The butterfly island

With just 14 sq miles, the island of Favignana is the biggest one in the Aegadian Islands off the Sicilian city of Trapani. It is also known as the butterly island as it has the shape of a butterfly with some mountains right in the middle of it.

The Phoenicians used this island on their Mediterranean trading routes, until in 241 BC when the Romans defeated them in one of the Punic wars. One of the beaches on the island is actually called "Cala Rossa" in remembrance of the red blood spilled during these wars - the redness actually comes from a kind of clay in the sea.

Until the 80's, fishing and packing tuna was one of the main occupations on the island but now it has become a touristic paradise, with amazing seafood and views on the beaches... and the local seagull who's always near one of the fishmonger's on the main street, accustomed to the locals feeding him for entertaining purposes!

We eat and lounged on the beach, went for a boat tour, the water was 12 degrees as it's only the beginning of the season but still went for a (quick) dip and sun-bathed... the English way!! 

Let's not get too tanned!

We also celebrate a little bit of romantic time as it was our mini moon after the wedding in Italy! 

Bologna love

Just spent a few days in my hometown, Bologna. 

Sometimes I forget how pretty it is... and then I remind myself there must be a reason why I am getting married here next year!

This is the Basilica of Saint Petronius - the first stone was laid in 1390 and it is an impressive landmark in Bologna city centre. The front of the church has been undergoing massive restoration works and it has been hidden for the last 3years. It looks stunning now!

Another thing that keeps me coming back here is my amazing friends and family... 

Always there for me, no matter what the distance and all you need is a pizza order to get together and act like this! I love them.

Flying back to the UK this afternoon - with a suitcase full of cheese and heartful of love! 

Suitcases

On a whim, my uncle and his family - who were in London on holidays, came to see me in Liverpool. A long bus tour from the capital but the city presented them with some sun (!!) and I was very happy to see them.

I have been away from Italy for over six years and, the way things are now, chances are I am not going to go back. Your family goes on without you and you learn to live without them - but the love and the feeling that you have that something you are always going to share with them knows no boundaries.

It was so lovely to have a chat with them and talk about memories and people with all know. We also went to the Beatles Museum, had fish&chips, visited Chinatown and went for a walk on Albert Dock :)

And this is us: sitting on John King's 1998 sculpture, A Case History - in Hope Street, Liverpool. It's a group of various suitcase and luggage, all in concrete and scattered on the side of the road. They belong to known people linked with Liverpool - but to me it's more like an analogy with my life. Away from home but trying to make a home and feeling at home.  

English gelato... why not?

The 99 is an ice cream cone, made with soft ice cream with a Cadbury Flake bar inserted in it and it's very popular during the British summer (!) - it's a vanilla-flavoured ice cream and you can get chocolate or strawberry syrup on it.

The ice cream van goes around and plays its little song so that the kids come out and get some ice creams... I have heard the ice cream van until 10 pm in some areas, but that is a different story... 

This is me having a cheeky little 99 in Victoria Park, London - it was nice! And apparently, it has got a little bit of Italian history attached to it... 

Ask.com says that: 

A 99 ice cream was so called to appeal to the Expat Italians, who dominated the UK when the ice-cream was created. According to them, anything special or elite was named 99 after the monarch king of Italy's guard which comprised of 99 bodyguards. The ice cream is usually made of ice-cream served in a cone with a flake 99.

Wikipedia, instead:

Another possibility, is that it was named by Italian ice-cream sellers (many from mountainous areas in the Veneto, Trentino, Bellunese, and Friuli) in honour of the final wave of conscripts from the First World War, born in 1899 and referred to as "i Ragazzi del 99" - the Boys of '99. They were held in such high esteem that some streets in Italy were named in honour of them. The chocolate flake may have reminded them of the Alpine Regiment's hat, with a long dark feather cocked at an angle.

Day out in Venice, "the Queen of the Adriatic"

On a flying visit from the UK to Bologna, we took a day out to go to Venezia, Venice, Venedig... The city built on 118 different little islands, famous for the canals and the gondolas.

The view from the bridge just outside the station of S. Lucia

I had been there before and I clearly remember the feeling of walking out from the station, right onto the canals and to think that this city was something special. We only had a few hours to explore, we went to the most famous Piazza San Marco and had a look at the Palazzo Ducale.

We walked around until we reached the "Ponte dei Sospiri" - the Italian for Bridge of Sighs. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells.

Il Ponte dei Sospiri

On the Ponte di Rialto

Tourists in the 'Pool

Two of my best friends came all the way from Bologna this week end, including a flight in the early morning which means they are leaving Liverpool tonight at 2:30 am and that I appreciate... I had to do my best to make them enjoy their visit!

So we went for a typical roast dinner in the pub on Sunday - with roast beef, broccoli, spuds, Yorkshire pudding and gravy (the gravy and the broccoli did not go down well!) as well as a walk around the city.

Liverpool is one of the few city that has got two Cathedrals: the Metropolitan one, Catholic and the Anglican one. 

The Anglican is 189 mt long and it's the longest cathedral in the world; in terms of overall volume, Liverpool Cathedral ranks as the fifth-largest cathedral in the world. Believe me, it's massive - inside and out!

Here we are in front of the Catholic Cathedral, built in the 60's as a result of the the Catholic population of Liverpool increasing under the Irish influence. Ultra modern church that can accommodate more than 2,300 people - very different from all the churches we are used to in Italy so well worth a visit.

Photos by Michele - grazie! :D

When mother came to visit

Ryanair has kindly opened a new route: Manchester to Bologna! This has made me really happy and made it a lot easier for people to come see me in the UK...

First one to take this opportunity was MAMMA: she jumped on the plane, ready to cook and clean (thanks!) for a whole week for me and just to say "thanks" I bought ourselves some tickets to go and see "Let It Be - The musical"

They had people up and dancing in the whole theatre and it was a really good gig - they featured over 40 Beatles songs and, being in  Liverpool, it was no surprise everyone was up and singing! Thumbs up for the "Sgt. Pepper's lonely hearts club band" bit when they wore the full clothes the Beatles had! 

Me and the mother posing in front of the poster in the Empire Theatre

Christmas food!

For the first in two years, I nipped home for Christmas - it was a quick one but just in time to have some Italian food for the holidays... and a browse around the market in Bologna!

But also come back on time for my first English Christmas dinner - featuring turkey, gravy, Yorshire puddings, roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy. Missing from the plate are Brussels sprouts (can you blame us?) and pigs in blankets, sausages wrapped in bacon.