(Sweet) Breakfast Time

Breakfast is possibly my favourite meal of the day. This may be because it's so satisfying; after a good few hours of not eating, it's like the body is well and truly ready to start scoffing something. Well, at least mine is. Or, it may also be because here in Italy, breakfast is made up of all things sweet: bread with jam or nutella, brioche, croissants, biscuits, cakes...as long as it's dolce, it has a place at the breakfast table. If you go to a big (or even medium) sized hotel here in Italy, especially in the more northern parts of the country, you'll find all manner of yummy breakfast items, from sweet to savoury and everything in between. But in southern Italian homes, and many little b&bs in the south, you may only find sugary treats. My favourite breakfast consists of a croissant, a delicious cappuccino and maybe a glass of orange juice. Whether it's at a bar or in the comfort of my own home, I will never miss my sweet, sweet breakfast.

Brekky at the bar...

...or brekky at home!

 For some Italians however, a sweet, sweet breakfast like mine is just not an option. Instead, they plump for a shot of espresso and continue on their way. Well! Apart from the fact that these folk are well and truly missing out on a delicious meal, it's a wonder that they can function without eating something. My brain definitely doesn't get going before the coffee and croissant and possibly biscuits and juice and... anyway. I am a true advocate of la colazione and will continue to preach to all and sundry about the importance of a good brioche or two come the morning.

What are your favourite breakfast treats?

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!

Tea Traitor??

Here in Italy, when people find out I'm English, they assume several things:

1. I don't speak Italian (not true...even if my grammar is shoddy)
2. The summer heat must be awful for me and my 'pale skin' (often true)
and
3. I drink tea. At 5pm. (sorry fellow Brits, this is definitely not true!)

Regarding the latter, it's not that I don't like tea...I just don't love it. I haven't actually been into coffee for that long- only since I arrived on Italian shores and realised what I had been missing, did I jump into caffeine city. But tea? I've never taken to it that much. Every now and again when I'm back in the UK I'll have a mug of PG Tips with milk and one sugar, and it does the job. But I can't claim to be head over heels for it.

Believe it or not, even with the abundance of delicious coffee on offer, Italians do actually drink tea every once in a while. But yes, you guessed it: no milk, slice of lemon. I always thought this was sacrilege, even despite my rather unenthusiastic approach to tea. It should be with milk or sugar or both or neither. Why does the lemon have to join in?? How European, I thought.

Well, that was until I tried it. The boyfriend had the sniffles recently (yes, I was the one who gave them to him....woops) and so decided to order a tea at our local coffee bar. It came in this cute little teapot/cup ensemble, which I absolutely loved:

And it also came with these:

So far so good. But look what appeared in the cup!

I gasped, and started going on about how it was the 'wrong' way to have tea, until by man finally persuaded me to a) be quiet, and b) try it. So I did.

And it was lovely. It really was very nice with that bit of lemon floating about in it. So there you have it folks, I am a traitor to my country's tea drinking traditions. Although, if I stick to the milk and sugar option when on British shores, I may be able to hide my filthy tea with lemon habit whilst I'm in Italy...

Have a great weekend folks! Whatever hot beverage you choose....

Rain rain go away...

 Yes folks, the usually sunny south has turned into one big lake. Mini rivers are flowing along my street, and the cobbled streets are a MAJOR slipping hazard. I have taken to going out in my rather fetching wellies.

I 'braved' the weather this morning to go for a much needed coffee. There's a lovely little bar on the main street which has become my 'usual' place to get a caffeine fix. The owner always has tasty cakes available too, so I occasionally often indulge.

The other nice little thing about this bar, is that they have sugar packets with little proverbs and jokes on them. Sometimes my Italian doesn't stretch that far, and I have to ask the boy for some linguistic assistance, but most of the time they are simple and actually rather amusing. I read a great one this morning, which I had to share with you all. Here goes:

Un elephante chiede ad una cammella: 
'Perche hai le tette sulla schiena?'
'Senti chi parla uno che ha il pisello in faccia...'

