Not your regular Tavola Calda! – Il Cacciatore

Over the summer on one of our many walks me, Alex and Peanut found an amazing little place in the Montesacro zone of Rome called Il Cacciatore.

By chance we stopped at this tavola calda on Via Conca D’oro to get some pizza rosso for ourselves on a sunday morning as a snack. I think it was probably the best decision we made that day.

Not only is it a pizzeria, takeaway place and snack bar but all the food is freshly made with fresh products! It has a collection of over 200 different wines as well as spirits and liqueurs and craft beers.

The pizza in the window looked very inviting and when i took a bite i was quite amazed how the flavour on the tomato pizza (pizza rosso) just leapt out at every bite!

Even Alex agreed it was the best pizza we had eaten in a very long time and it was then he said the cook here must be quite old as the pizza reminded him of the pizza from the late 70’s!

And infact the place has been open since 1971 and has always been a big success with all the locals living in the area! (so you know its going to be good!)

We both agreed we would have to eat there again and so on another weekend we went on a sunday lunchtime to sample a few more of their dishes.

I decided to try the Vitello al forno con mozzarella in a sugo sauce (Veal oven cooked with melted mozzarella on top in a fresh tomato sauce). I was a bit taken aback when i was told it was normally eaten cold but once i took my first bite i realised how devine it tasted just as it was.

The meat was soft and cooked perfectly with the melted mozzarella and again the freshly made tomato sauce just exploded in my mouth with flavour it was a wonderful combination of food!

Alex had gone for the pizza again but soon insisted on taking bites of my vitello and wishing he had ordered it to! And soon we had finished off every bite in no time at all! It had been a little expensive as the Vitello had been 10 euros for the plate but it was huge and well worth the price!

I wanted to try something else after that, something hot and of course as soon as i saw the melanzane alla parmigiana i knew what i wanted next!

I have had this dish in many places before and always been slightly disappointed as its either been swimming in oil or over cooked and burnt or dry. In this case however i was delighted to find a perfect melanzane alla parmigiana and it was heavenly!

It was cook to perfection, soft and hearty and with every bite i wanted more and yes Alex did steal some from my plate!

As we sat and ate we noticed quite a few people coming in to buy the delicious food as more dishes were bought out freshly cooked from their kitchen. And i took a few quick photos of their pizza board along with some of the food out and ready to serve.

There was pizza, fritti fish, fried vegetables, suppli, lasagna, pasta arrabiata and numerous other dishes!

We visited again just this weekend gone for lunch and i had to just try something different and see if it was just as good as i remembered! We decided to try the cotoletta vitello panata and again the meat was soft and perfect and we both couldn’t stop with the praises of how much we enjoyed the food.

Of course Alex got more pizza which he and Peanut enjoyed very much and i got a small portion of melanzane alla parmigiana which i had fallen in love with on our previous trip there:)

How the heck had we never found this place before? And how come know one as far as i know has ever blogged about it?

Il Cacciatore is a little gem of a place hidden behind the words Tavola Calda pizza rustica with such mouthwatering dishes! And if your a foodie like me in Rome it’s a must try as you won’t be disappointed with these authentic italian dishes handed down from the 70’s.

And we will definitely be going back for more tempting food there that is for sure!

The place is closed on mondays but open tuesdays to sundays 9am to 11pm

Closest metro to this lovely place is: Conca D’Oro then its just a 15/20 minute walk.

Address: Pizzeria Tavola Calda a Montesacro Roma – Il Cacciatore

Via Conca D’Oro, 340,

00141 Roma

 

 

Review: Fitbit fitness tracker

Almost 6 months ago my friend Jess sent me my very own fitbit as a little present when i was visiting family in the UK back in May.

Since then my fitbit has always been on me and i love it to bits! 

What is a Fitbit you ask?

Its a fitness tracker you can wear all the time which is also wireless! I have the white Zip fitbit which is small, cute and easily clips onto my top, trousers or jeans and super easy to use.

It has a sleep mode when your not using it and activates itself when you start moving about so all you have to do is to remember to clip it on in the mornings.

It tracks my steps, distance, calories burned and is even a handy little watch which can wirelessly be connected to the fitbit app on your phone to download. Or if you have a PC it does come with a little wire if needed to download your stats that way to.

