Italy From The Inside

Author Archive

If you have read our eBook Italy from the Inside you probably know that our goal is to give practical tips and insights about your vacation in Italy. We don’t really deal with places to stay and/or see, because there are already many wonderful guides out there that can provide this kind of information. This time, however, we will make a little exception, due to the fact that we are going to talk about how much is it worth staying closer to the heart of Venice (and maybe spending a little more money) versus staying in the outskirts.

One of the best things that can happen to you as a tourist in Venice is… getting lost. Walking in Venice is such a great experience because each calle (pedestrian street) is different and it may lead you to a bridge (ponte), a church (chiesa), an interesting store and so one. However, walking in Venice may be also exhausting, especially if you visit it during summer time. I still remember when I was a student and I used to do some research at the Biblioteca Marciana in Piazza San Marco;  I always underestimated the time it takes to walk from Saint Mark’s Square to the train station (if you wonder: it was a 25 minutes fast/anxious/”oh my God, I’ll miss the train” walk).

When two years ago we decided to spend a couple of days in Venice I had no doubts: I wanted to stay as close as possible to the center. So, I went online and found the Bed and Breakfast Zaguri which is in a super-duper convenient location:

As you can see it is only 5 minutes from Piazza San Marco and 8 minutes from the Rialto bridge. Plus, prices were very reasonable, the breakfast was delicious, the owners very gracious and it is thanks to them that I was able to make one of my long wished dreams come true: walking in the water during the high tide, because they lent me and my daughter a pair of rain boots!

Silvia and Francesca Tosolini enjoying a unique view of the Basilica di San Marco

Now, how can you beat this??

As you can learn from our eBook Italy from the inside there are many possibilities to reach Venice from the airport: you can either take the bus to Piazzale Venezia, or to Mestre train station and then take a 10 minute train ride to Venice train station. These two options are definitely the cheapest ones, but they surely don’t make you save in terms of time.

So, you may prefer to spend €15 per person and catch the public boat from the airport to the city, which, in my opinion, offers a more interesting experience for tourists. However, there’s one more option that sometimes is not taken into consideration, I think mainly for its cost, and that’s the water taxi.

The privately ran water taxi company charges €100 for a ride, which may sounds like a lot of money if you consider yourself a budget traveler. However, this price is for rides for up to 5 people which, by doing some math, translates into €20 per person. Not too bad if you consider that you don’t have to share the ride with anyone else and that you are going to be dropped to your destination (or to the closest vicinity). Besides, isn’t it better to add a great memory to your life rather than to have 50 more bucks in the bank? Well, at least this is my new philosophy…

A few days ago, I attended a Christmas potluck with some Italian friends and since I was in charge of bringing un dolce (Italian term to define a dessert) I decided to make the pandoro farcito con crema al mascarpone (pandoro cake with mascarpone cream). This is a very simple and yet delicious dessert that has become a classic in Italy during the Christmas holidays. If you decide to make it, this is what you need:

- 1 pandoro (I got mine at Marshall’s in Bellevue, WA, but you can find it also either at Ross Dress for Less, World Market or any Italian specialty food store)
- 2 egg yolks
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp mascarpone cream
- powdered sugar
- Gianduiotti chocolate (optional)

First beat the egg yolks with the sugar, then add the mascarpone cheese until you get a smooth cream. Set aside.

Cut the pandoro in 5 layers.

Spred the crema al mascarpone on each layer (the more liquid the better, it will make the cake softer).

Place each layer back, without matching the edges, in order to create a Christmas tree like shape.

I used Gianduiotti chocolate to decorate the cake, but you can use any other decoration, sometimes we even use small candles.

Finally, sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar and decorate the top with your favorite object (I “borrowed” baby Jesus from my kids’ Fisher-Price nativity).

Enjoy it, Buon Natale!

There’s one thing Italians associate with Christmas every year and that’s the lavender box of the pandoro Bauli. The Bauli brand has been around since 1937, when Ruggero Bauli opened his workshop in Verona (AKA Romeo and Juliet’s town) where in 1950 he started producing pandoro, the traditional Veronese Christmas cake. However, besides producing very good Christmas cakes and sweets, the Bauli company has been producing also memorable commercials for its products, you know, in the Coca-Cola style, with songs that you still remember and sing after many years.