And my (rough) English translation (and do excuse the slightly rude nature of the expressions):

An elephant asks a camel:
'Why do you have tits on your back?'
'You're one to talk, you've got a penis on your face...'

So there you are. A spot of humour to brighten up your (rainy) day!

Coffee...part DUE

So here you have it. A (rather very delayed) part 2 of my post on coffee. Do have a look HERE if you haven't yet read part 1! It's 'stimulating' stuff...! (rolls eyes at self)

So what kind of coffees do people go for here? Well, of course, there's the caffe or espresso. A strong shot of coffee which will definitely wake you up.

If this is a bit to strong for you (believe me, it's pretty strong) then you can add a dash of foam to make a macchiato. Or, a tad more milk and you've got yourself an espressino- my personal favourite. Sometimes they ask you if you want a dash of cocoa on top. I always say yes.

If even this is a bit too strong, or not 'long' enough, you can ask for a Latte con caffe. Don't just ask for a latte, or all you'll get is milk!

Then there's the cappuccino. Perfect with breakfast in the morning. I've heard a lot of people going on about how you 'can't possibly drink it after midday, it's just not Italian!'. Well, I say if you want one, have one. When you drink your cappuccino won't give away that you aren't Italian- I'm sure the locals will know that even before you've opened your mouth to order!

Then, when it gets all hot and sweaty in the summer months, you can go for a colder option- the crema di caffe or slightly more elaborate espressino freddo. Both are like a thick, creamy, coffee ice cream/milkshake type thing. In other words: awesome.

Down here in the south, you'll get some water with your coffee. This is gratis and often sparkling, so if you want naturale, make sure you ask for it. Whether you should drink it before or after your coffee I'm not really sure, but I do know that it's nice and refreshing after a strong espresso!

So how many coffees a day do people drink here? Well, quite a lot. Several of my students have told me that they drink 5 or 6 a day. Good grief! I can manage a maximum of 3, and even then I feel a bit queasy (although right before the queasiness comes 'animated, excitable and twitchy Amy'). My boyfriend isn't awake without a coffee in the morning, and my colleague can't open a textbook without having knocked one back. And she's not even Italian!!

Whatever type of coffee you want, it can be made for you. And it doesn't cost that much, especially round here. No more than €1 for a caffe. Drink it in the morning, before and after lunch, after your afternoon nap (yes, really) or before you head off on a night out. But don't expect a nice big cup full of it. It's short, sharp, tasty and oh-so-effective. None of those bucket-fulls that you get at Costa (sorry Costa....)

sunshine and tomatoes vs...Poirot and cookies?

I woke up this morning wondering about the weather. Would it be:

a) chucking it down with rain
b) drizzling
c) yucky and cloudy

Well, the answer was actually d) none of the above. Why? Because I'm now back in Italy. And in fact, I woke up to glorious sunshine. And soon I will go for a tasty coffee. And then I might make (or nicely ask the boyfriend to make) a lovely Italian lunch.

But before I get carried away and you start thinking I'm a UK hater, I'm not. Do I love living in Italy? Yes. Do I thoroughly dislike UK weather? Oh, yes. But there's much more to the UK than some grey clouds and a little-known sporting event that just took place in our capital. I have decided to create a list of all the things that I love (and already miss) about the UK. So here it is.

1. My family, of course. They are there and I am here. This does not please me greatly. If only I could have my nan out here making endless cups of tea. 

2. Marks and Spencers. Love the food. Anything made by M&S will taste good. Fact. I managed to bring back a few packs of M&S cookies in my suitcase. They may now be crumbs. But they will still taste good. 

via

 3. Pub food/Thai food/Cheese and pickle sandwiches. There is a distinct absence of foreign cuisine in these parts, and my word do I miss it sometimes, particularly Thai food. Oh, and pub food is just good. Good, hearty stodge. See picture below for the appeal of cheese and pickle. 