You can set goals of how many steps you want to do a day, add friends and cheer or taunt them if they manage to do more steps than you or less.

I have quite a few friends doing it so its motivational to see who is beating me or lagging behind so i can choose to cheer, taunt or message them!

There are several different types of Fitbit you can buy and as i have said i have the Zip.

The others are ‘Flex’ which is a wrist band again it counts distance, calories burnt, measures your sleep and wakes you in the morning. The only down side is you cant see your stats on the wristband screen and have to view it on the app on the phone. (Im interested in getting a wrist one but will probably go with a different make for this).

There’s also ‘One’ which is another clip version which counts steps, distance, calories burnt, steps climbed and also measures your sleep at night!

There is also a FitBit scale called ‘Aria’ which again is wireless and tracks your BMI, body fat percentage and weight and makes a helpful graph and also has online tools to help keep you motivated!

Sound cool don’t they? And i love all the different colours you can get! So bright and lovely and to me they are more than just a pedometer.

My Fitbit has kept me motivated to move for so long now and its easy just to see how far you have walked or run and sometimes its the push you need to do some more.

I try to do the minimum of 3 miles a day and more if im able to as im really enjoying my walks and then having a quick check to see how im doing on my fitbit.

The batteries for my Zip are the small round ones and last for months so i dont have to worry about them running out especially with the sleep mode.

The fitbit also lets you know if the battery is starting to run out so you have time to go and get another battery before it dies completely.

The Fitbit app is quite basic and easy to use if you just want to sync your daily steps and keep an eye on friends progress. The Fitbit website which is free to register with has some more advanced features such as a calories  in vs out section, how much water you have drunk and a  food planner. Again its very easy to use and you can choose to use these features or not as well as link for daily steps to Facebook or Twitter.

You also get awarded little badges on your Fitbit page when you reach big goal distances which is another motivational push.

I really think my Zip Fitbit has kept me aware of how much movement i have been doing in the last almost 6 months and im already over 250 miles 🙂

 

 

 

Food Review: Pinsa Re

One evening Alex messaged me about this place a friend had told him about called Pinsa Re and how good it was supposed to be.

Was it another pizza place i wondered? But Alex quickly told me that no they made Pinsa which is a type of flatbread pizza which the ancient Roman’s used to eat!

The name comes from the latin pinsere which means stretch, stretch out, and its recipe dates back to the time of ancient imperial Rome.

Hearing this i became quite intrigued at wanting to try one and so Alex quickly phoned up the place nearest to us and ordered two pinsa for that evening.

They delivered after 7.20pm and the smell was marvelous when they arrived and i couldn’t wait to get tucked into mine as we placed them on the table!

I had chosen the Provola pinsa bianca which was a combination of provola cheese, pancetta (italian bacon), crema di zucca (pumpkin sauce) and erba cipollina (chives).

It looked amazing and when i took my first bite i could see why the ancient Roman’s loved it so much it was delicious! The base was very different from a pizza base much lighter and not heavy at all which combined lovely with the toppings.

Alex had gone for the Prosciutto pinsa rossa which had prosciutto crudo, pomodoro (tomatoes) and mozzarella toppings. And he to was really enjoying his first pinsa experience as much as myself.

 

Looking at their website i knew i wanted to try another Pinsa at some point as their food gallery looked fantastic and mouthwatering! So over the weekend we ordered in again and i got to try a different one 🙂

This time i went for the Pinsa Bianca Broccoli which has of course a broccoli topping, salsiccia (sausage) and mozzarella and also seemed to have something a little spicy on it not mentioned on the menu. I really liked it but wished i had known about the spice which i guess could have been pepper corns? Im not completely sure.

Of course Alex went again for his prosciutto pinsa as he had enjoyed it so much the first time.

I think we have found our new favorite take-away treat after enjoying these so much!

I really recommend this as a must try if you are in Rome or visting as they are so good! Its about the same money wise as a pizza to buy but its definitely something a bit different.

To me this is the real ancient taste of Rome and a must try if you ever visit Rome to get the real ancient taste of this eternal city.

