A Day in Venice, Italy 🇮🇹

31/07/201802/09/2019Leave a comment

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Buongiorno Italia! Today’s blog is on a day in Venice, also known as Venezia, Italy. Venice is an island city that is surrounded by water. The only transportation visitors can take to travel around Venice is by boat or walking through the cobblestone streets. So, be sure to wear comfortable shoes. Venice, is filled with numerous famous attractions and things to do. It also has two small islands across the canal which include, The island of Murano and Burano. My top things to do in Venice included taking a Gondola ride, visiting the Saint Mark’s Basilica, and finally the island of Murano. The Gondola ride was fantastic and the most relaxing activity in Venice. It is a great way to see the city from a different perspective and learn about some of the history.

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The streets and piazzas in Venice were extremely crowded with tourists and the lines were so long that unfortunately, I couldn’t see Saint Mark’s Basilica from the inside.

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It is important to schedule your day to accommodate the local customs because there are very few restaurants that open before 7 pm for dinner. Many of the bars were open, yet only offered light snacks. Next, the island of Burano is filled with colorful houses and many hand crafted lace garments and linens. As a keep sake from the island of Burano, I bought a beautiful pink blouse with pearls sewn onto it.

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Finally, The island of Murano was full of glass artists that display their intricate glass works of art in shops. Some of the glass artists open their factories for glass blowing demonstrations. Their skill and talent for designing and developing their works of art is truly mind blowing.

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Venice, is a wonderful city to experience in Italy. I recommend doing all your exploring during the morning hours due to the busy crowds in the afternoon and evening. I also added a short video of the glass blowing down below for your enjoyment.

Ciao Italia!

Red Forest Cake

30/07/201802/09/2019Leave a comment

Black Forest Cake is a popular dessert over in Germany especially in the Black Forest., It is one of my favorite desserts. This dessert usually uses chocolate cake, but since I didn’t have the right cake mix, I decided to add my own spin on it by creating a Red Forest Cake using red velvet cake. This recipe is super easy to make, and is a great treat for dessert, a snack, or a special occasion. It is also a great recipe to get kids involved.I look forward to reading your comments!

Things you will need:

1 box red velvet cake (I used Betty Crocker)

1 ¼ cup of water

½ cup of vegetable oil

3 eggs

Toothpick

2 8 inch round cake pans

2 21 ounce cans of Cherry filling (I used Great Value)

Cool whip (16 oz)

Instructions for Cake:

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Spray pans with cooking spray
Divide batter between the two pans
Bake cake as directed on box until toothpick comes out clean
Let cake cool

Instructions for decorating:

Once cake is cool, cut the two cakes in half so you have 4 circle slices.

2. Spread cool whip over first slice.

3. Take some cherries and lay on top of cool whip.

4. Take second layer of cake and lay it on top and repeat steps 2 & 3 until all four layers are complete.

5. Put some cool whip in a bag and decorate cake as shown in the picture above.

6. Enjoy!!!!!!

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Note: If cool whip starts becoming too soft, place in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes.

Pizzeria Tortuga (Venice, Italy) 🇮🇹

28/07/201802/09/2019Leave a comment

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Buongiorno! Venice is an island city in Italy that is surrounded by water. The only transportation visitors can take to get around the city is to travel by boat or walk through the cobblestone streets. Vehicles are not an option. Venice, is filled with a variety of delicious pizzeria and pasta restaurants. However, I recommend visiting the smaller local mom and pop restaurants, to experience the atmosphere with traditional Italian dishes.

My favorite mom and pop restaurant in Venice, is Pizzeria Tortuga, where many of the locals eat. Pizzeria Tortuga is a small Italian restaurant that is located on Salizada dei Spechieri, around the corner from the ferry to Murano Island. They serve a variety of pizza, pasta, and wine. When customers walk in, they will find a variety of seating throughout the dining room, bar, and outside. The food was very delicious from start to finish. A few of my favorites included the Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce, Cannelloni, and Gnocchi with red sauce.

