Irish wedding

Here is a photo from Ruth and Jeff's wedding. Ruth is Shane's cousin and recently got married in Durrow in County Laois.

The weather on the day was a bit wet but stayed dry at the important times, so I had the chance to wear John. We stayed in a very nice hotel, Castle Durrow, where the reception took place. The food was very nice and I was impressed by the Wedding cake made by Ruth's dad and her now husband!

John

This is John, a friend for Philip!
I got him in John Lewis last week while I was in Reading. It was love at first sight again and I thought that I had to get a friend for Philip who sometimes lamented being lonely in my bedroom.

Now they are happy together and I am glad to see them together and I am really looking forward to wearing them in June and October!

Return to Reading

After living in Italy for almost 3 years, Shane decided to spice life up a little bit and accepted a job offer from the company he used to work for.
The decision was made in very few days and in less than a month we changed most of our habits and we are now "commuting" from Rome to Reading once a month or so.
At the end of May we both went over: Shane to start working and me to look at properties to rent. After a few long days spent running around town to meet up with different agents in different properties, I found some nice flats and finally on Friday, Shane put down his "second" deposit on a flat in town centre, just a few metres away from his work and most importantly for me, a few metres away from the Oracle (shopping centre)! It is a nice first floor flat, quite spacious, clean and let's say new.

After a lot of work for us during all week, we deserved to get some rest and enjoy our stay. So we spent a nice weekend seeing friends (Charlie and Gavin), eating out (Nando's, London Street Brasserie, Nino's). We also visited Tom and Fiona in their wonderful house just outside of town, in Caversham. We also met some of their family: Aonghus, Rory and Alex. No need to say that part of Saturday was spent shopping...and I will add another post about it. On Sunday evening we had dinner at Paul's house, one of Shane's friend from work, and after that we went to the cinema to see The Pirates of the Carribean.

Tori Amos

I bought my tickets in January and finally on 28th May I went to see Tori Amos' concert in Teatro Sistina in Rome.
Here you can take a look at some photos I took and notice the peculiar outfits she wore.....

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
-----------------
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.