This is their website: http://www.pinsare.it/

Below address of the Pinsa Re restaurants:

Pinsa Re Aurelio Cassia                                             

Largo di San Godenzo, 96

00189 Roma

Tel:+39 06 3310755

Cel:+39 320 2238885

Pinsa Re Aurelio Vaticano

Via Anastasio II, 11

00165 Roma

Pinsa Re Viale Somalia

Tel:+39 06 39378383

Viale Somalia, 47 – 00199 Roma

Tel: +39 06 86219884

 

(Sidenote: One of my Pinsa photos also made it to the BrowsingItaly favorite 25 photos from Instagram last week 🙂 http://www.browsingitaly.com/italy/photos-italy-instagram-25-fav-week-sept-15/3782/

The Art of Food Art photos

As an Expat blogger i do follow other expat blogs here in Italy and their own adventures here where ever they are.

I have to admit alot of them are foodie bloggers and living here food is a big thing! Im always amazed and drooling at their food photos and how amazingly they come out.

My own foodie photos don’t come out to bad either but i never really stop to think about how to make the food look arty or attractive and so i decided to give it a go myself 🙂

I have noticed food always looks better on white plates so my first step was to go out and buy a lovely white bowl (which i fell in love with the moment i saw it) and a white plate.

Once these were bought and cleaned it was then time to think about what to try first?! Of course living in Italy it had to be pasta!

I have watched enough MasterChef episodes to know you have to place the food nicely on the plate in an attractive way and not put to much of it as well. Then it was just down to clicking photo’s in different angles with light coming from different directions.

Flipping through my photos i soon decided which i personally thought looked the best then it was a matter of just cropping the photo before it was finished!

I have to say im pretty pleased with the finished photo and got a lot of likes on Instagram even one from a chef! 😉 and hashtagging # helps to 🙂 I didn’t have to use any apps to change the look of the photo which i dont really like doing very often.

I then had a go with pizza we ordered from the corner shop one evening and again liked the way it turned out.

It really makes you think about angles, lighting and how to make the food look attractive to the eye of the person viewing it! It was also really good getting to eat it afterwards as well lol!

Then my next try was with my new favorite snack brown bread, ricotta and honey hmmm so good.

I fancied baked beans on toast one lunchtime and luckily i had a tin in the kitchen i had been saving from a trip to the big supermarket!

Desserts were quite easy and really made lovely looking photos as you see below with a crostata and a Baklava which is a turkish dessert.

Next the challenge for me was to make food outside look just as good! Especially eating out the food isn’t always presented in a pretty way depending on where you go.

Bakery House which i have already blogged about did present their food in an attractive way which made it so easy to take a very nice photo.

 

Next was a Mcchicken bacon sandwich and fries at Macdonalds, not a healthy lunch i know but still make a good looking photo 😉

Below is a porchetta sandwich 🙂 Porchetta is roasted pork and very delicious! I wish it had come on a plate but still even with the white paper it was wrapped in it still looks very good.

Next is a lovely vitello al forno with mozzarella and pomodoro sugo (veal oven cooked with melted mozarella cheese on top in a tomato sauce). Its eaten cold which sounds strange but it was heavenly and even this looked good as a photo!

Im quite enjoying making food look sexy and art-like and its not that difficult really if you just stop and think about how to make it look nice.

Its also nice to see all the likes and comments on instagram when you post the photos which gives you a confidence boost 🙂

I also found it alot easier at home in a controlled environment to take photos than it is going out to eat but again not impossible. The other important element is light as this can lead to your photo looking good or not so good. I found it a little harder in the evenings when the natural light was already gone sometimes to take a good photo i was pleased with. But with a little experimenting with indoor light you can work around it or if not it works if you have a good camera as the phone camera isn’t always so good for this.

I can see why alot of the foodie bloggers i follow enjoy taking food photos so much now! 😉

 

 

Rome Street Art – montesacro & Spagna metro

I have been noticing now for a while streetart popping up here and there when ever i go out in my local area. Some may call it graffiti and others like myself call it art.

When i say art i mean the graffiti artists who actually make art and beautiful and eye catching pieces that make you stop and think wow.

It’s been becoming more and more popular lately in many parts of Rome to find streetart on the sides of buildings and shops. There has even been an streetart exhibit at the maxxi museum here in Rome over the summer.

I have even read on one of the English Rome sites that a few Banksy artworks had been spotted although they werent completely sure they were truely his work.

