Here we go again !!!
It is still cold ..but we have started to have nice warm days up to 21 ° ..so that means we are going towards the summer again. Just check the colours in the shop windows, gone are the grays and black..and out come the strong summer tones..and yes ice cream is back ..days are starting to get longer and well ..students are already counting the days till the end of school.
This month VINITALY
is on show along with various fairs ..maybe a good excuse to go to VERONA. You might also enjoy 
visting Velo Veronese a very pretty location ! Hope you have fun tasting !
CARNEVALE
We are all getting ready for Carnevale , this year I think most of us are going to opt for dressing up as fuzzy bear …or the abonimable snowman this for two reasons one being it is coldddd the other is that its a great way to hide the extra weight that is still there , yes indeed post festive diets are difficult to follow in Italy …there is always another festivity that involves food !!!
Try out the frappe recepie ..you can make an alchool free version..but life is short! Joking apart do try they are great , the first batch may not be perfect but if you try you will find they are quickto make and very tasty!
I hope to be out sailing again soon ! Come and join us !
LE SAGRE
Le Sagre
If you check the “manifesti “ posters stuck on the walls or billboards in your town you will see that every week end there are sagre . Sagre are traditional feasts and vary from town to town so for instance you will have the Sagra del Chìnghiale , wild boar feast with lots of dishes made of boar with music and dancing, or one with Tartufi, truffles with all the dishes served with truffle.
One of my favourite is the one for Cioccolato in Perugia ………in which everything is made of chocolate. Sagre are a good way of spending a day out visiting a town and getting to know the area and local food.
So next time you go out, look for the posters, remember that on 3 day events the Friday is the calmest , Saturday the busiest but Sundays are full too and go early if you want to park nearby as you know each Italian has 5 cars …just kidding ….but you know they all want to park nearby so be the first or be prepared to walk !
You can check out all the events on www.sagreinitalia.it
Enjoy !
Laura
Election Time….
Well folks, here we are another election gone by !!! And who won ??? Berlusconi this time! As you can see the players are always the same they just switch places now and again.
The good news is, it seems one of the first things he is going to do is to abolish ICI : aha so you are wondering how this piece of news may affect your life.
Well ICI is a tax that ALL house owners must pay in Italy - even non residents, so it affects everyone and hopefully means one less things to pay!
Well only 100000000000 others left !
A presto enjoy the sun !
Laura
Spring is coming…
Well…what’s new?
I can feel the spring arriving walking along the sea front I can start to think about the summer
All the “locali” along the beach front are getting ready so they are opening again at week ends !
It is period of first communions, confirmations, weddings so…food for all.
Shop windows are starting to fill up with colours and Easter Eggs are everywhere. Huge chocolate eggs with a large gift inside, and after a while the shape of the egg becomes the shape we get after overindulging!!!!
Everyone gets to the stage where, like turkey, they have lots of pieces of chocolate from their egg left over so that’s what you get offered and there are all the different recepies conjured up to use up the chocolate: chocolate cake, melted in milk, biscuits ectc…not that I mind being a chocoholic, this is the only period that no one notices my addiction as they are all eating it!!!!
Remember any questions you have you can write in info@vivereitaly.com
Ciao
A presto
Buona Pasqua
Laura
NATALE !
Natale
Well a mad rush to the shops whatever country you live in but here it seems more than the presents it is the food. Everyone is getting their menu sorted, here the Vigilia , Christmas Eve, is even more important than Christmas Day itself and in many families presents are opened after the dinner and then there is Midnight Mass whilst others opt for the morning mass.
If you are flying over remember it is cold here too! At the moment we have had temperatures of -2 , -3 for over a week so wrap up !
I took a walk around Loreto (AN) today and enchanting town that most of you know as it is considered the place where the virgin mary’s house was transported to . For those who believe and as I learnt today , the stones were transported to Loreto and a fortress was built around them, this fortress became the Basilica but if you look at it carefully it is indeed clearly a fortress.
