How anyone gets around Venice without google maps is beyond me, although for years we all did. Were we just better with directions then? Have we forgotten because we don’t need to try anymore? Without google maps, we would have had no chance of stumbling upon this Venetian chocolate shop. It was founded in 2005 by Mariangela who it seemed left the fashion industry to become a chocolatier. I don’t know how good she was in fashion, but she is a fantastic chocolatier and makes stunning creations worth a detour for.

While sitting inside her beautiful but very empty shop we watched as literally hundreds of tourists walked by the front door, too preoccupied looking down at the maps on their phones to look up to see that they were walking by a chocolate paradise. Not so luck for Mariangela, but lucky for us I guess as we had the whole place to ourselves. The store offers everything chocolate related you might be looking for, from bars and bonbons, to baked goods. They even offer a range of Italian and English chocolate workshops every week so be sure to check these out if you are planning a visit.

They have several hot chocolates on offer but we chose the Goldoni hot chocolate. It is a typical, thick pudding like Italian hot chocolate made with pure Criollo cocoa from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic (apparently, although I won’t get into here the fact that there is very little “pure” criollo cacao in the world so this is unlikely, especially in the case of the Dominican Republic, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful chocolate!) with a secret mix of herbs and spices based on a Venetian recipe from 1750 and prepared with hot water. I think we visited on a bad day because it tasted strangely burnt so we weren’t able to finish it, but those secret spices shine through and are a warming addition (and the chocolate covered candied orange peel l it came with was divine). A true chocolate paradise.

VizioVirtu Cioccolateria, Calle del Forner, 5988, Venice, Italy. Hours: 10:00-19:00. www.viziovirtu.com @viziovirtu

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When I was a kid, I used to eat a lot of gelato and this was one of our regular haunts. Right across from the Pantheon, it boasts having over 150 different gelato flavors. While this famous shop is very popular later in the day with tourists and locals alike, stop in around breakfast time and you get the place to yourself, plenty of time to admire all of the flavors on offer and to grab one of the few seats outside. Buy your ice cream ticket at the cash and then bring it over to the ice cream counter to get your cone

If you are in the mood for chocolate ice cream, interestingly Della Palma offers several options all called by the origin of the beans the chocolate used is made from. The idea is that each will have distinct flavor notes, some possibly more fruity, others more nutty. I didn’t order the chocolates but instead a hot chocolate. This one is the definition of an Italian hot chocolate, so thick I had to “sip” it with a spoon. It wasn’t particularly tasty (I don’t think they use any of the chocolates they use in their ice cream but rather a powder that tastes a bit like cornstarch), but sitting outside with a view of the Pantheon watching the shops wake up for the day was a great welcome to the city.

Gelateria Della Palma, 19-23 Via della Maddalena, Rome Italia. Hours: 8:30-24:00. www.gelateria-della-palma.shop

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We’ve been driving through the Dolomites for a few days now, a never-ending gift of stunning views. Just when we felt that it would be good to take a little sweet break, we passed Pasticceria Mastai. Luckily there is a turning circle right after the Pasticceria so we were able to turn around and park in the parking lot right across the street. It was, it seems, all meant to be. Inside the pastry shop is busy. This is an Italian Pasticceria at its best offering the full range of Italian treats in full sized versions, one portion pieces and also in little mini versions. For 1euro 50 each you can choose a selection of Italian sweets to share; a little rhum baba, a little chocolate salami…highly recommended and every one of our choices was so good we were all arguing over how to fairly cut them each into 4 pieces.

The hot chocolate was a classic Italian, chocolate pudding like hot chocolate. A warning, this one was boiling hot and topped with very cold panna (whipping cream). I burnt my tongue on the first sip but luckily only after having tasted all the pastries (which lasted all of 10 seconds on the plate). A fantastic stop.

Pasticceria Mastai, Viale Consoli Chiavennaschi, 3, Chiavenna, Italy. Hours: 5:45-20:00. www.mastai.it @pasticceriamastai

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There is a lot of talk about the Alps, but they aren’t the only mountains in Europe. While the snowy peaks of the Alps are impressive, I’d steer you east instead, towards the Dolomites in Italy. The quiet (at least in autumn) twisty roads wind their way up and down the mountains, through picture perfect towns and fields of wandering cows with bells tied around their necks that clank as they walk. The weather changes quickly, from warm and sunny to cool, cloudy and rainy at almost every turn.

