Back to good old Blighty...

Hello everyone! Once again, my sincere apologies for not posting any sooner. I have a brilliant excuse though- honest! Firstly, last week I moved house. Now, I've heard that moving can be one of the most stressful things you'll ever do. And to be honest, it was rather stressful. Me and the Italian one exchanged more than a few biting remarks as we carried stuff down three flights of stairs/loaded a bookcase that was far too big into the back of his Fiat/marvelled at how much stuff I actually HAVE. And we did all of this in 34 degrees of horrid, sweaty heat. Now don't get me wrong, I am a massive fan of hot weather, but when you have to do heavy lifting in said hot weather? Erm, no thanks.

And as well as the heavy lifting with a generous side of bickering and copious amounts of sweating, I have also made my way back to good old Blighty. It's raining as I write this, by the way. After experiencing a rather turbulent flight which included someone vomiting on the floor (eww), I had the most fantastic time EVER with some friends in London. I went here there and everywhere, squealing at the sheer amount of PEOPLE (I'd been in a small, rural town for a good 6 months until that point) and meeting friends I hadn't seen for years, as well as the regular crowd. We had overpriced cocktails, danced to northern soul and Motown hits, got absolutely drenched in the rain and enjoyed a delicious pancake breakfast...it was simply lovely. Then I made my way back to my home county of Worcestershire and ever since, I have been relaxing, watching terrible British TV, eating pub lunches, going on nice walks, raiding Primark and of course, getting a nice bit of TLC from my mum. 

It's back to Italy next week and I shall try my best to resume regular blogging activities, but until then, I shall leave you with a few snapshots of the Brit week so far... 

For some reason I really wanted hummus when I arrived in the UK.  And Wensleydale cheese. 

British cappuccino. Not too bad actually.

Neeeeew shooooooes

I found this *wonderful* Italian film for an absolutely ridiculous price at my local market. Needless to say I snapped it up! 

That's all for now! :D 

Summer Coffee...

Italians will have a coffee at almost any given moment during the day. There's the morning ritual of a cappuccino, possibly followed by a mid-morning espresso. Then of course there's the afternoon coffee or 3, and some Italians can still be seen enjoying a caffeine hit at about 8pm. Even in the summer months, when it's genuinely sweltering outside, a hot coffee still hits the spot.

Despite the fact that I'm still a fan of a hot, hearty meal during these months (see previous post), when it comes to coffee, I prefer something a little more suited to the hot weather; namely iced coffee. And I don't mean the coffee that's made up, left to cool and then has ice added to it. Yuck. No, I'm talking about the creamy, coffee-ice cream-like 'beverage' that I simply can't get enough of when June and July come around. My favourite cafe has recently 'upgraded' their crema di caffe, much to my delight:

Now who doesn't love a cup that you can eat! It does mean you make rather a large mess though. (Or maybe that's just me...ahem..)

And continuing on the subject of coffee, here's another thing I like about popping into my favourite bar:

Loose translation: Toothbrush: 'I can't work like this anymore, seeing such faces...!' Loo roll: 'Tell me about it!'

 Sugar packets with jokes on them. What better way to accompany a hit of caffeine than a good giggle?

Buona giornata!

Che buono!

Summer may be on its way (or so it seems, she says with her fingers crossed), but before the hot weather really sets in and I start gorging on ice lollies and caprese salads, I still feel the need to indulge in a nice, heart meal every now and then. Today's treat?A typical Puglia dish, namely the Pancotto. Potatoes, bread and fresh veggies, all with a generous drizzle of olive oil... che buono!

Talking of summer being on its way, I for one literally can't wait. As all of you fellow teachers know, the last few weeks of school are totally hectic, what with exams, final lessons and people running around like headless chickens. This teacher and blogger is very much looking forward to a great big rest. And a lot more blogging of course.

Buon weekend! :D