But as i said there has been some interesting artwork popping up around my area and taking my phone with me i took some photos:

I liked the little faces i found on the wall under a bridge near the river and also the pink writing which was on a wall of a carpark.

This next one was right outside the vaccination centre where we take Peanut and it looks like it was requested by the place to brighten up the outside along with a few others as it was signed and dated at the bottom.

I also found some amazing pieces in the Spagna metro station one weekend when i was on my way to the Spanish steps and i couldn’t help take some photos. I thought some of these were quite stunning and this is what i mean when i say the words Streetart!

 

Im hoping to get to other parts of Rome and take photos of the other artworks which i have heard about as i think they would be very interesting to see.

Unfortunately though with the popularity of this streetart it has also bought people who just spray their names or tags on walls, buildings and anywhere else they can reach which is not attractive.

This has been springing up around Rome over the summer and finally alot of people have started to fight back by gathering togeather to repaint over the walls. It seems to be called the ‘retake Roma’ movement and volunteers clean off the paint, their latest area was Eur Femi.

Even in our local underpass i noticed just yesterday a fresh coat of paint covering the rude and non attractive graffiti.

 

Bio Parco Rome Zoo

Tuesday was Peanut’s birthday so we decided to take her to the Rome zoo Bioparco for the first time.

I have been there many times before but not as a parent and so we were looking at it this time with new eyes! I decided i would be looking out for area’s for kids, changing areas etc anything helpful to parents like us when they visit.

We arrived just after 10am as the park opens at 9.30am and found the ticket booth wasn’t busy so it was only a matter of minutes getting our tickets. We stopped to see the turtles lazying about in the Sunshine just outside the park gates for a few minutes which sparked Peanut’s interest.

Peanut got in free as she was 1yr old, Alex and myself paid the 15 euros each which is the adult price.

The woman told us as we had a stroller/pushchair we wouldnt be allowed into the inside fish area and also the reptile house. This was fine with us as we didn’t think Peanut would be to interested in these this year and would be more exciting the following year.

We also discovered we couldnt take it on the zoo train and decided to leave this for next year to 🙂

The first thing we came to once we entered was the Giraffe enclosure where we found we had to leave our stroller outside in a little area if we wanted to go inside or up ontop to view the animals.

Picking up Peanut Alex headed up top with me following behind to find the giraffes enjoying their breakfast!

Next we headed down to the farmyard area where there was a collection of chickens, pigs, donkeys, a cow, bees, etc

Here we also found out first toilet area which was marked on our handy map we had recieved with our tickets. It was good to know where the toilets were with changing areas for children.

Peanut seemed to be a bit puzzled by the animals as she hasn’t seen anything like these before and even a little nervous at first. But she was enjoying a new place and the adventure of the day and also seeing all the other children at the zoo.

Carrying on we found a selection of different types of deers along with the african dogs which had recently had puppies! They were all out and close up to the fences which i have never seen before. It seemed we had come at the right time as all the animals were being fed so actually out and about.

Here we encountered rather alot of steps leading up to the next area so we had to retrace our steps back and go round another way to the same area. This didn’t take long and we soon found ourselves near the mini monkey area and other monkeys like the baboons.

We found plenty of benches to stop and sit down for a while as we fed Peanut some pizza rosso for a snack along with some milk. We did get pestered by a peacock at this stage as it was after our food and we had to keep shooing it away as it was quite determined.

Carrying on we found ourselves beside the vulture cages and discovered groups of children on some kind of course where they help out the zoo keepers and learn about the animals! It was fun to watch them sweep the floors and move buckets as the keeper explained everything to them!

There were also plenty of feral zoo cats slinking about and we even found one trying to look through the rubbish bags on a little cart!

We stopped to look at the different types of vultures which all looked huge and impressive.

There was one in particular which just stood and eyes us up and looked at Peanut like she could be its next snack! It had the prettiest eyes though as it just stood and stared straight at us. I managed to snap some photos of it on my camera which was perfect for this sort of thing as it just wouldn’t have worked with the camera on my phone.

As we carried on walking we found the wallabys and emus enclosure opposite the zoo restaurant and little shop where you could find food, drinks and icecream. They were both closed and we were not sure why as usually the little shop is open. We had to make room for a female peacock as she proudly walked down the road with her little baby in tow looking for food.