Whether it is summer or winter, the gondolas are open everyday to take visitors up to the very top of the mountains. Because of the constantly changing weather in the Dolomites, plan to make your way up the mountains first thing in the morning, or, even better, see if you can stay for the night in one of the refuges at the top of the mountain. You will be rewarded with sunset drinks and breakfast sunrises. We planned to take the very first gondola up and kept our fingers and toes crossed the whole way up, hoping that the clouds would stay away and gift us with stunning views. We got our views on the way up, but once at the top, we were walking in the clouds. 

Luckily Friedrich August is easy to find. It’s light just a short walk from the gondola station is like a beacon in the fog and once you step in the front door it is warm and cosy and dry. Dogs are allowed inside, and several tables have well behaved puppies napping under tables, strangely uninterested in the delicious treats being served on top of the tables. 

While here, the thing to order is the krapfen alla crema for 3 euros. It is a donut filled with cream, the perfect pairing for their hot chocolate (8 euros) which is quite basic, made with a sweetened cocoa powder mix but elevated substantially with the addition of panna (whipped cream), rum (if you are so inclined) or even both and then elevated even further by being delivered by a waitress in traditional dress.

After our drinks and snacks we get some cuddles with Gus the husky seated at (or rather under) the next table and then take a look around the café/resturant which is filled with little nooks and crannies celebrating the region. Outside, the piece de resistance, are several yaks and highland cows, all very friendly and photogenic. Definitely a highlight of our time in the Dolomites.

Rifugio Friedrich August, Locality Col Rodella, Passo Sella, Canazei, Italy www.friedrichaugust.it @rifugio_friedrich_august

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Cortina is a town in the Dolomites, the most beautiful mountain range too many people have never heard of (but which is UNESCO World Heritage). It is the ski base for the rich and famous. It will also be one of the hosts of the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics. And you can tell. The amount of construction everywhere is mind blowing. They are getting ready and they are getting ready fast. The Olympics rings are already installed and we got the mandatory picture with them. 

Along the main pedestrian road there are several cafes that all have beautiful terraces and typical Italian hot chocolates but we chose Pasticceria Alvera and were not disappointed. First opened as a bakery in 1914, this shop also became a pastry shop in 1954. It has seen the city transform and transformed with it. We enjoyed our drinks and pastries outside on the terrace with a view of the nearby pistes (and construction). The hot chocolate was beautiful, silky smooth, thick, but not overly decadent (4.50 euros). We also had to order it with a tiramisu which was pretty lackluster to be honest (mostly cream with a dusting of cocoa powder). But the rest of the pastries looked absolutely amazing and the café sitting area, both inside and outside, are well worth a stop, regardless of what you order. 

Pasticceria Alvera, Piazza Pittori Fratelli Ghedina 14, Cortina, Italy Pasticceria Alvera.com 

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Italy isn’t really a sit and enjoy a long breakfast kind of place. The best, fastest, and cheapest way to start your day is by visiting a coffee, bakery or pasticceria, ordering at the country, enjoying your food and drinks right there at the counter and then paying when you leave. It takes a bit of skill to get the attention of the staff, since there is no obvious line or order. But the staff know what they are doing. They know who arrived first, they know what you ordered and how much you owe. The system works great.

We walked several kilometres to enjoy a sweet breakfast at Tonolo, considered to be one of the best Pasticcerias in town according to the locals. It also seems to be on some tourist lists because there were equal number of tourists, obvious because many of them didn’t even bother to order in Italian, they just assumed English would be fine. 

Choose a cream filled pastry, a must in Italy. It obviously has all the nutrients andn vitamins you need to start your day because the Italians are doing fine fuelled by them. If you order a coffee, here it is served in beautiful ceramic cups. The hot chocolte, not so much. It was more a hot milk with a little bit of sweetened cocoa powder in it, just a little bit, like a dusting. It came with a very generous serving of unsweetened whipped cream or panna in Italian. This is important because if you order a hot chocolate, you will be asked, “con panna?” And your answer should generally be “si”. A bit of calcium in whipped form. A complete breakfast.

