osmize in Carso. August, Thursday 15th

for august short break marco and i decided to take a 4 days roadtrip by lambretta. it was our very first trip by lambretta headed abroad, to our neighbor Slovenia. anyway, our first stop was still in Italy, very close to the state line. the Karst Plateau {Carso, in italian} is a plateau area extending in both Italy and Slovenia. 

for a very long time, the first thing that pop up in my mind when it came to Carso was First World War and its memory and legacy still very linked to the territory. but, since last year when a friend introduced me to that, i have a new (and better) feature to think about -and love- about this place: osmize. 

an osmiza (or osmica) is a restaurant opened temporarily from a farm to sell its products. it's typical of Trieste's surroundings and all the Carso area. originally, the opening period was eight days, which in slovenian is said osem, so they're called osmize, even if the opening time is longer nowadays. 

for me, the most fascinating thing about osmize is that they're not easy to find. they're mostly located in the backyards of the farmers homes in tiny villages, and a result of their temporary opening is that you're never sure if they're open until you go there. 

{websites like osmize.net and osmize.com, which host an updated calendar, are an huge help!}

the bright side is that there are so many osmize that if you're wandering around Carso sooner or later you will see an arrow hanging above a bunch of leafy branches: it's a frasca, it indicates that an osmiza is near you.

a frasca, which indicates a near osmiza

it's like entering a secret garden, but full of delicious food. the atmosphere is the same you feel when you're at a family lunch: informal, intimate.
many kinds of salami and cheese are usually the main dishes on the menu, with a side of hard boiled eggs, pickled vegetables, olives and, of course, local wines.

simple food, very (very) cheap price.

osmiza Gabrovec - Prepotto

hard boiled eggs 

visiting Carso again, looking at the bright gold of its summer landscapes, relaxing in a couple of osmize was just the perfect beginning for our roadtrip.

osmiza's tables in a home courtyard

ready to continue our journey towards Ljubljana

{nikon f-801 + fuji superia 200}

i know i've been slow in posting lately, september has been crazy!
i didn't stay out of the web writing completely, though. you can find these photos and more info about osmize on my post for Cosebelle Mag here (italian only), and i did a guest post on Green Holiday Italy, a lovely blog about responsible travel in Italy (in english!). thanks again for the opportunity, dear anna.