Vacances en Provence

I'm off to Provence in a few days for my first vacation in years and a 3 day celebration for my upcoming birthday. Many of my family and friends will be joining me from all over the globe. Friday is Moroccan night, Saturday is a Tahitian Fenua and Sunday is a Country Western BBQ....We'll be dancing and eating or way through the eventful weekend. I lived in Tahiti for a while and part of me is still there. At the end of this post are some recipes of some of the authentic dishes we will be having at the Saturday Party. My friend we are staying with in Provence has ordered the entire pig to roast now let's get ready for a toast! Enjoy the info and if you can make it to French Polynesia....do it! By the way I won't be posting to my blog until I return the first part of October. See you then. Click on the links for more info about what we'll be eating for my birthday party.

Tahitian Food. Recipes: Tahitian Rum Punch. Poisson Cru. Poulet Fafa.

Bella Rustica Market Giveaway

Check out the giveaway on http://bellarustica.blogspot.com/ Kim is giving away a beautiful, handmade burlap pillow with a map of Italy on it. Gorgeous!

St Germain Liqueur

One of my new favorite things...St Germain liqueur. I am buying a bottle on my next trip to Paris. I tasted this lovely elderflower liqueur mixed with Champagne and lemon juice at the Viceroy Hotel Bar in Palm Springs this past weekend. Love at first sip! Kind of like a Margarita but not as sour and a touch of flowery flavor. Hard to describe, just give me another round!

By the way, I highly recommend a drink at the swanky bar of the Viceroy in Palm Springs. Diego, the GM of the hotel, runs a beautiful place.

Pasticceria La Cova a Milano!!!

One of my favorite things about Milan is the way they do "happy hour" and the absolute best place to get it is at Pasticceria La Cova on Via Monte Napoleone.

The magnificent quality, ambiance and incredible selection of complimentary appetizers more than make up for the haughtiness in the air; attitudes stem from the Gucci and Prada clad clientele in this famous bar/cafe/pastry shop and the anti-photo policy of the management.

I keep going back again and again for the fresh 'foccacia', 'pizzette', mozzarella balls, chunks of 'salumi' and monster size 'capri' among many other delectables to enjoy with the best 'Spritz' in Milano. Io amo Italia!

www.pasticceriacova.it

I won!

I am now the proud winner of a beautiful sign by Mammabellarte! She creates these wonderful, whimsical custom signs that I wish I could hang in my future Tuscan Villa. I love the artful simplicity. Visit her blog for more on her creations.

http://mammabellarte.blogspot.com/

Thanks Rita!!!

Bistro Incroyablement Bon!

Wow, another great Paris layover with some excellent bistro fare. Le Baribal near Metro Pasteur was a hit with all four of us. I got the suggestion from another traveling francophile recently who raved about the Escalope de Veau au Roquefort. She was more than right. The rich and slight crustly Roquefort cream sauce smothered the succulent veal escalope accompanied by thin green beans and pommes de terre. All washed down with red table wine, we were all soaking up the extra sauce with the crusty french baguette slices. I was so glad to be able to share this wonderful meal with 3 others since I'll start to fly to Rome again starting next month...Cabonara here I come. Stay tuned!

Je vous embrasse.

Roma=Amore

I'm dreaming of Roma. The romantic Rome of winding cobblestone streets, bright stucco walls, thin crust pizza with burnt edges bursting with flavor, incredible uomini decked out in three piece suits even when it's 90 degrees, pasta cabonara that tastes like an entire wedge of parmesan melted inside of it, inexpensive fine red wine & my favorite aperitif...un 'Spritz' ( Campari, Prosecco and soda with an orange twist! )

mamma mia vorrei andarci stasera!!!!

To express the romantic essence of Rome, I am sharing my collection of Marian art around Rome. When strolling the streets you find them mostly on the corner of buildings.. Many depict the image of Mary by herself, others of her with baby Jesus.

A little history on Marian art:

http://www.fisheaters.com/images.html