Carrying on we found another toilet area and also by then we had noticed plenty of water fountains as well where you could stop and take a drink or wash your hands.

Peanut was mesmerised by the lemurs when we found them as she watched them run, jump, play and bounce around as they enjoyed their breakfast!

She also really liked the seals when we found them as one was swimming backwards and forwards in their pool 🙂

By now we decided to have another sit down and coming to the picnic area we found one of the food places finally open.

Here we could buy some warm prosciutto and cheese sandwiches along with other different sandwhiches, hotdogs, icrecream, coffee and drinks.

We bought the prosciutto and cheese sandwiches and settled down on a bench to share them with Peanut.

This is where i tell you to beware the peacocks if you ever visit as there are tons of them! And alot of them seemed quite happy to hang around the picnic area looking for anyone enjoying a snack!

They were even ontop of the place we had bought the food looking down at people as they walked away! We were only bothered by one peacock but it was the ducks we had to be careful off! Two ducks marched up and edged closer and closer as we were eating until we had to scare them away!

I think next time we might take a picnic of our own as it might be cheaper and alot of people seemed to be doing this. Also here there is a large pond area with birds like ducks and geese etc. There is also a huge play area for kids which is wonderful if you want to have a break from walking around!

As we moved on we found the elephants and at this stage Peanut fell asleep from excitement! 🙂 But me and Alex decided to carry one and so moved to the camels next door.

Alex wanted to wash his hands and we found a handy water fountain just behind the large pond where i discovered some flamingos!

We moved onto the brown bear enclosure but there was no sign of the bear at all which must have been hiding!

Beside the bear enclosure is a little slope up which not many people take, here there are signs showing you the different types of bears. There are also little port holes to look down into the bear area and this is where i discovered the bear happily hiding from the watchers below.

Frankly i don’t blame him for wanting a break sometimes and he looked quite happy where he was on the rocks above the main area.

Here we found more steps up but if you went left you could follow the path upwards and not have to walk up them all. Here we found zebras and other savana animals enjoying the Sunshine.

Here we stopped for another break as Peanut was still sleeping and also found another toilet area if we needed it. We were also eyed up by one of the many seagulls to see if we had food for it which we did not.

Alex decided to carry on sitting on the bench watching Peanut while i had a quick look at the chimpanzees who were just sitting about. I like the way the chimp i was watching kept looking over at me then seemed quite happy to pose in different positions which made it easy to get some nice photos 🙂

As we were approaching the reptile house and knew we couldn’t go in there we decided we would make our way out of the park. But as we moved along we found ourselves outside a new area to the park where the komodo dragon was housed!

Im pretty certain he’s new to the zoo as we have never seen him before! His name was Richard and he was lovely but deadly as he moved around his huge home before taking a little bath.

Peanut was still asleep and we had been at the park for a good 3 hours so we headed back to the entrance where you have to go through the zoo shop to get out. This is quite clever by the zoo as your soon surrounded by cuddly toys, animal books, plastic animal toys and other bits and bobs! So there is no escape if you have kids as they will head straight for the toys!

So even though she was still fast asleep we bought Peanut a little present a toy tiger 🙂 As you leave the gift shop there is also another bar where you can buy food, drinks and of course icecream.

She was still asleep as we left and headed back to the car and didnt wake up until we popped her in her carseat but she was smiling in her sleep so we knew she had fun. She also loved her toy tiger which she played with all the way home so all in all it was a very good first birthday for her. 🙂

If your in Rome with kids i would recommend it for a good day out! We didn’t even get to see all off it including the lions, tigers, some of the monkeys, wolves, fish and reptiles!

There are plenty of toilet areas with baby changing areas and water fountains if you need to top up your water. The kids have fun and so do the adults and the animals are amazing to see.

The map we were given was very helpful telling you the feeding times of some of the animals, It also had signs for all the facilities such as toilets, childrens play area, where the animals were,picnic area and the food places along with services for disabled visitors.

And i think its well worth the 15 euro’s for adults and 12 euro’s for children over 1 metre and under 12yrs old.

There website is in english and italian so pretty easy to use: http://www.bioparco.it/

 

Week 39 to 52 – Happy Birthday Peanut! 1 year old today

39 weeks i was 9 months old and starting to learn fast what i liked and didnt like. Mummy said i was becoming a bit bossy. I was also practising standing in a crawling position but i kept falling down a little but i was getting better at it each day.

