I’ve been away in Italy, so I expect this Tuesday Tie-Up will be short and sweet.  If only life was always this simple.

• I’m working my butt off over at Desirable.co.uk, but completely behind the scenes so to speak.  This means I feel like I’m getting no where, although I probably am getting somewhere.  Only time will tell!
• I’m also composing (in my head presently) a guest blogger post for The Road Less Travelled, more about my travels in Italy.
• I’m trying to find new clients for my freelance content writing, rather unsuccessfully at present!
• AND I’m trying to come up with a list of Victorian-era Mock-Tudor style houses in the UK to visit before I go back to Australia on the 10th of June.
• I also haven’t yet got around to emailing UCL to tell them I’ve decided on Edinburgh University instead… not quite sure how to word such an email, ‘So sorry, I like the less popular university better, what can I say?’

Also, Lulu over at Cherry Blossom Adventures tagged me the other day to complete a Meme of Random Facts, which I’ve only just now got around to thinking about:

Here are the rules:
1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment on their blog and tell them they’ve been tagged, and to come back and read your blog for the whole story.

1. I have double-jointed ankles.  Actually, they aren’t so much double-jointed, more like it looks like I have two ankles on each foot.  In reality I think my feet are just really bony, but whipping out my freaky ankles after a few drinks or at a boring dinner party can really liven things up.
2. My star-sign is Saggitarius/Capricorn - I was born on the 22nd of December, which is right on the cusp.  Rob doesn’t believe in astrology, he thinks it’s a load of codswollop, so I try not to talk too much about starsigns lest I get mercilessly made fun of.
3. When I was three years old I won a lego building competition.  I was awarded a certificate and a huge set of Lego - I think it was the Hospital kit with the ambulance.  Over two decades on, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out the other day that my friend Sarah and I both had the same Lego set when we were younger!
4. I attended seven different primary schools.  No, I wasn’t an elementary-aged rebel; my family moved around for my dad’s job, so I got used to starting each year at a different school in a different place.  Perhaps this is the reason why I have trouble staying in one place now?!
5. I have an embarrassing collection of DVDs which only my sister and I seem to like - including: Chasing Liberty (Mandy Moore), Superstar!, Crossroads (Britney Spears), Saved (Mandy Moore), Under the Tuscan Sun, and many many more.  Rob is quite concerned about my love for Mandy Moore; I, meanwhile, hope we are one day best friends.
6. I only have an automatic driving licence, something that frustrates Rob’s family greatly.  In Australia it isn’t uncommon to have an automatic car and many people only drive automatics.  Unfortunately this isn’t the case in the UK, where almost everyone drives a manual.
7. I graduated from highschool in the top 2% of my year, even though I did ‘Easy’ Maths (Mathematics A) and no sciences.  I really can’t handle numbers unless it’s something to do with calculating an eBay or Amazon purchase.
8. One day I want to be a freelance journalist for National Geographic.

I’m supposed to tag eight people to continue the meme, but as I’m lazy I’ll just ask everyone to do it - it’s more interesting that way!

Now that I’ve had time to sleep and recover from the RyanAir flight from hell, I’m feeling much more inclined to talk about all the delicious Italian food I’ve sampled over the last two weeks.

The Antipasto:

One of the best things about Italy is the antipasto, which is effectively the dish you eat first with your lunch or dinner (sort of like a starter course, except the Italians also have a first course and second course that come after the antipasto, as well as dessert).  You can also eat antipasto as a single course casual lunch or dinner, which we did a few times over the two weeks so that we could sample some of the local meats and cheeses.  Some of the most common antipasto dishes are parma ham and mozzarella, vine-ripened tomatoes with mozzarella, or parma ham and melon.  When we were doing our own thing and putting together big antipasto feasts for ourselves, we had beautiful cheeses (like pecorino), delicious meats (like mortadela, which is essentially a pressed meat with olives throughout), fantastic olives (young and green, black and sun-wrinkled, or just drenched in olive-oil), and some of the best asparagus and cherry tomatoes I’ve ever tasted.  On the last night we spent in Rome, we also tried shaved uncooked artichoke with shaved Parmesan and walnuts coated in an olive oil and lemon-vinegar dressing which was surprisingly delicious.

