3 days in the Lake District

Lake district is apparently the most visited national park in the UK, and I finally got closer to it after 4 years living here.

It was a last minute planning but everything worked well: a couple of phone calls and we managed to book a hotel just one week before leaving. How lucky we were considering it was a summer bank holiday weekend! Another phone call for the car rental and I negotiated a small discount with an upgrade! I really started thinking if my usual Internet booking approach was the most efficient way even in this modern world!

The only downside was the not-too-optimistic weather forecast! Oh well, it's England and we learn to ignore the weather forecast anyway, do we?

3 days are obviously not enough to visit the whole lake district, but we've learnt recently the travelling is not about seeing everything, it's to focus: focus on the highlights, the things you'll remember.

So here're the highlights of our 3-day trip:

Day 1- Lost in Buttermere

We would probably never visit here if we haven't lost our way to another famous spot. Buttermere lake is such a tiny lake compared to other ones in the region and the location also makes it not the most convenient one to reach. But its versatile landscape impressed us immediately even without a blue sky: beautiful hills, calm lake, zigzag road leading to the surprise, lazy sheep laying just next to the road.

We regret not making a stop there and walking around to enjoy more its wonder. We are always caught by the so called goal and ignore the existence of the journey.

Day 2-Climbing the 4th highest mountain-Skiddaw.
Highlight happens when it's not planned.

Well, I didn't plan to climb a mountain at all, let alone the 4th highest mountain in England under a raining windy day carrying a baby all the time (luckily it was not me who carried our 2 years old son). I thought we came to lake district to see lakes, why climb a mountain? But we did. 2 hours up, 1 hour down, most of the time under the rain. I even don't have the picture on the top as we can't see anything up there. I nearly gave up when we were half way through.

But the reward came later with bright sunshine waiting for us down the car parking, followed by a sunny afternoon sitting in the boat watching my brave man bathing in the lake and a cosy meal in the evening. I don't know if I want to climb Skiddaw again one day, probably not until I have done enough exercises, but this experience won't be forgotten.

Day 3-Dog friendly pub-Dog &Gun
How can we travel around England without commenting a pub?

An old styled pub, small, often too crowded but not missing any charm. It's so dog friendly that you will think its a dog owner meeting point and you can just sit down and enjoy the spectacle. People order dog food (for their dogs) while waiting for their pint. All types of dogs meet here, talking or shouting to each other, yet it's still a cosy and enjoyable place to be even you don't come with a dog.

The food was simply great with a reasonable price. Hungary Goulash is a must try, but only order the half portion even you are very hungry! It's a shame they didn't have olives: I had such an olive craving that day but was told off by my man that this type of pub doesn't serve this too sophisticated food! Really?Is it a middle class food then? I have to do more research in the future...

I'm eating: Rigatoni ai carciofi

I’m not crazy about artichokes, but it’s nice to try something new every now and then. I found this recipe on foodrepublic but this is my personal version. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 tablespoon salted butter
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped (I only had dry one)
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted, drained and halved
6 artichokes hearts in oil, drained and quartered
⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon dry white wine
finely grated zest of ½ Orange (I only had a Lemon, but I don’t think it worked as well)
7 cups (18 ounces) rigatoni
salt & pepper to taste


Directions
1. In a large skillet melt the butter with the oil.
2. Once hot, add the garlic, rosemary, olives, and artichokes and saute’ over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

3. Pou in the wine and cook for an additional 2 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
4. Add the orange zest, season with salt and pepper, and mix everything together. Set aside.

5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and add to the pan with the artichokes mixture.
6. Return the pan to high heat and mix everything together for 30 second to allow the sauce to coat the pasta evenly and serve immediately.

Very interesting flavors! I added a sausage, which made it tastier, but I think I didn’t season it enough. I will definitely try it again!

Any new recipe you want to share?

The sense of smell

According to Wikipedia, “perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent".

But your favourite perfume can be so much more than just “a pleasant scent”. It can bring you back to the 50s, make you think of sunny days or of the beach, give you that little ‘humpf’ you might need on a Monday morning, or make you feel a mysterious, dangerous and sophisticated woman.

In the words of our bloggers, our favourite scents and why.

1. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle

MAP: It’s a classic. And it reminds of the 50s, when women’s beauty routine would consist solely of talcum powder and perhaps a dusting of light perfume; so clean, pure and womanly.

2. Chanel Chance

B: It has a light fresh tone to it, but with a 'humpf'. I discovered it with a sample while buying a lipstick, and I use it since. It makes me so sophisticated and grown up when I wear it!

3. Dior J’adore

XX: I like its name, the shape of the bottle, the voice in the commercial, and its mature and long lasting scent.

4. Dior Poison

XX: My favourite! But only for special occasion: it’s sexy, charming, enchanting, flirty and naughty, yet it would suit all ages. I haven’t been naughty that often so a miniature bottle is perfect!

5. Chopard Happy Spirits

T: I like it because it’s sweet, unexpected and kind of exclusive.

6. Guerlain Kiwi

XX: This is my everyday scent. Fruity but not too sweet and very light, just the way I like it. It’s a surprise for the man kissing your neck, perfect for the summer time, but equally great in horrible weather as its freshness will make you smile.

7. Lacome Miracle

XX: I like it purely because it’s my first perfume! Like your first love, you don’t need a reason to like it, and you probably can’t even remember why you liked it after so many years!

8. Marc Jacobs Daisy

H: I really love Daisy, and men seem to really like it too. I find it a sexy yet innocent fragrance, which fits perfectly my lifestyle here in Sydney: a beach-sun-fun type of fragrance yet still womanly and graceful.

9. Jo Malone Vanilla & Anise Cologne

C: I find the fragrance very grown up, but sweet at the same time. It’s perfect when I want to feel like a graceful woman, wearing something complex but classy. By the way, the Vitamine E Nourishing Hand Treatment is incredible!

What is your favourite perfume?

In my reading list

It’s rare for me to find a book I really love, so to be reading 2 books I can’t wait to get back to is quite unexpected.

I have lived in an English speaking country for the last 10 years, so sometimes I find myself missing my own language, in need every now and then to pick up a book in Italian by an Italian author.
Andrea Camilleri and the Montalbano series had been on my radar for quite sometimes, but I always felt overwhelmed by the number of novels out there. Being the obsessive/compulsive I am, I could not stand just picking one up, I had to start from the “beginning”, which I finally found on my last trip to Italy with La prima indagine di Mondalbano (The first case of Montalbano).

I got totally hooked despite the peculiarity of the language used, a mix of Italian and the Sicilian dialect, which bothered me at first, but soon won me over, so much that I wish I could use some of those expressions in my everyday life!
And the plots are wonderful, pure investigative stories set in a small town on the Sicilian Southwest coast, elaborate enough to keep you reading, but completely realistic. Camilleri is really our own modern Agatha Christie if you want.

As I said, I’m hooked: I just bought (from Amazon.it mind you) Storie di Montalbano (Stories of Montalbano), which collects the first six novels Camilleri wrote and a number of shorter stories. 

I just started it, and at the first sign of Montalbano’s signature grumpy/pissed off mood I was already smiling. I just love Montalbano!

Most of the novels have been translated in English (you can find a list on Wikipedia) and I am really curious to know how the mixed language was translated, so, if you are short of ideas for a good book, pick one up (you really don’t need to start from the beginning) and let me know!

My subway reading choice (Storie di Montalbano is just too heavy to carry around) is Over-dressed, by Elizabeth L. Cline, a book I am also really liking.

B. picked this one up for me, and considering that the subtitle reads “The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion”, I wasn’t sure whether he was trying to send me a subtle message and what that message was - yes he does think I overdress a lot of the time, but does he think I like cheap fashion? Does he think I should buy more expensive stuff?
It turns out he just thought I might be interested in reading it. Go figure!

In a nutshell, the book tackles how consumers’ perceptions of good quality/fair priced clothing has changed over the last few decades, and what that has done to our economy and environment.
It does not say go buy a Chanel bag instead (although I almost wish it did), but rather also questions the reasons of the incredibly high tags on luxury goods. I don’t know the answers yet as I just got there, but I have an idea or two. In any case, I can’t wait to find out more.

Fascinating and really informative, it’s a good read even if you are not in/from the USA.

Let me know if you decide to go for any of these books - would love to know how you liked them.

xx
C