Cioccolato Crazed

"What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate."

-Katherine Hepburn

Where Art Thou?

Verona never topped my day trip list so when I tagged along with a group of friends to the city known for being the setting of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet I had little expectations. What I found will forever ingrain my memory as one of the most beautiful cities in Italy!

The {SECRET} Secret Bakeries of Florence

If you've spent any length of time in Florence you've probably heard the whisperings about the secret bakeries. A few are not so secret but still remain out of the tourist's eye so the hunt for them late into the night is a popular excursion for students and Italians alike. These industrial bakeries turn up the oven in the middle of the night to cook the pastries for the next day that fill the shelves of the city's cafes. Some will let a hot, fresh pastry or two slide off the bakery sheet if in return you allow them to slide a euro into their apron. It may be illegal but the police like their bombolone here too so they may be standing in line with you too...

Cooking in the Countryside

Another busy week leaves so much to say & little time to do it {or little motivation to acutally do so}. In fact, just before I posted this my computer charger caught on fire and my battery is on the verge of dying thanks to a power outage while my laptop was plugged in. But now that my rant is over, yesterday's excursion deserves a bit of unrestricted space so brace yourself, I wrote like my autobiography is being published tomorrow...

From the time planning began last year, cooking in the countryside topped my Italian adventure wishlist. Naturally, the chance to cook with esteemed Tuscan food blogger,Giulia Scarpaleggia of Jul's Kitchen would be the cherry on top. Giulia's blog introduced me to the joys of Italian cooking so I was ecstatic when she graciously extended a welcome to come cook with her! Giulia recently started offering private cooking lessons in her  family's {BEAUTIFUL} restored villa, I Tigli, in Colle di Val D'Elsa, a medieval town that is everything you dreamed the Tuscan countryside would be.