40 weeks i was trying fish for the first time and other foods i hadn’t tried before and found i liked most of them. I even started on baby pasta which i really liked! Papà said i was a big girl now.

I started to pull myself up on Papà when he was next to me and i liked to practising taking steps if someone held me in a standing position.

41 weeks this week i was able to get up into a sitting position all by myself and i practise everyday to get better at it. I was enjoying my walks in the park with Mummy and playing on the swings where i even made some little friends!

Mummy bought me my first ever swimming costume for our holiday in July which was exciting!

I was teething badly on my upper gums which hurt alot! I started to chew on anything i could grab to help my teeth break through the gums. I even started to bite Mummy and Papà when i could which i got told off for!

42 weeks i had 5 teeth by now with one more on the way as Mummy and Papà could see more coming through my gums. Papà lowered my crib so i couldnt pull myself up and out of it.

Papà was ill with a virus and gave it to me as well and i had a temperature all day and all night. Mummy didn’t sleep much as she was watching over me but i liked it when she sponged me with a wet sponge. The illness only lasted 24 hours and then i was fine again even though Papà was ill for longer! Mummy said its my good english genes coming out heehee.

I finally managed to crawl a little on the sofa as i was after the tv remote control which was alot of fun.

43 weeks i was deciding what i liked and didn’t like to eat now and would get grumpy if it was something i didn’t like and get angry about it.

It was fun to start rolling off the sofa so i could lean against it to stand up and use it to balance for a few minutes although Mummy didn’t seem happy about it at first. But then she would stay beside me as i did it so i wouldn’t fall on the Marble floor and hurt myself.

Mummy also discovered me trying to stand up in my crib when i was supposed to be napping! I still dont have the confidence yet to pull myself right the way up only half way but i like practising now 🙂

I was teething so badly that i cried in the park a few times and Mummy had to keep putting the gel on my gums to help. They could see 6 teeth already with my gums all swollen and painful Papà said he thought more must be coming to. I didn’t want to eat much while this was happening as it was to painful but i did manage to eat a bit.

44 weeks my teething was better and i had my first taste of icecream and liked it so much that i wanted more!

We went on our first family holiday to Tuscany which was a long drive in the car 🙂 Mummy and Papà had packed all my favorite things and clothes for our Holiday and even bought my DVD’s of my favorite cartoons to watch there.

I had my first ever time in a swimming pool while we were there and it was so much fun! I kicked, splashed and tried to swim in Mummy and Papà’s arms. And i really didn’t like it when we had to get out sometimes!

I really loved the village we were having our holiday in and it was so nice to go out for walks in the square and see all the cats, birds and butterflies. I would get very excited when i saw we were going out and would stare out of the window of the door longingly.

45 weeks I was eating like a big girl and nibbled on some breadsticks and even more gelato! I loved sharing some of Mummy’s cornetto (cake) in the morning for breakfast and i would give her a big smile when i saw she had one!

I got lots of attention from our friends in the village and liked to watch the other children play and even go out for evening walks 🙂 We even went back to the swimming pool and i loved it as it was so exciting!

Mummy and Papà spent lots of time with me on the big bed practising my crawling and even our friend helped me stand up when we were outside in the square. After that i was obsessed with trying to stand up and wanted to be up all the time balancing on stuff.

46 weeks I was still obsessed with standing up and would pull myself up into a standing position using Mummy’s hair which she was a bit grumpy about. But then she would help me stand and even showed me how to stand in my crib!

I started practising pulling myself up on Papà when he was beside me to and slapped his tummy or layed my head on it which was nice.

Papà said i had to also practise crawling so he would use the tv remote which i like alot by putting it one end of the sofa then the other so i had to move after it. I really liked this game it was fun and i would laugh with delight when i finally got the remote!

I was also eating  little bits of white pizza from the corner shop all by myself this week as well although i only ripped off little bits with my teeth but i liked it alot.

I had started teething again to and my gum’s were swollen and so i started to bite things like Mummy, toys, pillows and i even tried to bite Papà to but it didn’t seem to help at all 😦

47 weeks i was 11 months old and enjoying going fast on the swing in the park with Mummy in the mornings! I had my first taste of chips little piece from Mummy’s dinner out one evening.

