Near the city of Cagliari ther’s a very plesant B&B where people can stay passing a very particular period of time…

Casa di Maria Rosa is a naturopathy bed and breakfast where many treatments are offered : Shiatsu massage, bioenergetics, massage therapy, holistic treatments and many others pursuing a total psychophysical welfare.

Why not combine the pleasure of a vacation and a naturopath personalized therapy for your welness?

In Casa di Maria Rosa Bed and Breakfast people will have the possibility of visiting one of the most beautiful places of the world, like Sardinia, with its beaches and coves and a marvellous white sand.

The accommodation offers to its guests very well furnished rooms and details of a particular attention for the general welfare and welness of the people…. so If you agree with these ideas and type of relaxing holiday that’s your place to go!

Casa di Maria Rosa, in Cagliari, Sardinia, will welcome you with essenzial oils, burning incense and other products for aromatherapy: the owner, Maria Rosa, wish to make your stay relaxing and rejuvenating!

Italian Version

Mona Lisa (in Italian Monnalisa or La Gioconda), with her enigmatic expression, is among the most famous works of art ever. Few other paintings or sculptures have been subject to as much study and parody.
La Gioconda is a portrait painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1503.

This portrait was one of the first portraits to represent the poser before an imaginary landscape. Mona Lisa is seated with a huge landscape recedes to icy mountains behind. Just a  bridge and the tortuous lines give an indications of human presence.
The sense of harmony reached in the painting indicates a link between humanity and nature.  This was Leonardo’s idea of the nature that surrounded him.

If you like this and the other paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, go visiting his birth place: in Vinci you will have the opportunity to see the landscapes that inspired him.

If you are searching for an accommodation in Vinci, I can suggest you Hotel Monnalisa: good position and beautiful rooms.
Have fun in Leonardo’s home!

Italian version.

Sometimes happens: you visit a place, you taste local specialties, and the flavour remains in your heart, like Proust’s “madeleines”.
It’s not easy to replicate these sensations with the low quality imitations of Italian products you find around the world: if you want your friends and relatives to taste the same food you tried in Italy in summer holidays, buying them a fly ticket for Rome or Florence seems to be the only way.

But it’s not always true, and maybe this wine shop I found in the net can solve the problem to find an unusual Christmas gift for a hard to please friend: Enoteca Ducale is a family run wine shop in the very centre of Modena, with a large selection of Emilia Romagna typical products like the famous Modena’s vinegar, ham or Parmigiano cheese.

The balsamic Modena’s vinegar is made by grape must cooked with direct flame and preserved in wood barrels, and you can use it on cheese, salads, meat or fish and even on cakes: it has an unforgettable taste, soft and sweet.

Enoteca Ducale can select a range of typical products from Modena and prepare you a gift pack (and send it wherever you want) with vinegar and cheese, but also with wines like Lambrusco, Brunello di Montalcino, Barolo, liquors, jams and hand made chocolate.

Everything is so tasty that you’ll book a holiday in Modena the next time you’ll come in Italy!

Italian version.

In Italy, the convivial holiday atmosphere is created both by the Christmas decorations and the traditional food. For many Italians, Christmas also means eating a lot: typical cuisine and  regional dishes are the main characters of this event.
During these days a lot of specialties claim a place of honor at the table, as the lasagna.

If you want to cook baked pasta (in Italian lasagne al sugo or pasta al forno) this is the recipe:

Make the meat sauce (ragù alla bolognese) and a  béchamel sauce.
Meanwhile, boil a pot of water (lightly salted) and put the pasta for lasagne. Remove the pasta after the minutes written on the packaging.
Butter an oven dish and preheat your oven to 385 F.
The pasta has to be arranged in layers in the oven dish with bechamel and ragù: a layer of pasta  followed by  a layer of meat sauce and one of béchamel, another layer of pasta, … and so on.
Put Parmigiano cheese on the top layer.
Put it in the oven and wait 40 minutes.

This recipe is also available in a gluten free version.

Enjoy your meal!

For an anniversary, or Valentine’s day, you have to find a very romantic place.
In Italy, I think, you can choose between Venice and Florence.

If you want to bring your partner in one of those cities you have to plan an itinerary and book the hotel.
The accommodation, obviously, has to be in the centre of the city (so you can go out for dinner by foot) and have the right atmosphere.
I am Florentine, so I can advice you a hotel in my city, but I’ll soon get informed for Venice too!

There’s a bed and breakfast in Piazza della Repubblica (between the Duomo Cathedral and Ponte Vecchio) that will make your stay really romantic:
B&B Repubblica.

It’s situated at the second floor of a historical building, so the view is amazing as the furnitures! If you take a look to the website you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

Happy Valentine’s day!

Italian version.

Booking info.