, and Maura. Originally from Milan, their father bought a old, rural villa, remodeled it, and landscaped the property for his wife, who wanted a garden. The second house was built in the mid-twentieth century, though the two sit easily beside one another amid tangles of ivy, Roman (really) statues, and flower beds just unkempt enough to be charming.As if all of this wasn't enough, we were the only guests for five days. The older villa was completely at our disposal, and Pan had free run of the garden. He was kept in line by Valeria's dog, Balou, a sweet mongrel getting towards the end of his days, but managed to charm the sisters and ran in and out of their kitchen at will.
With such lush surroundings and hot weather slowing our pace, Mike and I were fairly content to lounge in the sun and read, enjoy glasses of proeseco, and try to coerce Pan to swim in the pool.
While he continues to be happy to try swimming where he can walk in to the water, anything with a drop off that might prevent him from getting out leaves him scared (this seems understandable; he's a smart dog, after all!). Still, we tried to acclimate him by holding him in our arms and letting him swim short distances ... like a toddler.
You may notice that Pan still seems less than thrilled. We let it go, but Pan was still a little shy of getting too close to the edge.
Yet despite this fear, Pan was fascinated by water in other circumstances. A small, raised fish pond in a paved section of the garden (once a larger reflecting pool, I think) proved especially tempting. While I never saw any fish, Pan seemed particularly fond of lilypads, which he would bite off and pull out of the pool, chewing on the long stems or the flowers.
He fell in more than once, but somehow scrambled out, and seemed happy to continue "fishing."
The generosity of the Poli sisters extended beyond giving us--and Pan--free reign of the property, but they also invited us to join them for dinner on two evenings. Simple pastas served at the outdoor table on the veranda leading from the house to the pool pretty much made for a perfect holiday. As much as we love to try new restaurants in Italy, this was a special treat. Pan thought so, too, as he got to roam the garden freely rather than being forced to sit quietly under the table.
Back in our apartment more than a month later, I can't seem to capture in either words or pictures the perfect simplicity and peacefulness of this place. Even though life in the Veneto moves a bit more slowly than in Rome, Florence, or even Venice, the walls of the Poli's garden enclose a little sliver of another time. It's not that it's older or more quaint, but rather simply "other." Nothing seems to breach the walls, and the sun, the water, and all the fruit on the vines and trees feels like it belongs only to you.
Even Pan seemed to feel this was someplace special, and seemed very content to stay.
Summer is definitely over here now, and warm sun in Italy feels farther and farther away. With so many places on our list to visit, we sometimes hate to keep going back to the same ones, but I'm sure there will be another visit to the Veneto once things start to warm up again.
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