Carnival in Italia

Howzit

Carnival, or in Italian 'Il Carnevale', is a traditional Italian festival celebrated before the beginning of Lent. It is celebrated in many regions across Italy each with their own significance, the most popular being the Carnival of Venice (Carnevale di Venezia). A celebration with parades, masks, wine, fried pastries, all ending on Shrove Tuesday (Martedì grasso)  preceding Ash Wednesday (Mercoledì delle Ceneri) the beginning of Lent (Quaresima), a period of forgiveness, penance, fasting, prayer and new beginnings.

In short 'Il Carnevale' generally signifies revelries, entertainment and feasts which are given up during the Lenten period.

It's a tradition that dates back to medieval times, times when pagans wearing masks danced around fires, praying for rain and warding off evil spirits and curses. All that remains today are the masks and amusements.

Frittelle

I'm not getting into all that celebrations only enjoying some crostoli and frittelle, typical carnival pastries, and I will enjoy a pancake or two on Shrove Tuesday, (Pancake Day) which is celebrated in the UK, then for 40days I will give up some luxuries, like chocolates and reality tv :p

Happy Pancake Day to all! 

12Feb13

Venezia

Awe awe

Caught the 10h15 train and it takes us about an hour to reach Venezia Santa Lucia. Today was one of those, no pressure just take in every moment kind of days, with near perfect weather conditions and low tide. Decided to walk from the station to Piazza San Marco via Rialto Bridge. It should be a 25-30min walk however with the tourist crowd and the January sale that has started we encountered lots of stopping and window shopping. I've been to Venice several times and I usually take lots of photos, not this time though, just enjoyed the slow walk and took in the impressive scenery.

Ending up at the Hard Rock Cafe  for lunch. While waiting to be seated I browsed the store and found this brass peace mood ring which, after contemplating for a quite while, I eventually purchased. Had myself a yummy hickory bacon cheese burger with a side of fries and crumbed onion rings and a Pepsi (I ordered a Coke and I hate that people think its the same thing, not a fan of pepsi, just saying).

Then we decided to take a different route back to Ferrovia where the train station is, and ended up being lost. Thats just great because being lost in Venice, with time to spare, is probably one of the coolest things, this is when you find the best little canals, bridges and alleyways, the true splendor of Venice.

Yes it was a short visit to Venice as the sun has set around 17h00 but I live an hours train ride away and will  soon be on another Venetian adventure.

                                                                                                                                              Happy Days

*Bear with me as I'm still getting the hang of this blogging business, recording events in detail with photos and such.

Just Peachy!

Finally I have arrived in the world of bloggers. Finding my feet won't be easy however I feel the time has come to find my own space on the World Wide Web. Still deciding on what the content might be based upon because I am a lover of many things : Travel, Cooking, Yoga, Nutrition, Fashion, Beauty, Dogs, Gardening, Psycology etc. So perhaps a general lifestyle blog. By no means am I an expert on any of these subjects, it will be based off of my personal experiences and knowledge, an honest overview and opinion. Here we go!

Lets start off with one of my many favourite recipes, Peach Cheesecake

Ingredients 
 350g Condensed milk
 200ml Fresh cream
 250g Philadelphia cream cheese
 420g Canned peach slices, drained
 2 Lemons
 2 tsps Gelatine
 80ml Hot Water
 200g Digestive biscuits

Combine condensed milk, fresh cream and cream cheese in a bowl.
Puree the sliced peaches in a blender and add to mixture.
Squeeze the juice from the lemons, removing any pips and add to mixture.
Soften the gelatine in hot water and mix well, then add to mixture.
Mix cheesecake until smooth  *Adjust sweetness to your liking
Crush the biscuits

Place a layer of biscuits then cheesecake mixture in tall glasses or dessert bowls (as I have done) and allow to set in the fridge for an hours or more. *I filled up 10 dessert bowls

Enjoy!



Nutrition: 100g peach                                  

•  Vitamin A 7%
•  Vitamin C 11%
•  Calcium 1%
•  Iron 1%
•  Potassium 5%
•  Fibre 6%

 %Daily Value*