Overall, highly recommend this stop, but skip the hot chocolate and get a chocolte pastry instead…or two…or three.

Pasticceria Tonolo, Calle S. Pantalon, Venice, Italy 

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How visitors to Venice figured out how to move around the city before Google Maps is beyond me. Turn right, then left, then right, then over 4 bridges…and then don’t forget where you came from because you need to get back there at the end of the day. It all works out in the end. Somehow you always find your way back. But over 4 days we must have passed Boresso three dozen times. Finally, on our last morning in Venice, we decided to stop in for breakfast.

We set up on one of two tables outside. The other was occupied by two older men who obviously come here every single morning, perhaps even multiple times during the day. They quickly get deep into a conversation about a mutual friend who made a stupid decision, “stupid” one kept repeating, “very stupid” the other one kept replying. Inside, a wide selection of pastries and cichetti coexist on the counter. The owner of the café, a large white dog, is asleep on the floor, blocking the way of patrons who quite honestly are not fussed. The dog has delegated running the café to the humans who are doing an amazing job, all of them very friendly and easy going. 

When the weather is nice, you aren’t in a rush, you have a good table to sit on and a pastry to eat, any hot chocolate frankly will be pretty good. I don’t know what was in this one other than that, on this particular morning, it was very nice, even maybe with a hint of ginger. It was likely just a sweetened cocoa powder mix, but I decided not to look into it further. Why ruin a perfectly fine moment. 

Boresso, Salizada San Stae, 1908, Venice Italy. Open 7am to 8pm.

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After two days of searching for hot chocolates in Rome and finding only amazing gelato instead (tough luck I know…), I was starting to wonder if Rome had any really good hot chocolates. My search wasn’t getting me very far. Yes, they are beautifully smooth and thick, but that thickness isn’t chocolate, it’s cornstarch, and too often you can taste it. Instead, I decided to switch to exploring Rome’s chocolate desserts, of which there are many, and that was infinitely more satisfying. With this new focus, it wasn’t long before I was rewarded with not only a good dessert, but surprise good hot chocolate! but it wasn’t Roman at all, but thanks to Sicily.

Nonna Vincenza was born in Enna, Sicily and loved pastries so much that she started making them when she was only six. In 1997 she opened her own pastry shop and has been making traditional Sicilian sweets since then. The most popular item on the menu here is definitely the cannolo, a tube shaped, fried pastry shell filled with sweet, creamy filling, in my case, chocolate.

We came here because they claim to have the best cannolo al cioccolato which it was for me, although I’ll admit I am not expert. The counter is packed with regulars, many taking little breaks from work to have a quick espresso, a little cannolo, a little chat, throw a few coins on the counter and then return to work. We find a table with a view of all of this, and linger for as long as we possibly can to let our tired feet rest from all the walking (looking for chocolate desserts is tough work). The hot chocolate is dark, the perfect thickness, pudding like but still drinkable. It is velvety and has a classic chocolate flavor. The slight bitterness in the drink is balanced by the generous sweetness of the cannolo so yes, you should not limit yourself to ordering just one of the two. They are meant to go together.

Rome is a walking city. if I had one tip for visiting Rome it would be to not plan it too much. A first timer will be tempted, understandably, to pre book visits to all the major sites, the Vatican, the Colloseum. Each will take a good part of the day to visit between the lining up and walking, packed in like sardines, through the buildings. But that isn’t Rome. Rome is best discovered by exploring without any plan and luckily there will always be gelato stops or bakeries to fuel your journey. If you walk right out of the caffe, you will reach the Tevere river and to the left you are close to the markets of Campo de’ Fiori. 

