Venice Foodie Tours To Make Your Mouth Water

 Did you know that I’m something of a closet foodie? No? Then perhaps I need to advertise the fact more as to be honest I love spending time in the kitchen, creating, experimenting and putting together meals for my family.

Thankfully Roy and the boys are all fairly adventurous when it comes to food and so are willing to try pretty much anything which in turn gives me a free rein when it comes to concocting new recipes.

spiralized

For me half of the fun is creating something new from scratch while discovering new ingredients. While we’re somewhat limited here in rural Thirsk with regards shopping choices (we have Tesco, Lidl, a Co-op and a smattering of the usual butchers and greengrocers in town) we do have a weekly market, some of which have a foodie slant and a new monthly farmer’s market with producers and growers bringing new and interesting flavours from all over Yorkshire.

What I’d really like to see more of however are more authentic foods from abroad. I stumbled across the name Emilia Delizia recently and was blown away by the food-related tours and treats the company offers. I could for example visit Venice and be taken on an in-depth tour of local eateries and producers, visiting local recommended tapas style bars ( which I believe are called Bacarl) in order to sink my teeth into some chicchetti which are the renowned Venetian tapas.

Indeed given how much I love to cook and how much Roy loves to sample my creations I could see a foodie tour such as this being something we could very much enjoy together. As well as the obvious food aspect of the tour there is the historical aspect of both the city and the background behind the foods and drinks we’d no doubt be introduced to.

VenicePhoto Credit

Being not very well travelled at all (as in I don’t actually nor have I ever owned a passport) I can honestly say that I expect my perception of authentic fare, impressions gleaned from hours in the supermarket and at the markets is really quite removed from what I’d see abroad. A culinary tour of Venice, or indeed a series of tours around a number of European countries sounds amazing and is certainly something I’ve added to my “Don’t leave it too long” bucket list. Outside of Venice I’d love to do something more fish-related. I love fish however I’m not terribly inventive when it comes to new fish-related dishes, particularly shellfish.kj  Something else for me to think about?

What about you? Does an authentic foodie tour of Venice or indeed anywhere sound good to you? What one foodie city would you like to visit, what one European dish would you like to learn to cook properly?

 

 

Hi Ho Back to Weight Watchers I Go

Hi Ho Back to Weight Watchers I Go

As many of you know I have been a Slimming World member for longer than I care to admit (I’ve been slimming in one way or another since I turned 18). I have health and weight goals that I have to meet and the only way to do so (for me) has been to attend a regular slimming club.

SW has been great however I’ve recently become… bored is probably the best word. It’s hardly surprising as I know the plan inside out and back to front and so I’ve struggled. I made the executive decision last week to leave Slimming World and return to Weight Watchers (I was gold member back in 2005). I’m not knocking SW, don’t get me wrong. It’s a great way to lose weight but isn’t for me right now.

My first WW meeting was Sunday night and I’m so glad I went. I’m not a huge fan of the leader who has run WW classes here on a Tuesday since the beginning of time however hearing that there was a new class with a new leader opening was the tipping point for me.

My weight loss journey is an on-going one and for the first time in a long time I’m feeling motivated again. It’s been a good ten years since I’ve done WW and so I’m a newbie once more. This means there are new recipes, shiny new books and the like and most importantly a new focus. Hopefully when I return on Sunday it’ll be with a decent loss; either way I’m feeling positive and that’s never a bad thing.

Wish me luck!

 

I've even been inspired to increase my activity levels. I don't recognise myself!
I’ve even been inspired to increase my activity levels. I don’t recognise myself!