Carnevale a Venezia and Valentine's Day

Given that we live only an hour or so away from Venice, there was no way I was going to pass up going to see Carnevale, which ended on Tuesday. Friday morning, Giada (Mr F's brother's fiancée) and I went and had breakfast at Mr F's uncl'es pastry shop, then got on our merry way to Venice. When we arrived in Piazza San Marco, there was aqua alta (high water), so we had to wind our way around the streets of Venice to avoid it.

We wandered around Venice for the day, spotting masks and costumes that we liked. We stopped and had our faces painted, saw newlyweds having their photos taken with people in costume, and stopped for a plate of pasta for lunch. (Carbonara for me, Bolognese for Giada)

Here are some of my favourites:

I could go on for days here really...I made sure I took enough photos to last me until the next time I'm back in Venice for Carnevale!

Sunday, I had to work, and Mr F and I aren't really that fussed on Valentine's Day anyway. Or so I thought. Mr F surprised me with white roses and dinner at home. We ate frozen pizzas in our pyjamas and spent the evening together. Honestly the most enjoyable Valentine's ever!

This week I'm hoping to have some more time to post as I'm not working so much now that Carnevale is over.

Ciopetta xx

Meatballs in Florence

In early January, we spent two nights in Florence on our way down to Rome, and managed to squeeze in a visit to the Uffizi Galleries while we were there. We also walked through the centre of Florence, crossed over the Ponte Vecchio and visited the markets. The highlight of the trip, however, was most defnitely the Osteria we stumbled across entirely be accident for dinner on our final night.

Pepò, despite the surly waitress, was a small, initmate restaurant\osteria serving mostly local fare. I ordered the veal meatballs, and the others ordered ribollita (a thick vegetable soup), slow cooked veal stew, spaghetti with tomato, pecorino and basil and ravioli with ragù. We ended up ordering a second plate of teh meatballs, they were that good. And sides of fried artichokes and salad. And red wine. And also a sneaky little warm chocolate pudding to sit neatly on top of all that. To top it all off, the meal came to around 100 Euros for 4 of us, including water and soft drinks. Most main dishes were around 10-15 euros. Oh, and they also have menus in English.

A highly recommened feed for anyone heading to Florence! I plan to head back in May and take my grandparents there, so will be sure to take some more snaps then.

Osteria Pepò
Via Rosina, 4/6r. - Firenze
Telephone: 055 283 259
http://www.pepo.it/

(image from http://www.ilterzogirone.it/)

Ciopetta xx