Saturnia: Paradise or Reality?

A few days ago my parents and I decided to go to the Spa in Saturnia.

My mum had wanted to go there for many years and on Wednesday morning we finally go around to going there. We left the house in the morning and after driving through seemingly endless green Tuscan fields, we finally arrived there. It s just 180 km from home and it took us 2 hours to get there.

We stayed in the Hotel there and I got a single bedroom overlooking the main pool from which the thermal water springs. There was a strong smell of sulfer but after a few minutes you got used to it and didn't smell it anymore.

In the afternoon I tried a few waterfalls and a cardiovascular circuit which both help your circulation and help relax your muscles. In the evening I got a Stone Therapy Massage after which I felt really relaxed and my muscles really enjoyed it. In the evening we had dinner in the Tuscan Reasturant in the Hotel and I shared a lovely Fiorentina steak with my mum. It was cooked on the grill for a bit and then served to us on an metal grill so that we could have it cooked exactly as we wanted.

The second day I got up resonably early, had breakfast with my dad and after taking him to his appointment for a leg massage, I went for a Facial Treatment that lasted 50 minutes! During the morning I went to the waterfalls again and relaxed by the pool. Then I had a barley salad and went off to get a Body Gommage+Placton Treatment which lasted 50 minutes too. Then it was time to pack our stuff and get ready to drive back home.

Luckily enough I didn't pay for anything as I was on holiday with my parents! I forgot what that was like: doing stuff without paying! It was also nice to spend some relaxing time with them as when they are here at home they are always busy with something or other.

Vegetable Garden

This is the first stage of this year's Vegetable Garden. We planted some lettuce, tomatoes and courgettes, peppers and aubergines.

In the last few days we had some heavy rain that flooded our garden. Here is a photo of it flooded. You can also see the supports for the tomato plants.

Cheesecake

Strumenti
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Tortiera
Pentolino
Frigorifero

Ingredienti
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Gelatina
Vino
Ricotta
Mascarpone
Buccia di un limone
Zucchero
Biscottini Gentilini o Digestive
Burro
Opzionali: Cioccolata fondente, pinoli e mandorle

Preparazione impasto
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Ammorbidire la gelatina nell'acqua.
Riscaldare il vino in un pentolino e aggiungere la gelatina.
In un recipiente mettere ricotta, mascarpone e zucchero.
Mischiare e aggiungere la buccia di limone e la gelatina.
Mischiare bene e mettere in frigorifero per 30 minuti.

Preparazione base
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Frullare o rompere biscottini.
Per arricchire la base si possono aggiungere pezzettini di cioccolata, pinoli o mandorle a piacere.
Riscaldare il burro e mischiare il tutto.
Formare la base nella tortiera compattando i biscotti e mettere insieme all'impasto nel frigorifero.

Completamento
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Spalmare di burro i bordi interni della tortiera e versare dentro l'impasto.
Rimettere in frigo per altri 30 minuti.
Guarnire con fragole poco prima di presentare.

Biscotti

We found the following recipe for Biscotti and decided to try it out.

Here's our translation of the recipe:

Ingredients for 4 people:
300 G Flour - 180 G Butter (or Margarine) - 70 G Sugar - 1 Egg - 1 Bag Vanilla - 1 Pinch of Salt

Mix the butter with the sugar, add the egg, add the flower and the vanilla.  Roll out some of the mixture and cut them into your desired shape.  Place on a baking tray lined with some baking paper. Cook in the oven at 180 degrees for up to 5 mins making sure that they do not go brown, just golden coloured.

Hat Mission successfully completed!

Last Saturday Shane and I went to Dublin to pay a surprise visit to his dad who is celebrating his birthday this coming Sunday. Jennifer, our knowing accomplice, came to pick us up at the airport with Isabel (second accomplice), Arthur and Linus. We reached the town centre and hit every possible hat shop. After a bit of looking around and after having a beagle, I bought a dress in Powerscourt Townhose in the Little Black Dress. After looking at some hair accessories nextdoor we finally enterd the Design Centre, a paradise displaying Philip Treacy hats and bags. After dreaming about hat for a while weleft and visited a few bookshops- the usual suspects of Hodges Figges, Waterstones and Easons. It was time now to get back at Jennifer's for the surprise!There was also Ellen and Seb who arrived at Jennifer's and after playing for a while with Isabel and Arthur Shane parents came in and found all of us waiting for them in the living room! I can't describe Seán's face so surprised and without words a part from saying: What!???The first day ended with a nice dinner and a trip for us back to Shane parents.

On Sunday Shane and I left Portmarnock to visit some more of the bookshops and eventually found some nice and hopefully usefull books for my thesis. Lunch was again at Jennifer with Ellen and Carol contribuiting too. And again we went back to Portmarnock.

Monday was the busiest day. We spent a good few hours in the Trinity College Libraries researching/photocopyng books about Pleasure Gardens. While waiting for some texts to be delivered to the Library, I decided to have a look around for some ideas about hats. We walked again towards Powerscourt Townhouse and when in there I succumbed to the temptation of buying a Philip Treacy hat. I decided that if I could find a pair of shoes and a bag to go with it, I would go back and get it. Seizing upon this decisiveness I run outside of Powerscourt Townhouse and walked into Brown Thomas shopping centre where I eventually spotted, with Shane's help, a nice pink bag and a pair of matching shoes! After less than 10 minutes I left Brown Thomas with bag and shoes in my hands and run again to the Designer Centre psycologically ready to buy the hat I was earlier. Once in there, the final look at it convinced me that I had made the right decision.

Hat, shoes and bag in my hand, it was time to have a quick snack with Jennifer, Larkin and Linus in Fallon and Byrne. After this little break, it was time to go back to the Library where books were waiting for me! Shane helped me photocopy some texts and later that evening we returned back to Portmarnock for dinner with Seán and Carol.

The next day, with books, photocopies and of course the hat, we flew back to Rome unfortunately with Shane having a bad dose of the flu.

Rugby Time

March has seen me busy supporting the Italy Rugby team. I went to see the rugby guys playing at the home matches and I also went to see their training sometimes.

I got the chance to take some photos with them and also had a chat with some of them. They are simple and friendly guys.

Here there are some photos.

The first one below on the left is of me and Mirco Bergamasco (very friendly and talkative). The one on the right is of me and Ramiro Pez (friendly enough unless there is no milk after the training!)

The next one below on the left is of me and Paul Griffen (very friendly and happy to talk in English he he). Then, on the right is of me and Roland who turned up at the bar one morning for breakfast then proceeded to break Irish hearts by scoring with the last play of the game!

Irish and Italian supporters before the italy- Ireland match held in Rome on the 17th March 07

Let's begin with thesis

Yesterday I got good news: one of my Prof. accepted my request to do my thesis about London's Pleasure Gardens with her. Finally I know not who I am going to deal with for the next few months: Prof. Colombo and Prof. Salvini.