Archive for 'Northeast Italy'

One of the best things about visiting Italy is the difference in the pace of life. Things tend to be a little more relaxed and laid-back than in other parts of the world and, if you're willing to embrace this, it makes for the perfect atmosphere to have a perfectly revitalising holiday where you forget all your worries and enjoy yourself.

Ignore the fact that the grocery store and post office in the town have just closed for three hours at lunch and forget about emails and the office for the duration of your stay in Italy.

Instead, choose one of the beautiful spa towns around the country and soak in natural hot springs, go for a massage and a facial – there is no better way to fully experience the relaxation that can only be found in Italy.

Cortina d'Ampezzo is a fashionable ski resort town located in the Veneto region of Italy, just a two hour drive from Venice. The area has been a winter sports mecca since the 1930s and even played host to the first Italian Winter Olympic Games in 1956. Known as the “Queen of the Dolomites”, it is one of the best-known ski resorts worldwide and hosts international sports events annually such as the Alpine Ski World Cup, the Tour de Ski, ice hockey and curling championships, and Cortina Winter Polo.

However, great skiing is not all the area has to offer, located in a particularly scenic part of the country, it is stunningly beautiful, there are plenty of restaurants and cafes in town offering delicious food, a vibrant nightlife and good shopping. This is the proper way to do a ski holiday in Italy so, if you're planning one, why not find a holiday rental in Cortina D'Ampezzo?

If you have a sweet tooth, Friuli Venezia Giulia is the region for you. It may be best known for its wine and its Austrian and Hungarian influenced savoury dishes but its sweets need to be experienced to be fully understood. Strucchi, for example, are a particularly delicious treat: sweet crumbly dough filled with pine nuts, hazelnuts, and grappa-soaked currants and raisins. They are boozy, bite-sized and delicious and can be cooked in a variety of ways. Baked, boiled or fried, they are typically served with powdered sugar or a scoop of gelato and are just the thing to warm you up in the colder weather of this mountainous region. Named for the Slovenian dumplings called štruklji, these small rectangular cookies are a tasty Italian take on the dish. If you want to try them at home while you pack and plan to head off to the perfect holiday rental in Friuli Venezia Giulia, just try out this recipe.

David Bowie Is is a hugely successful exhibition designed by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, to honour and remember the life, times and career of rock superstar, artist, actor, fashion innovator and cultural icon, David Bowie. It is the first international retrospective of his career and life and Bologna is the only Italian city that will be showing the exhibition.

The exhibition first opened in London in 2013 and then toured Chicago, San Paolo, Toronto, Paris, Berlin, Melbourne and Groningen. From July 14^th to November 13^th 2016, it will be displayed at MAMbo, Bologna's leading museum of modern art.

Once they've found a vacation rental in Emilia Romagna, any Bowie fans visiting the area will want to make time to head to Bologna for this exhibition.

One of the best parts about holidaying in Italy is trying its cuisine in between bouts of dashing around museums, taking in the landscapes, admiring the buildings and artworks, learning about the history, shopping the boutiques, wandering the markets and venturing through its beautiful streets. Every single town and region has its unique dishes to try and it would take several lifetimes just to put a dent in the long list of delicious dishes. In saying that, we suggest you persevere and try and make even a little dent in that list. Friuli Venezia Giulia is a region, in particular, with an interesting cuisine, inspired by neighbouring nations, its mountainous terrain and harsh winters. Once you've found the best possible vacation rental in Friuli Venezia Giulia, we suggest that you try pitina, a traditional cold cut from the region.