Month: November 2015

Here 20 “Osterias” not to miss in Italy // 20 osterie da non perdere in Italia

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A few weeks ago I was so lucky to spend a week in Sardinia, visit the artistic town of San Sperate, not far from Cagliari, and eat at a very good “Osteria”. See the link here for the definition of Osteria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteria The Osteria I’ve been to is called: “Da Ada”, San Sperate (CA). It’s the number 20 of 20. And if you want to know more of this good restaurant and the town where is located, read my blog post here: https://lavaleandherworld.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/san-sperate-a-hidden-gem-in-sardinia-8-reasons-to-visit-it-san-sperate-e-uninesperata-gemma-campidana-sardegna-8-ragioni-per-visitarla/ Here at the link below is the full list of 20 “Osterias” not to miss in Italy by ‘Corriere della Sera’: http://cucina.corriere.it/libri/cards/osterie-d-italia-20-nuovi-indirizzi-non-perdere/mangiare-slow-a-prezzi-pop_principale.shtml?cmpid=SF020103COR  Have you been to any of these? Or are you planning to visit any of these? ———- // ———- Qualche settimana fa’ ho avuto la fortuna di passare una settimana in Sardegna e di visitare il paesino artistico di San Sperate, e proprio qui di mangiare ad una buona osteria, citata tra le 20 da non perdere dal ‘Corriere della sera’. L’osteria in questione si chiama “Da Ada”. E se …

What is bushwalking? Here the Top 10 walks in & around Melbourne // Cos’e’ il “bushwalking”? Le 10 passaggiate Top a Melbourne e dintorni

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Australia is a land where you can walk a lot. If only because it’s a huge island 🙂 We might not be able to do a lot of climbs uphill very high, although you can still do some, but you can definitely bushwalk. What is bushwalking? This is a word I discovered the first time I went to Australia in 2002 and it is basically walking in the bush, the Australian bush, which is the typical vegetation of Australia. Here’s the definition of a bushwalk by wikipedia: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bushwalk If you live in Melbourne, you’ve plenty of options of day trips and walk just 1 hour outside the city or even around the city. Here is the list of the Top 10 walks in and around Melbourne as published by “Concrete Playground”. Read at the following link: http://concreteplayground.com/melbourne/travel-leisure/leisure/the-ten-best-walks-in-and-around-melbourne/ Have you tried them all already? Which is your favourite? ———- // ———- In Australia sicuramente si puo’ camminare molto. Fosse solamente per la grandezza dell’isola che non lascia dubbi 🙂 Certo magari non si possono fare molte …

What is the Lichterfest in Zurich? // Cos’e’ la “Lichterfest” di Zurigo?

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A friend of mine invited me to go to the Lichterfest in Zurich on the Bahnofstrasse and I decided to invite an American friend of mine that I was supposed to meet on that very same afternoon. We decided to meet just 5 minutes before 6pm, when the event would take place. And you’ll think: “what are you talking about?” Well, I’m talking about the fraction of a second when the Xmas lights are lit up on the Bahnofstrasse, the main street of Zurich, to celebrate the start of the new Christmas season. Well, as always, It took my tram in time to get there and when I was supposed to change and take the 2nd tram, well I just decided I’d walk because trams were full and a huge crowd was invading the square and the rest of the Bahnoffstrasse. So, it basically took me 15 mins to reach my meeting point, while I watched the lights being lit up while walking. It was nice, but the street was so crowded and people were …

Needing an Unconventional Xmas Gift Idea? Want to support a Special Project? “On the Glo” is the way to go!!! // State cercando un’idea regalo originale per Natale? Magari supportando un Progetto Speciale? Ecco la soluzione: “On the Glo”!!!