Papà also let me taste his pizza rosso which was packed with tomato sauce and i loved it! I loved pulling little pieces of white pizza of with my 6 teeth and Mummy thought she could see tooth number 7 coming along nicely to!

I was climbing up to a standing position all the time now using Papà, Mummy, the sofa and anything else i could find. I could balance against these things and hold my own weight with straight back for ages.

I could also sit up on my knees and get up that way as well!

48 weeks Mummy held me under my arm pits so i was standing on the floor and i began to take steps! She even held my hand sometimes instead and i would squeal with excitment.

I also learnt how to shriek and scream when i was very upset by listening to the other kids in the park when they were bad. Mummy said she didn’t like me Learning stuff like this from the other kids!

We played on the slide alot in the park as well and i liked banging it and trying to climb up it.

I was becoming more and more obsessed with the 3 wheeled kids bikes people left in the playground for us to play with. I wanted to stand next to them all the time using them for balance and to bang them and explore them.

I also went of fruit this week and didn’t want to eat it for my breakfast and would cry if anyone tried to make me! Even though they said it was good for me i didn’t want it.

49 weeks I started getting upset if anyone took me out of the swing when i wanted to stay in it and play.

Also now i had decided i didnt like fruit for breakfast in any shape or form and would even kick or slap it out of Mummy or Papà’s hand if they tried to feed it to me.

They discovered i was teething again really badly my gums were all swollen and i didn’t want to eat very much as it hurt badly. So Mummy let me eat as much as i wanted and tried me with new things which were soft like scrambled egg and ricotta cheese.

I had been saying Mamma and Babbo for a few months now but i started to say them all the time 🙂 Babbo is another way of saying Papà and this made him very happy!

When Papà came home i would say Babbo Babbo Babbo! but most of the time in the day i just said Mamma Mamma Mamma and other happy noises.

I was crawling properly now and could move very fast so Mummy had to watch me all the time. She would put a blanket down so i could crawl on the floor and not the Marble floor. But i was still obsessed with standing up and practising to balance myself! I would even use things to blanace then let go and be ok fo 30 seconds before i fell down again.

50 weeks I started to throw things out of my stroller, high chair and off the bed when i didn’t want them and onto the floor. Papà said i was being naughty but Mummy said it was just a phase 🙂

I was happy to eat some fruits again for breakfast as long as Mummy shared it with me and fed me with her hands. I also liked to start saying Papà in a singsong voice and make little squealing sounds when i was excited.

I had my first taste of pancake when Mummy took me out for brunch to meet a friend 🙂

Mummy let me taste her pizza with mozzarella, tomatoes and prosciutto and i loved it so much i wanted to eat it all!

Now if Mummy or Papà have pizza then i growl and reach for it as i want it as its so yummy!

51 weeks This week i didn’t want to eat my baby food anymore i would just take a few mouthfuls and then want to eat Mummy’s lunch!

So Mummy would let me eat some of my food and then she would share her lunch with me everyday 🙂 I felt like such a big girl eating big food and Papà said feeding me would be much easier this way. Especially as i already liked pizza and pasta like a proper Italian princess 😉

Mummy also put down the mat from Ikea that Papà bought me over the weekend so i could crawl on the floor. She also put down some soft tiles and i was so happy i was crawling all over the place and playing on them for hours.

But i made my little toes bleed from rubbing my legs excitedly on the mat so Mummy said i have to be more careful and not do that.

I started poking my tongue out for the first time coping Mummy as she always does it to me and now its my favorite expression and i do it all the time 🙂

I could pull myself up into a standing postion in my crib now as i was getting very confident about standing and Mummy said i would soon be walking!

I got very upset when Mummy said i couldnt hold or pull her hair anymore and screamed and cried! She said i didn’t need it for self-comforting anymore and had to learn to do it on my own 😦

I tried to eat all of Mummy’s cheesecake gelato one evening when we were out and even demanded some of her pasta when she had it for dinner! So she would break it up small so i could eat it to 🙂

52 weeks Its tuesday the 9th September and my birthday today!! I am 1 year old today and so big and still growing 🙂 I have grown so much from when i was a tiny baby and i am now a toddler.