4. Eavesdropping. In Italy, I don't do it. (Mainly because a lot of the time I don't understand and it's too much effort...ahem). In the UK I find myself doing it twice as much. Maybe to make up for it. Or maybe I'm just nosey. I actually heard a elderly couple discussing the use of the 'n' word in M&S. Well.

5.Poirot. And other amazing drama series that we have on telly. Have a look here for more of my favourites....

6. High street shops. Primark, you make me oh-so-happy. Especially when I got to the counter and found out that a cute little purse that cost practically nothing in the first place was now half price. Ahhh. Other high street faves of mine include Card Factory (10 cards for a pound?!How insanely useful is that!), Superdrug and ASDA. I'm aware I may sound like I have a painkiller addiction when I say this but... 25p for paracetamol?! It almost makes me wish I had a headache. Almost.

7. Banter with shop assistants. To the guy in Oxford's EAT: Your crisp-related banter and cheery attitude thoroughly amused me. 

8. Politeness. Not that Italians are rude but....well, sometimes they can seem that way. Nice British gents holding the door open for you? Casual chit chat as you wait to go through airport security? Waitresses in cafes and restaurants actually smiling at you? Lovely. 

But now, as to stop myself from getting somewhat homesick and craving a day of Poirot watching, tea drinking and M&S biscuit scoffing with my mum, here are a few things that I'm glad to once again be able to enjoy:

The sunshine
Coffee
Eating my crushed M&S biscuits while sitting in said sunshine and drinking said coffee. 

What are the things that you love most about going home?

The world's most popular stimulant...(part uno)

Aside from pizza, pasta, gelato and wine..what else comes to mind 'food-wise' when you think of Italy? If you haven't already guessed (which I'm sure you have) it's something that wakes you up, gets you going and can have a real kick to it. And no, I'm not talking about red bull (which, for the record, I'm not a fan of). I'm talking about coffee of course.

Before I came to Italy I wasn't a major fan of coffee. Weak coffee that you can buy in buckets in the UK that is. Living in a country where coffee is like a religion, an addiction, a way of life...there's no escaping it. And so I began a path of discovery...eat, take naps and drink coffee.

It just looks so.damn.good.

Down here in the south, they don't have Starbucks. Lots of people that I've asked have never even heard of it! That's just amazing. A worldwide chain that hasn't even make so much of a whiff of coffee beans in these parts? They must be doing something here that's far better. In my town, you go to a bar to get a coffee. And 'bar' here doesn't necessarily mean a place with pool tables, a load of students and alcoholic drinks offers. Granted, you can get an aperitif, or another beverage with a bit more of a kick, but most of the time, a bar is where you get your coffee.

The Caffe', or Espresso

If you're imagining therefore, a load of coffee shop style establishments with big, comfy sofas you're going to be disappointed. Yes, tables and chairs do exist (see above photo), but most people take their coffee at the bar. They come in, order, drink, and go. That's it. It's not an occasion for socialising (although the Italians never do anything silently..apart from eating perhaps) and it serves a purpose- to get a little hit of something good, without indulging in any illegal practice. One of my students called coffee his 'fuel', and I think this is an appropriate term for many.

Here are a few interesting facts for all you coffee lovers out there:

Coffee is the world's most popular stimulant

The coffee bean is actually a seed inside a bright red berry

Ethiopian shepherds first noticed the effects of caffeine when they saw how their goats reacted after eating these coffee berries (they became somewhat 'frisky' and seemed to 'dance' around)

A man called Luigi Bezzera (can you guess his nationality? :D ) invented and patented the first pressurised cylindrical coffee machine...

...and he invented it to increase his employees' productivity time- by ensuring they had shorter coffee breaks by having a quicker coffee fix.

 For more interesting coffee facts, have a look here. Part 2 of my coffee themed blog post is coming soon!

Tomorrow morning I'm off to the UK, so until my next post, feel free to have a nose around- I would especially recommend checking out the food section.
Ci vediamo presto!!