Food and wine and chocolate ……….. a good selection with another great taste Visciola a sweet sherry type liquor that is fantastic especially in this season, it is made from visciola cherries ,the one I tasted was made by a friend in Serra De Conti (AN) www.visciolata.it I must say an impressive taste and very good for the soul !!
Well I, unlike most of you, am still totally disorganized………have not bought anything not even come up with a menu that I am sure will be a last minute choice made with my children that will involve a lot of baking mixing and generally a large messy kitchen ! But that is how we celebrate Christmas !
The Christmas mess!
Well a huge hug to you all and
BUON NATALE
Laura
VALENTINO ROSSI
Well I know this is not my normal approach to describing a month’s events or choosing a topic but Valentino I feel cannot be ignored!
Valentino Rossi is such a “personaggio” that he goes beyond the screen and his love for the UK is not a simple tax scam , so well worth a mention .
The system in Italy is so limiting Valetino is not to be singled out, it is the norm , just check all those who have some sort of capital, politicans included, they all choose other countries but only a few admit it.
Maybe this should make those who create the tax regulations wonder if there is something not quite right!
As for Valentino I think he deserves all he has, he has worked hard to be where he is and the fact he loves London cannot but add to his charm !
Last weeks of August , everyone is starting to return and towns are slowly filling up again , it is soon going to be a mad rush for school books, bags, ecc …as schools will be starting in little more than two weeks time. I believe that many mothers around that time intend to celebrate . I wonder why ?
THE MARCHE IN JULY
July
It has been lovely and hot, at times a little too hot but still enjoyable.
We have all been out and about but in true Italian style… early in the morning back in by eleven and rest until four,five o’clock and out late in the evening !!!!!!
Life in the summer starts in the evening!
There are also the NOTTI BIANCHE literally ‘white nights’ in which all the shops stay open and you can walk in the town centres enjoy the sights and maybe treat yourself to something .
Stopping for an aperitivo is one of life’s little luxuries, being able to have a drink outside and being served stuzzichini ( salty nibbles) whilst catching up with friends or colleagues is highly enjoyable and there are many places that specialize in just that .
The beaches are now full whilst most offices are quite empty so not a good time to get paperwork done or if you have an urgency , there used to be a total stop in the summer but now, even if slow, things still work ! So a large does of patience is required !
Enjoy your holiday !!!!
LAURA
MAGGIO
On the 1st of May in Italy it is a national holiday and you will see lots of families go out and eat in parks or in the country side. The tradition is to eat Fave, fresh Pecorino and Lonza but I have the feeling that the tradition of going out has remained but the menu has undergone variations Although the traditional menu accompanied by a nice white wine certainly makes for a pleasant day out!
Everyone is starting to feel summer is on its way especially the students as May is the last full month of school and the sunshine starts creeping through the windows and students start to think less of the subject they are studying and more about the way in which they would like to spend the holidays !
But not only students start to feel the summer……..the beach resorts start filling up and during the week ends there are many people who go along the each for a stroll whilst the braver ones actually go for a swim!
May is also the month of the Papaveri ( poppies ) if you look out onto the fields the contrast between the gold and the red of the poppies is breathtaking!
Buon 1 Maggio!
APRILE
So here we are getting ready for summer Pasqua has passed and we have all eaten the last of the chocolate ……………..or at least some of us and are starting to get ready for summer.
Along the seafront the resturants are starting to get busy again ….gelato is now a must !
There is already a lot of kite surfing , cycling along the sea front and we are all getting ready so the portions of pasta are getting smaller and the passeggiate are getting longer !!
The sun brings smiles to all except those who drive whose temper decreases in proportion to the rise in heat ! So if you thought Italian driving was bad during the winter , autumn and spring …..watch out for the summer !!!!
It has up until now been glorious and a walk along the beach followed by a pizza and gelato are the best way to relax !
Enjoy !
Laura