I Dolci di Nonna Vincenza, Via dell’Arco del Monte, 98 dolcinonnavincenza.com

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Nothing moves quickly in Siena at 8am on a Saturday morning, nor should it. The tourists are, for the most part, still enjoying their hotel breakfasts. There are a few, like us, wondering around early. When the kids wake you up at 6am every morning regardless of what time they go to bed the night before (in this case, very late), you get to see cities before they become cities. As we soon found out, even the tourist attraction we were looking to visit wouldn’t be open for a few hours. A garbage truck noisily makes the rounds, wiping out all evidence of whatever might have happened around here the night before. The terraces on Piazza del Campo are setting up their tables and chairs, the staff of each gossiping across cafes and shouting hellos to locals walking to work, or to coffee, or back home perhaps. We stand right in the middle of the Piazza, admiring City hall where we got married several years back. The kids are more interested in running laps round the square (circle) than listen to us reminisce. Our stomaches start to rumble so we go in search of pastries.

Just outside the square, we are gifted with Caffè Fiorella. There is a steady stream of locals walking in and out, all calling each other out by name, so many in fact that we thought the cafe was much bigger than it actually was. There is space for maybe 8 people (like a large elevator) but there are probably more like 20 in there at any one time. You order, enjoy your drink and then pay when you leave, no matter whether you are a local or someone they will never see again.  

The breakfast of champions here is a pastry (with cream filling mandatory) and a drink, in my case a hot chocolate, made with hot milk and cocoa powder, elevated substantially by its pairing with the pastry, and even more so by the general atmosphere of the space. On its own it was a sad excuse for a hot chocolate, quite hot but not very chocolate, not even the thick Italian pudding style.  But who cares. It’s Siena, the weather is beautiful, we were lucky enough to get a spot at the tiny elevated counter space. All is good with the world. 

Caffe Fiorella was founded in 1985 by Fiorella who opened her first café in Follonica, a small seaside town near Grosseto. She experimented with different coffees until she created the perfect mix. This passion eventually engaged her whole family and today it has been carried on by her son Francesco. Today they have several cafes and roasteries in the region, including this one in Siena. Their unique blend is made from beans from Asia and Africa. 

Once you have had your breakfast, walk over to the Duomo di Siena. Line up on the far side of the church as you will have to buy tickets. I always thought it was free to enter church’s, and it was last time we were here, but it seems the times are changing. We weren’t interested in the church, instead go over to the much quieter Panorama dal Facciatone and walk all the way to the top, bypassing all of the historic artwork (you can admire it on the way back down). There is a steep set of stairs that basically bring you up to the roof where you get the most incredible views of not just Siena, but Tuscany. Few people seem to known this is here, and we only know because we had our wedding pictures taken up here. It is truly stunning. 

Caffe Fiorella Siena, via Pieve 4, Siena, caffefiorella.it

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Confetteria Moriondo e Gariglio is the oldest chocolate shop in Rome, founded in 1850 by cousins Agostino Moriondo and Francesco Gariglio. It is very centrally located, not far from the Pantheon.

You don’t see a lot of chocolate shops that look like this anymore. Walking in feels a bit like walking back in time. It’s not all magical though. At first it feels a little dark and uninviting. The displays are a little dusty and empty in some parts or in other areas exploding with so much variety than one almost feels overwhelmed by the selection. It doesn’t feel like the bright chocolate shops we are used to today (that also sell chocolate for a much higher price than this Confetteria it is worth mentioning, for the same or lesser quality products than you can get here). 

But the space grows on you and we ended up spending much longer in this little wonderland than I originally expected. The kids, not surprisingly, loved it. In addition to a range of flavored and filled bonbons, they also make chocolates of every shape you can imagine, everything sold by the piece, and everything we tasted was very nice. But what really makes it special isn’t the chocolate but the staff who are warm and friendly, generous with their smiles and their servings (especially if you are under the age of 10). 

The chocolatier himself went out back to prepare my hot chocolate, I suspect from the flavor using the same couverture they use for their chocolates. Unfortunately, despite the café area set up to enjoy it, the hot chocolate was presented in a disposable cup which, at least for me, always takes away from the experience. It was a very sweet dark chocolate, not one I was able to finish, but with a good chocolate flavor and lovely consistency. 

Confetteria Moriondo e Gariglio, Via del Pie di Marmo, 21-22 moriondoegariglio.com 

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