The Pasta:

In Italy pasta is usually served as the first course, and is usually a smaller portion size so you have room for your second main course and dessert.  The most common pasta dish is the absolutely delightful spaghetti pomodoro et basil (a really light tomato and basil sauce on preferably home-made pasta with a sprinkle of parmesan).  This was basically what I ordered every time I ate out, because I love it.  Another popular dish is of course spaghetti bolognese, although I’m not quite sure that this is ‘authentic’ Italian - I think it’s on the menu for all the tourists.  Other beautiful pasta I tried while I was away included homemade tagliatelle with tomato, eggplant and mozzarella; homemade gnocchi (the best I’ve ever tasted) in a tomato, garlic and basil sauce; and steaming hot penne in a tomato and olive puree.  My dad tried an interesting looking dish - spaghetti (home made) with shaved truffles and a light truffle oil dressing.  He apparently went back to the same restaurant three times just so he could have it (one dish of the stuff cost him $20 EU).

The Main Courses:

The main course in Italy is always meat, and in general (every restaurant I’ve eaten it with the exception of one) you have to order your vegetables SEPARATELY to your meat.  This is good really, as it means you can really mix and match to get exactly what you want.  Common meats served as main courses include veal (scallops in a creamy sauce), beef (roasted), or fish (baked, fried, in soup, steamed, shell-fish, you name it).  It’s not common to see chicken on the menu, but in a lot of restaurants there is usually other poultry available such as duck, pheasant or quail.  Other interesting main courses include wild boar (roasted usually), thrush (fried or roasted whole), and pesce zuppe (fish soup - literally loads of different seafoods in a tomato broth).

The Pizza, Bruschette & Panini:

Now I know that the bread-based meals that are served in Italy are far more popular with the tourists who think of the food as being ‘authentic Italian’ than what they are with the REAL Italians, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid them altogether.  A nice, simple bruschette (toasted or grilled slices of bread, dressed with a fresh olive oil topped with chopped tomato, spanish onion, basil and parmesan cheese, sometimes with a few flakes of garlic) is one of the best things to have on a hot day, and a basic margherita pizza (tomato and mozzarella, sometimes with basil) is unbeatable if done in a wood-fired oven.  Panini, meanwhile, is great if you have it made in a deli - you can choose the meat and cheese, and they’ll make it fresh.  My tip for ordering ‘authentic’ pizza would be to ask the waiter for his recommendation - without doubt they’ll suggest the most simplistic pizza on the menu, because that’s as close to what they would consider eating themselves as you can get.  None of this twenty different toppings bollocks - tomato and cheese, and maybe some olives, nothing more.

The Pastries & Desserts:

There’s a reason I managed to gain 1.5kgs in two weeks, and it is solely due to the beautiful pastries you can find in Italy.  I can’t imagine how they could be beaten by any other country’s selection.  In the two weeks I was there I tried: cornetto marmelata (croissant with apricot jam filling), cornetto creme (croissant with custard), chocolate mousse tart, chocolate mousse croissant, lemon custard cornetto, lemon-iced pastry twist, hazelnut chocolate pastry twist, cherry almond tart, apple baked tart, the best tiramisu I’ve ever tasted, glazed fruit tart, lemon creme cornetto, lemon iced Easter biscuits (short-bread based), and limone delizia (lemon sponge with lemon creme, lemon gelato and limoncello).  And that’s not to mention the sorbet and gelato - I’ve had lemon (with lemon rind chunks), melon (literally puree rockmelon/cantaloupe), strawberry, green apple, aranciata (red orange fizz), ananas (glazed pineapple), lime and raspberry.  Then there’s the lemon granite which is literally just frozen lemon juice slightly melted into a slush that you can drink through a straw or eat with a spoon.

The Drinks:

Italy is quite regionalized with regards to its drinks, and it’s not unusual to find unique mixes or varieties in areas you haven’t seen anywhere else.  My favourite from last time was the Bellini (the peach alcoholic cocktail famous in Venice), while this time the limonata (lemon soda in a can, made from fresh lemon pulp and lightly sweetened soda) came out on top.  I also enjoyed the local Amalfi coast white wine (really cheap and actually tasted like it had alcohol in it, unlike the Chianti wine my parents brought back from Tuscany), the fantastic Italian coffee (brewed strong and properly) and the best soft drink/soda I’ve ever tasted by Pellegrino (they did aranciata, limonata, and some strange lime/lemon blend).  Rob had a great time with the beer - he tried one which was 12% alcohol (quite high for a beer) which was called Diabolique and had a graphic of a devil on the label.  He also had his fair share of Peroni and Biera Nazionale, and a few local brews.  Campari and soda also never fails as a great sunny-day cocktail.  Of course, the other great thing about the Amalfi coast is that it is the home of limoncello liqueur, which I LOVE, so we had a fair bit of that.