This commercial was running in the 80′s (when I was attending middle school and eating sweets with no guilt, just to give you an idea…).

Most recently, Bauli launched a new commercial which features, in my opinion, one of the best Italian Christmas songs  titled “A Natale puoi” (literally translated as “At Christmas time you can…”).

Oh, by the way, if you want to sing it AND taste the pandoro at the same time, just remember that you can find it on Amazon! Is there anything Amazon doesn’t sell?

Merry Christmas everyone!

December is a magical time in Italy, the Christmas spirit is everywhere and people are immersed in a world of colorful lights and jolly sounds.

Every 6th of December, Trieste celebrates San Nicolo’ (Saint Nicholas, who had a reputation for secret gift-giving) with a popular fair, which becomes the city’s main attraction for several days and attracts vendors from all over Italy.

The fair takes place in the famous Viale XX Settembre, a long pedestrian avenue with many shops, gelaterie and cinemas that has been one of the main social points since forever.

The fair is the delight of the adults who can buy food specialties (like succulent olives from Sicily, torrone candy or goat cheese from Tuscany) and unusual gadgets to give as a present for Christmas, and the joy of the kids who can get candy and toys.

It is almost impossible not to meet an old friend or schoolmate while walking by the booths, and this makes the whole experience even “merrier”.

I recently went to a Pizzeria with some friends and finally, after years, I was able to enjoy one of my favorite desserts: the profiteroles.
Profiteroles are small round puffs either filled with pastry cream or whipped cream, and covered with a chocolate sauce. Whipped cream is also used to add sweetness, decoration and calories…
Don’t forget to order some next time you go to an Italian Pizzeria!

P.S. In our eBook we devote an entire chapter to the Italian cuisine. Get the insider scoop!

There’s something I really don’t understand: why in the world in Italy a teenager who is only 16 years old can assume alcohol with the consent of the Government, when everybody knows that most deadly car accidents among the youth are caused by an excessive assumption of alcoholic drinks?
This is something that really shocked me when I saw this sign in a grocery store. In the States the legal age to drink alcohol is 21. It’s 21 against 16, you must be 5 years older!
If you are like me, and have left behind the teenage years long time ago, I’m sure you would agree that 5 years, at that age, do make the difference.
Maybe our politicians will wake up one day and will finally change things for the better. Speriamo.

What is like doing grocery shopping in Italy? How do you call the various food items in Italian? My daughter Silvia Tosolini, 9 invites you to a tour of an Italian supermercato.
Let her know what you think by leaving a comment on YouTube or writing her a note to [email protected].

- Can’t see the video? Watch it from YouTube
- iPod version (MP4 – 20Mb)
- More Italian videos by Silvia

Upon a recent visit in Murano (the island located in the Venetian lagoon, which is famous for the production of glass artifacts) we went to see a factory where the maestro del vetro was showing us his extraordinary ability to make glass items (he made a small horse in about 3 minutes, including the time he took to smoke his cigarette between one procedure and the other…).
At the end of the performance the store manager, who in the meantime explained the whole process, kindly suggested for either a monetary donation or… a beer. But even without his invitation, the sign would have been very explicit and clear.

One of the pleasures of visiting Italy is to be delighted by its food and…flowers. This time I was lucky enough to find the fiori di zucca at the grocery store, so I bought them with the intent to make one of the easiest and yet most delicious recipes of the Italian cuisine.

Ingredients:
-about 15 zucchine blossoms (note: the correct word is zucchine not zucchini!)
-4 tbsp flour
-About 1/2 cup water or milk
-1 egg (optional)
-frying oil
-salt

Remove the pistils and gently wash the flowers inside and outside. Pat them dry. Prepare the batter by mixing the water (or milk), the flour, a little salt and the egg, if you decide to include it in your recipe. Make sure the batter is smooth and creamy. Dip the fiori di zucca into the batter and then fry them in very hot oil. Drain them on absorbent paper and lightly salt them. Serve them hot.

If you want to combine some language and cooking practice, we recommend Francesca Valerio’s blog on Italian recipes.
Buon Appetito!