Now most of us perhaps think of beer as being more of a Northern European thing… after all, the Southerners have wine. We in the North aren’t that great at making wine… so they won’t be great at making beer. Stands to reason, right? Um, wrong. Dratted Southerners… Birra in Villa in Castel San Giorgio…
Tag: Italian
Survival Guide – Coffee
Coffee. Many of us are addicted to the stuff. The Italians however take coffee obsession to a whole new level, and sometimes it can seem as though there are as many types of coffee in Italy as there are pasta shapes – that’s a lot of coffee people! It can get confusing, especially as there…
Survival Guide – The Aperitivo
The Italians call it happy hour, but it is unlike any happy hour any of us anglosaxons are familiar with. The drinks don’t cost any less than at other times, in fact they may even cost a couple of euros more… the difference is that you get fed! This can be anything from some salted…
“Regù” Salernitano
No, not a mispelling. I really do mean Regù, not Ragù. They say that traditional is best and that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and traditional Ragù Bolognese certainly isn’t broken but one of our friends, Domenico decided he was going to “fix” the recipe anyway, and change the name to make it…
Wordy Wednesday – B for Bella Figura
Wordy Wednesday is back and as promised is sticking to the alphabet. Today I am going to attempt to explain the incredibly Italian concept of the Bella Figura (literally “good face”) This is a phrase you will hear often in conversation. When used positively it is accompanied by smiles and immense enthusiasm “che bella figura…
Survival guide – the Dress Code
Or… how not to stand out like a sore thumb on holiday in Italy. Now you might be asking yourself who the heck cares about dressing like an Italian, especially if you are just on holiday, and certainly you want to make sure that you are comfortable while travelling. Now hold that thought and consider:…
Wordy Wednesday – Italian non-words
Italian, just like English and probably every other language in the world, is full of non-words. Little mannerisms and interjections. Things you won’t find in the dictionary and won’t learn in a class, but which will help you to understand the Italians and to fit in with them. Here is a very brief list to…
Survival Guide – What not to do in Italy
There are oodles of guides out there on life in Italy, on how to fit in and how to get by. Some of them offer excellent advice, some of them make it plain from their ignorance that they have never once set foot in the Bel Paese. I have an advantage, in that I am…
Linguine with king prawns, lemon and almonds
Linguine al profumo di limone e mandorle from Campania Since my last post focused on Italy as the country of luuuuurve I thought it would be appropriate to share with you guys one of the courses I cooked for Valentine’s day this year. Valentine’s day has become incredibly commercial, kitsch and above all EXPENSIVE here…
Wordy Wednesday – Amore
Wednesdays from now on will be dedicated to a word in the Italian language. Where possible I will stick to the alphabet, although X might be a bit of a bummer so I’ll probably end up skipping that one… The first word with A is easy: Amore. Love. It’s what Italy is all about. It’s the reason…
The perks of living in Italy
One of the very best things about living in this part of Italy is that at the weekend, particularly in the summer, all you need to do is take the car (or even better, the vespa) for a 10-15 minute drive and you can stop for a coffee/icecream/beer/other (delete-as-appropriate) in one of the most stunning…
lovefromitaly 