fun

On another note, I just came across this artist, a member of 5.5 Design Studio. Being South African, I naturally clicked on the 'boerie' in his collection of works, which led me to the 'L'union fait la farce'. I can't say I quite even know what it is, but it's weird and I like it.

His work seems broad, to say the least! I actually came across his name when I found this quirky paper chandelier. It casts interesting shadows and the options are endless - for a weekend of DIY fun!?

La Dolce Vita

Two weeks ago, I was packed and ready at the airport for a camping trip in southern Norway. My hairier half was supposedly presenting a paper at an economics conference (similar to one that we had attended the year before). He also suggested that we could pitch our tent for a few nights thereafter at what has been described as '"Norway's answer to the Mediterranean". Bergen hadn't been too generous with summer weather so far, so naturally, I was pretty excited.

However, upon check-in, I realised that my bf's answer to the Mediterranean was, in fact, a 9 day trip exploring the Veneto region in Italy! I hadn't suspected a thing, and after trying to scan the 'fabricated Kristiansand flight document' at check-in and being told our actual destination, was filled in on many a back-story and realised my beau's capability of deception... the increased no. of grey hairs over the past few months now fell into place.

I was bowled over and maintained a smug grin for the entire journey. Needless to say, Italy enchanted us. We started in Venice, before moving to Verona (with a lunch stop in Vicenza), from there to Lake Garda and finally to the hills surrounding Verona before returning to Marco Polo airport.

Venice features on many a person's bucket list and is definitely worth a vist, however, it is riddled with tourists during the peak summer, so we would suggest going in spring or autumn to enjoy it with less crowds. That said, we had a lovely start to the holiday, with caprese salads, pizza and prosecco for lunch.

With my architecture studies, he knew that Vicenza would interest me, and our itinerary included a lunch stop en route to Verona. This is where one can find many works by the eminent Andrea Palladio (most famously, the villa 'La Rotonda' and 'Teatro Olimpico') and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Verona was magical, and for both of us, our favourite destination of the trip. For the first night, we checked into a lovely B&B situated just over the river, in a pleasant residential area. It was only a 10 minute walk to the old town, and we spent the early evening wandering along the Adige river, admiring the buildings and caught other tourists photographing what was supposedly Juliette's balcony. There was also an opera recital happening just down the street from our restaurant. This was a trattoria that our hostess had recommended, which overlooks the Adige and has a perfect view of the castle. Here, we had our first taste of local wine and truffle-infused polenta.

Our second night held even more in store, including a surprise upgrade to a luxury hotel on the other side of the city, a stone's throw from the Arena di Verona. An invitation to check my bf's suit pocket revealed 2 tickets to Verdi's Aida opera showing that evening. [Chandler voice from Friends: "Could this trip GET more romantic?!"] The whole experience holds such special memories and may even have included an engagement ring (oo la la!).

I don't want to ramble on for too long, but to mention the final few nights - Lake Garda is only an hour's drive from the city of Verona and really awed us with the contrasting landscape, mountains and clear waters. Here, we managed a bit more 'down time'. At this point I knew the rest of the itinerary and I think my bf -- sorry, now fiancé -- could finally exhale. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time in the quaint town of Malcesine, the very decadent Locanda San Vigilio restaurant near Garda and generally splashing about in the water. We took a drive further south towards Sirmione, but realised that we found the mid to northern parts to be much more beautiful and less busy.

We ended the journey in the hills north of Verona, where you can take in a bit more of the countryside and visit the Valpolicella wine region. We had sampled a couple of wines from this area while at the lake, but now had a chance to explore it ourselves. A friend had recommended a few of his favourite winemakers and we managed to part with more Euro's than intended at one of the vineyards. But for a once-in-a-lifetime trip, totally worth it!

rainy's beef burger bonanza

I sent this recipe to a friend a while ago as a contribution to her blog swallow it whole and was just reminded about it since she finally tried it for herself! ;)

So I thought I'd share it here to satisfy this week's hunger pangs. Nom nom

potayto... potaato

So I decided to try home made gnocchi the other night... it's a recipe that I found in my new Jamie Oliver book. The recipe was entitled 'lightest potato gnocchi'. Two and half hours later... we were chewing on something resembling dumplings in a tasty wild mushroom and sage sauce. Needless to say, things didn't turn out quite as I (we) expected. The sauce was delicious, but the gnocchi were rather heavy and dense.

I followed the recipe pretty much to a tee, except for the part where he mentions putting your potatoe into a 'ricer' to make mash. I don't have one, but used my blender instead, which just might have something to do with it..

Either way, it took quite some time and I'm not sure I'm willing to try it all again to find out!

On a more successful note - my BF tried his hand at home made custard* - 8 egg yolks, double cream and a lot of wrist action later... and we were both on the couch, a warm bowl of golden deliciousness in our hands, our eyes blissfully glazed over (*recipe also by good old JO). 

Two recipes I'm keen to try this week...

First, a healthy and yummy looking carrot and quinoa bread that I found on inhabitots.com. I started making quite a bit of my own bread last year, but have been out of practice over the past few months. I don't have a bread maker and always imagined it to be a difficult task - but it's definitely much easier than you think! I started with this simple recipe and then began experimenting and adding my own twists like rye flour, linseeds and raisins etc..

The second one that caught my eye may prove much worse for the waistline - Gordon Ramsey's blondies. Unfortunately you can't find the method online - you have to log in to channel 4 to view the series (S1e8). Otherwise, like I did, download the app on your smartphone for access to all of the details! Still, here is a similar recipe including the method to follow.

Nom nom nom...