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Well, how did I find about the “On The Glo” Project? As most times, through a dear friend. We were catching up after a while, since I moved to Australia. When you’re far away you’re more prone to tell about yourself, your dreams, your projects, and so on. And so I did share with Titti my interest and passion towards jewellery and the desire of keeping this passion alive and maybe creating something in the future. The entrepreneurship theme seems to be a pretty trendy topic lately, although I’ve known it all my life somehow, unconsciously or not, since I was a kid, but had to go through a lot of amazing, exciting and interesting experiences before understanding my motivation, interests, etc… in short myself more deeply. And that’s when Titti told me about “On the Glo”, her sister’s project. So here’s my interview to uncover this fantastic Project! It’s a useful thing, it’s a fashionable thing, that keeps you safer and also an unconventional Xmas gift idea for you! You really need to read …

#Expovina Zürich: wine, #wine and more wine! // Expovina Zurigo: vino, vino e ancora vino!

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Some Aussie friends, that I met recently, were talking about going to a wine festival on boats on lake Zurich. In my head I thought: ” what an interesting way of letting people taste and enjoy wine. Of course, the lake better be calm if you are usually sea-sick or, in this case, lake-sick! ;)” A week later I received the invitation to go together. I was trying to understand how long would this wine cruise take until I actually found out that the 12 or more boats at the Expovina were actually anchored at port ahah What a big laugh! The entrance is 25chf, and you usually better have cash, which could sound expensive. But since companies participating are actually distributors and you pay such a fee, you actually get to taste a lot of wine. Some just pour up to 1/4-1/3 of a glass. So definitely a fun activity, especially when you have to climb the different boats stairs 😉 So I’d suggest to have a hearty meal, or even a hot dog …

10+ things to do on a weekend in Paris

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Paris sera toujours Paris. Paris will always be Paris. And despite the fact I had been 3 times previously in the past, I still wanted to go back after a long time, and this time with Carlo. The occasion was a small family reunion after living 3 years in Australia and a Xmas gift for Carlo’s parents on behalf of Carlo’s sister and her husband. Here are at least 12 tips of things to do in Paris on a weekend: 1.Pay a visit to the Louvre, even if you’ve been there before. By the way they built a shopping centre underneath it which is just fabulous and already beautiful decorated for Xmas.  Very good we booked the tickets in advance, so no queue for the museum. And, by the way, if you don’t want to die inside the Louvre, just plan to see just a part of it right at the start. We focussed on the Italian section (maybe biased? 😉 and spent a bit more than 2 hours inside, of course without missing the …

Almond and raisins soft sponge cake // Torta soffice alle mandorle e uvette

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Here’s a cake recipe good for every season and every moment of the day, from the morning breakfast to the afternoon tea, or the coffee break to the dinner dessert. INGREDIENTS: 200gr white flour 80gr of polenta or “Maizena” 4 eggs 180gr sugar 100gr butter (I used the lactose free) 4-5 spoons of olive oil 4 spoonfuls of almond flakes 50gr of raisins or more if you like 1 glass of milk a pinch of salt 1 baking powder sachet (16gr) 1 grated lemon zest PREPARATION (15-20 mins) Mix the melted butter,  the sugar and the oil into a bowl. Once the mix is smooth, add the 4 eggs, but add them one by one i.e.  add the following one only when the previous egg has been well mixed. Add the milk and the salt and mix with the mixer then the grated lemon zest and mix gently with a spatula. Then add the flour, the corn flour and the baking powder, mix everything and at the end add the raisins and the almond flakes. …

And the raclette season is open! // La stagione della raclette e’ ufficialmente aperta!

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Last Saturday we went close to home to Amstad Chaeslaedeli, a typical proximity Swiss Cheese shop that sells cheese, but not only, also for example milk, pasta, wine, etc… and some gourmet food. We went there because they were celebrating the start of the raclette season. They offered a cheese and alcohol tasting. You could choose among many types of flavoured raclette cheese. We tried the saffran and the chilly ones and they were absolutely delicious! We tasted with sake, which I don’t know whether it was the right combination, but it was ok. You could also choose to stay there for lunch at very reasonable prices for Zurich, that is: a raclette dish with potatoes, pickled onions and cucumbers for 6CHF a glass of wine for 4CHF Everything was very good and the atmosphere very welcoming and relaxed. People form the neighbourhood got together, chatted, laughed, ate and drank in a very friendly atmosphere. You could also taste schnapps form the behind mountain and beer. Anyway, photos speak more than words! A very fun …