The Junk Food:

One of my favourite things about travelling is discovering the different sorts of junk food that are available.  Italy has some great crisp varieties - they do an incredible cheese puff and a beautiful paprika flavoured crisp.  The chocolate that’s available in the Amalfi region is worth trying too - dark and white chocolate with lemon flavouring is delicious, and of course there is the orange and lime rind coated in chocolate.

I think that just about covers everything I’ve tasted over the last few weeks - its no surprise I’ve been craving a good cup of tea and a simple tub of yoghurt!

…it sure is good to be back in the land of roast dinners and cups of tea.  Nevertheless, my passionate love affair with Italy continues, and I’m even more convinced that I could happily live there at some point in the future (as long as I didn’t have to drive anywhere or queue for any form of public transport).

As I’m sure no one likes to hear about holidays they weren’t able to go on themselves, I’ll make this summary short and sweet with the help of dot-points:

• Rome was gorgeous as always.  This time we visited the Pantheon, which we hadn’t seen last time we were there, and we also found a fantastic hole-in-the-wall restaurant that served such diverse dishes as truffle linguine, roast thrush (which Rob tried) and wild boar.
• Sorrento was surprisingly pretty considering everyone who’d been there before us told us that it was boring.  A new Italian TV series, ‘Capri’, was filming while we were there so the crazy Italian traffic was even crazier with all the hold-ups for scenes.
• Pompeii was an experience, particularly as it wasn’t too busy and I didn’t realize you could basically wander the streets discovering gardens and frescoes at your leisure.  We also climbed Vesuvius right to the peak, which was smouldering sulfur clouds at the time.
• Capri was incredibly beautiful, had fantastic beaches, and really great shops.  The taxi and bus rides were hair-raising experiences and we got stuck on the walk from hell (Capri is quite mountainous and most of the paths on the island lead up and down huge flights of stairs without any means of escape except to keep on walking).
• Positano was just as pretty as I thought it would be, but not as tourist-driven as I had expected.  Our hotel had free wifi so Rob was happy, and I think I found the house that they filmed part of Under the Tuscan Sun in.
• Amalfi was better than Positano - if you’re ever trying to choose between the two, opt for Amalfi.  It was large, had great restaurants and shops, and was perfectly located to go on day trips to loads of places.  The owner of our bed and breakfast offered to upgrade us for free to the apartment accommodation he runs which happened to be situated right underneath Amalfi’s famous church, so that was also a plus.
• Ravello, the mountain-top town above Amalfi, was by far the best place we visited.  I want to live there.  Period.

And here’s what I learned over the last two weeks:

• If you ever find yourself wondering if you want to catch a ferry out of Sorrento to get to anywhere else (like Capri, for instance), RESIST TEMPTATION.  It was a hellish experience, none of the marina staff knew what they were doing, and we were forced to trudge backwards and forwards for over an hour in the rain with our luggage before we got on to the right ferry (which was very late).
• If you visit Capri and want to walk to the Natural Arch and the grotto nearby, make sure you walk the path the right way round - if you don’t, you’ll find yourself having to climb several thousand steps on an incredibly steep incline.  Fortunately we walked the right way round without realizing it, and even then it was torture on the feet.
• If you’re travelling to the Amalfi Coast and want to visit the towns along the coastline, avoid the bus system and take a ferry instead.  The buses can take hours, are always full of frustrated tourists, and teeter around hair-pin corners on single lane roads high up the cliff faces for which the Amalfi region is famous.  The ferries, meanwhile, are usually on time and move in a straight, flat line (rather than up and down, round and round).
• I have a very low tolerance towards loud, obnoxious tourists which (I’m sorry to say, for my American friends) are usually American.  I’m sure they feel the same way about us Aussies.
• When I grow up, I want to be an Italian police woman - they get to wear uniforms designed by Hugo Boss (or is it Armani?) and basically don’t seem to care about anything.  They are the epitome of cool.

I could go on, but I’ve managed to catch myself a tasty throat and ear infection and early-morning RyanAir flights really don’t agree with my sleeping patterns.  Until tomorrow, ciao, grazie!