It felt like a gamble to go to a town that barely existed on the Internet, and stay at a hotel with very few English reviews.  Although on the other hand, if hundreds of Italians are giving a place 5 stars on TripAdvisor, that’s probably not a bad thing?

So this was what we pulled up to.

And these were the views out our window.

The gamble was a good one!  Our room had an upstairs loft for the kids, the Three Wise Men came to sing one night, and every morning we had Frühstucksbuffet in a room overlooking this valley planted in acres of vines.

Hotels in Europe usually provide breakfast and “half-board” which includes dinner too.  It’s taken me years to figure out that “half board” is breakfast and dinner, while “full board” is breakfast, dinner, and also lunch.  We don’t usually do any of the “boarding” because we like to go out and try new things, but we did have dinner one night at Hotel Pacher and I am still dreaming about that dinner!  Roasted duck and octopus salad, a smoked trout appetizer thing, and pureed potatoes that were more art form than actual food.   And the best part was that Jake and Eli wanted to stay in the room and watch a movie, so Mike and I had a date night!  The boys got to choose their Fun Dinner, which was ramen noodles and Chocolate Special K.  The spirit of vacation and having special dinners is all about perspective, isn’t it?

Italy also meant we had high hopes for pizza.  Down near the church square was a pizzeria called Kutscherhof, where we ended up going twice.  It was so good!  Nice wine, rustic wood tables, great staff that were buzzing with energy, and pizza straight out of…. Italy.

They also had a nice selection of Amari.

Mike and I historically never go to the same place twice, but we’ve changed over the years.  Why waste an opportunity to eat more of something you loved the first time?  And no corn or tuna on the menu.  Real pizza!

We loved Kutscherhof.  I think that means “carriage house” in German.

Another night we went to a place called Fink.  It was also wonderful, not a pizzeria, but a refined blend of the cuisine found in South Tyrol.  I had spinach ravioli with butter and sage, Eli had wild boar ragu, Jake had arugula pesto, and Mike had a huge plate of gulasch and dumplings.  After a long day of skiing, we also needed sacher torte and some coffee.

Italy is awesome!

And Hotel Pacher is awesome.

And we are definitely coming back.