Beginning 2014 with a plunge!

January 1, 2014 couldn't have started off with any better weather. It was sunny, crystal clear, and warm with temperatures in the upper 50's- the perfect day for the annual Polar Bear Plunge into the Adriatic Sea. Here in Venice,  a group called "gli ibernisti" take a swim at the public beach on the Lido, followed by a lively celebration to bring in the New Year right! 

Although I've known about this event, this was the first year I attended. No, I did not participate- a bit too cold for me to be jumping into the Adriatic. However, I will admit, it was such a warm day and everyone out there in the water was having such a good time, I was truly very tempted to join them.

Music, clowns and lots of bubbles kept the crowd happy while waiting for the swimmers to arrive.
                           
The sea was peaceful and calm. It would have been a wonderful morning for a long walk along the coast.

   

 At 12 noon, these brave souls donned in bathing suits parted the crowds as they made their way to the beach front.

 The actual swim didn't last long, under 10 minutes. 

 Everyone made their way back to the shore where there was lots of photo taking.

 Unusual footwear! 

 These lovely ladies were adorned with sparkly necklaces just right for the occassion.

 You can tell who the "regulars" are!

 After the plunge, the celebration turned up a notch. The band entertained the crowds with familiar selections of both Italian and American tunes. Many were dancing and singing along.

 Even the dogs were taking advantage of the warm mid-day sun!

 The entire crowd lined up for a bowl of lentils and cotechino, a traditional New Year's day meal in this part of Italy. Eating lentils on New Years is said to bring good luck, similar to eating pinto beans in the USA.  Panettone, pandoro  (traditional holiday sweets) and local wine (sfuso) siphoned from a vat for everyone was an added treat.  The fantastic weather only aided in helping all of us get in the spirit of the celebration. I can imagine in other years taking the swim or being an observer might not be so pleasant depending on how frigid the day is.

Here's to 2014!  I hope this coming year is filled with good health, love, laughter, and dreams fulfilled for all of you.  Buon Anno Nuovo!

New Year's Eve 2013 in Venice

Tonight's festivities in Piazza San Marco are being advertised (see photo of poster below) as White Christmas 2013. Too bad- we have no snow.  Perhaps everyone will be wearing white!

If you are here and want to be where the action is tonight-

10:30 pm- live music in the Piazza with the Venice White band, and entertainment by Mr. White.  (Don't know who Mr. White is, I'm almost tempted to go to St. Mark's just to find out!)

11pm- free toast with Bellini Canella

Just before 12pm- the countdown to the New Year. Just like in Times Square!

12:15 am - Fireworks in St. Mark's basin

12:30 am - music in the square with DJ Maci

The stage in St. Mark's square will be the center of all the festivities, until a little after midnight when the fireworks begin.

I was present in St. Mark's square for New Years Eve two years ago, I will not be returning this evening. I will avoid the masses, probably will be 7,000 to 10,000 people there. Instead, we will have a quiet dinner at home. At midnight, we'll stroll over to the waterfront just up from Sant'Elena at Giardini to view the fireworks. No one does fireworks like the Italians. I think they invented pyrotechnics.

Cotechino or zampone and lentils are traditionally served for dinner on New Year's Eve, which is called Cenone di San Silvestro.  Cenone literally means "big dinner".  Lentils, because they look like coins, are eaten in the hopes of having lots more money/luck in the coming year. We were given a gift of a cotechino last year, we tried it, we're  not having it again this year. Our dinner is a little less traditional. Roast chicken, roast potatos with onions and raddiccio, and yes, lentils. We will hope for a little bit of luck in 2013!

(photo courtesy Italianfood.about.com)

My initial idea for today's blog was a month by month review of my 2012. As hard as I tried, I couldn't come up with anything that satisfied me.  It's been a good year. A bit trying at times, but on the whole, a good one.  We traveled- the month of February in Portugal (Porto, Lisbon and Madiera Island) and the month of November in China (Beijing, Xian, down the Yangtze River, Shanghai and Hong Kong), with a brief  2 day visit to Istanbul. Both of our dogs, Sam and Leo, passed away this year. We had great visits with family and friends, including a month with my daughter Shannon, and made new friends along the way.  We sadly said goodbye to loved ones who succumbed to cancer this year.  We survived the move to the new apartment. 

 Mike and I were just commenting over lunch this afternoon that the move feels like we flipped the page, closing a chapter of our lives and starting a new one.  Perfect sentiment for today, the last day of the 2012. 

With that, I will wish all of our family, friends far and wide, and all my blog readers the happiest of New Year's. Buon Anno. Tanti Auguri a tutti!  

A Christmas gift from our Butcher

It's a HUGE holiday weekend here- Christmas Eve, Christmas and then Monday, Santo Stefano day.Santo Stefano day (Festa di Santo Stefano) is the celebration of the announcement of the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the 3 wise men. Three important holidays back to back, and that translates to  LOTS of eating.  So, we've been getting ourselves prepared  for the last few days.

Thursday I spent the morning at the Rialto fish market picking up everything we needed for our Christmas Eve feast. Traditionally, Christmas Eve  (Vigile di Natale) is the day Italian families usually eat fish. The Christmas Eve dinner in most parts of Italy is called the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Seven courses, all fish. We're not going quite that far- but we will have some smoked salmon, shrimp, oysters and baked salmon.  We'll be stuffed at that point, but must leave room for a traditional Italian Christmas dessert- Panettone!

Another mission on Thursday was to find the duck breasts we're making for Christmas dinner. Mission accomplished.  By the time I finished marketing on Thursday, I had just about everything needed for the weekend food fest.  When we double checked our cooking plans after I got home from shopping all over Venice, I discovered there were a few items still needed, so I sent Mike out with a list yesterday afternoon.

Mike's first stop was the butcher's to pick up some sausage for Christmas morning breakfast. As he was paying, the butcher gave him a Christmas gift- a Cotechino!!!!

I've seen them in the grocery store, and knew what it was, but have never eaten one. Cotechino is a traditional Italian meal served on New Year's day. It's sausage like, made of pig parts and lots of spices including mace, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and cayenne. I had to look up a recipe for it.  You pierce the skin with a fork, wrap it tightly in foil, and either simmer it in water for several hours, or cook it in the oven. When ready to serve, you peel off the casing, slice it in thick slices and eat it while it's still hot with either polenta, lentils or potatoes.  Guess what we're eating for New Year's??

The butcher on the corner by the Scuola dei Carmini ,who has been open a little under a year now, has been one of our favorite new additions to our little neighborhood. Besides the fact that he has the best meats, this is another opportunity for us to shop local, and develop a relationship with the owners.  For us, one of the draws of the Italian lifestyle has been the little mom and pop stores.  We love being able to pop into the wine store, the cheese store, our local fish guy, or the butcher on a regular basis. It's a good life.



Buon Natale a tutti.