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Customers will find the food very fresh and reasonably priced, which makes it definitely worth it. Best pasta dishes I’ve had! The owner was very friendly and attentive to our needs. This restaurant was open extended hours between lunch and dinner, when all the other restaurants were closed, . Finally, customers who dine at Pizzeria Tortuga will find the atmosphere very relaxing in both the dining room and the bar, and full of activity outside. I look forward to coming back to this restaurant the next time I visit Venice.

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Ciao!

A Day in Verona, Italy 🇮🇹

27/07/201802/09/20191 Comment

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Verona is a city located in northern Italy, which is well known for William Shakespeare’s story, Romeo and Juliet.

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In fact, one of the popular attractions in Verona is Casa di Giulietta, also known as Juliet’s house. It is best to go first thing in the morning before the crowd arrives. People still write notes to Juliet hoping she’ll answer. However, it’s Juliet’s club that respond to the letters. A good example of this is the movie Letter’s to Juliet. The movie, Letter’s to Juliet, is set in Verona, Italy where a girl named Sophie visits the wall where all the people write to Juliet, until she finds a letter in the wall that was written years ago by a girl named Claire. She then takes it upon herself to respond to that letter, until one day Claire’s grandson Charlie stops by the secretary of Juliet’s office asking which one of them wrote the letter to his grandmother. Sophie is surprised Claire received the letter, and in return follows Charlie to where his grandmother is waiting in front of the wall where the letters lay. Sophie then asks Claire if she can help her find her long lost lover Lorenzo. So, they travel all around Italy to find him until they find him on a wine vineyard farm right outside Siena, another beautiful town in Italy.

Today in Verona, people cannot stick the letters up on the wall outside Juliet’s balcony anymore because they have been damaging the structure. In fact, if a letter is found stuck to the wall, people can be fined 500 euros.

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Inside the museum, you will find each room has time period artifacts depicting their way of life as well as photos and writings from William Shakespeare.

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There are many piazzas throughout the city with wonderful restaurants including the historic area of Verona called Centro Storico.

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Piazza delle Erbe and the Torre Dei Lamberti which you can walk or take the elevator to the top to get a beautiful view of the city.

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I suggest wearing comfortable walking shoes on the cobblestone streets and piazzas. Finally, another popular attraction in Verona that gets used for a lot for performances is the Arena di Verona. Arena di Verona in Piazza Bra, is a Roman amphitheater that was built in the first century, and is used for Italian operas. I truly enjoyed my time in Verona, and look forward to visiting again someday.

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Bernina Express

25/07/201802/09/2019Leave a comment

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Wow!! Do you like trains? Do you like adventures? Do you love some of the most beautiful scenery in the world? Or perhaps the coolest thing ever, do you want 15 minutes to take a selfie knee deep in one of the highest peaks in the Swiss Alps? If so, then the Bernina Express is your ticket!!! Traveling through Europe, the Bernina Express is definitely a train ride that shouldn’t be missed. Viewers will experience a breathtaking view of the Swiss Alps covered in snow, making the trip one of the most unforgettable experiences of a lifetime. The train winds through the mountains of the Swiss Alps providing a beautiful view of the landscape. The engineering marvels of train travel are inspiring when the cars traverse through the difficult terrain of the mountainous region. The spectacular scenery of snowcapped mountains provides breathtaking views of the stunning landscape of steep glacial mountains with quaint villages in the valley. One of the things I loved about the Bernina Express were the very large side and top windows in the train that has a panoramic view with a first class ticket. This allowed viewers to get amazing pictures of the scenery as well as enjoying the scenery as you pass through the alps and tunnels. The train offers free WiFi that I used todownloaded their iPad app that provided an audio guide with great information that provides facts and stories of the region as the train travels through the mountains. Throughout the ride, the train passes through 55 tunnels, and 196 bridges while going 70 mph. Customers also have the option to purchase a glass or a bottle of wine, champagne or coffee as well as some local cheese platters, pear bread, nut bread. I would definitely recommend the Bernina Express to anyone who is interested in heading down to Italy through Switzerland. Tickets can be purchased directly or through eurail.com. Here are the links:

https://www.rhb.ch/en/home

https://www.eurail.com/en/get-inspired/trains-europe/scenic-train-routes/bernina-express

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