Mummy and Papà took me to the zoo for the first time today and it was a big suprise! I liked looking at the animals and seeing the other children having fun. I also liked eating my pizza rosso and prosciutto for lunch and also sharing Mummy’s icecream!

And when it was time to go home Papà bought me a toy tiger just for me so i could remember the day! 😀

I had such a good birthday i cannot wait to see what the next years will bring 🙂

Sharing my Tuscan Experience

I am quite happy that so many people really enjoyed my holiday posts about Tuscany and our experiences there! 🙂

And i was even more excited and honoured to be asked to share 6 of my favorite holiday photos on the BrowsingItaly website under their ‘show and tell’ section!

I also added a few helpful tips and names of the places which i was happy to share for those interested in visiting the same places.

You can find my photos here on the BrowsingItaly website: http://www.browsingitaly.com/tuscany/show-tell-visit-maremma-tuscany/3867/

I was also asked very nicely to share my blog post on our visit to Sovana in Tuscany by the Sovanablog which is all about the town and local area!

And i was more than happy to do so! 🙂 and you can find it here on their website:  http://sovanablog.altervista.org/

I have never had anything published about Italy on other sites before either writing or photos so its quite a big deal for me and really made my week!

I really can’t wait for us to go back to Tuscany which will hopefully be a long weekend before Christmas 🙂

 

365 Days of Happy – Days 31 to 60

Day 31 – new workout tops and what they says is true! 🙂

Day 32 Gelato at the local Gelateria!

Day 33 prosciutto and stracchino sandwich yum!

Day 34 family watching the wrestling every tuesday evening! We love it!

Day 35 Beer-a-misu! which has guinness inside at our local Irish pub!

Day 36 Peanut in her first ever dress 🙂 A gift from her Aunty Anita.

Day 37 New weights both 7kgs for my weights workout.

Day 38 Trapizzino from our local pizza place! sooo good!

Day 39 Finding a beautiful fresco on the back of a local Church.

Day 40 A gift for Peanut from one of the old ladies we Always talk to in the park. She knitted the teddy bear especially just for little Peanut! We love it!

Day 41 After dinner biscuits Alex sneakily bought home with him!

Day 42 Peanut practising her standing in the park playground shes obsessed with the 3 wheeled bikes there people leave for the kids to play with! Love my playground 🙂

Day 43 trying a Palestinian dish called Maqluba for lunch it was really good!

Day 44 Chinese dinner out at a friends house this evening we had a lovely time 🙂

Day 45 In the Pub again! Love coming to the local Irish pub especially as its all different now including the food.

Day 46 Deciding what to wear on my evening out for the next day.

Day 47 a night out on the river Tevere with Rivertracks

Day 48 finding these English crisps in the local Italian supermarket and of course buying some.

Day 49 these crisps are Amazing!! so good with a cup of tea! yum!!

Day 50 I binned all my old makeup which i had a lot of and decided to go simplistic with just a mascara and lip gloss! 🙂 Basic is better.

Day 51 at the sports centre we found sorting out parent and baby swimming lessons for Peanut after our visit to the UK in October.

Day 52 watching the New episodes of Dr Who on my phone 😉

Day 53 the Bus driver let Peanut it in his seat! I don’t think they would do this anywhere else in the world apart from Italy lol She wasn’t to sure though when he said she could drive the bus lol

Day 54 lovely clean new White plates i bought which are lovely for taking food photos on for Instagram and my blog!

Day 55 my new favorite snack brown bread with ricotta and honey! Its so good and my favorite for mid-morning.

Day 56 meeting up with Diana another expat here in Rome and having these amazing pancakes at Bakery House all at the same time! 😉

Day 57 a little bit of home for lunch today! lovely Beans on toast with butter! yum!!

Day 58 getting my blog post about our trip to Sovana Tuscany published on the Sovanablog website which was quite exciting! 😀

Day 59 cheapo new shoes i bought off the Market there so comfortable 🙂 love the colour and they will be good for whats left of the summer and then next summer to!

Day 60 having lunch at a friends house eating their homemade lasagna and enjoying a relaxing sunday afternoon 🙂

60 days already done and over and just another 305 days to go! 🙂 Can you post a photo of something that makes you happy for 365 days? (1 year) Im giving anyone who reads this the challenge! 🙂