Archive for the ‘Travel & Leisure’ Category

10 Italian Foods Tourists Should Try On Holiday in Italy

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Italian cuisine is one of the most popular culinary art forms in the world. These flavourful dishes have often graced the tables of many homes and restaurants all over the world. Naturally, the best place to sample authentic Italian cuisine is in Italy and a holiday to the country will not be complete without sampling some of the best dishes in the region.

1. Pizza – This is a contemporary Italian dish that was invented out of necessity in times of war, where Italian peasants would bake whatever vegetables and bits of meat they had on a piece of dough. Today, this popular dish has made its way all over the world but is at its best in Italy.

2. Lasagna – This is a classic Italian dish. Usually, ground beef, an assortment of cheeses and some sausages are used in making lasagna. Some lasagna dishes are prepared using tomato sauce in a process very similar to preparing spaghetti with tomato sauce.

3. Chicken Parmigiana – This is another classic Italian dish. It is similar to a sandwich and can be made by deep frying pieces of bead and chicken topped with melted cheese.

4. Linguini – Italians make the best linguini and this dish is served with a clam sauce made out of fresh clams, garlic and olive oil.

5. Fettuccine Alfredo – Fettuccine are long, wide noodles and aflredo is a type of white cream sauce. The heavy white sauce does a good job of sticking to the fettuccine resulting in a creamy and flavourful pasta dish. This is popular dish with both locals and tourists.

6. Pasta Primavera – This is a vegetarian pasta dish usually prepared with springtime vegetables. Although authentic pasta primavera is usually vegetarian, there are some variants that use shrimp or meat.

7. Veal Marsala – This dish is composed of veal cooked in Marsala wine sauce. This delicious dish is usually served with scallions and mushrooms.

8. Shrimp fra Diavolo – This is a spicy dish aptly named. Diavolo is the Italian word for devil and this dish is prepared with a lot of crushed pepper. This dish is rather spicy but is extremely delicious.

9. Chicken Saltimbocca – This is usually made with chicken, mozzarella cheese, spinach, and prosciutto ham.

10. Spaghetti Bolognaise – This is a classic Italian dish and it is one of the most popular and recognisable Italian dishes in the world. This is a simple and affordable dish made out of spaghetti noodles, tomatoes, beef and an assortment of other ingredients. Most Spaghetti dishes are prepared with ground beef, meatballs, mushrooms, broccoli and an assortment of sausages.

Orson Johnson writes for Holiday Velvet, a website providing Self Catering holidays in Italy & Food holidays in Italy.

Article Source: 10 Italian Foods Tourists Should Try On Holiday in Italy

Advice for taking your children on a ski holiday

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

By planning out your ski holiday preparations well in advance you’ll be able to relax a lot more when your trip finally rolls around.

Babies – Your baby holiday planning will really depend on how you feed your baby. There’s a good chance that the ski resort you are visiting won’t be anywhere near a shop that stocks your baby’s particular brand of formula, so if your baby is on formula milk, remember to pack enough to see them through to the end of the trip – including the journey home. If you’re breast-feeding, you may be thinkning about having to change your normal feeding plan to fit into your holiday schedule. If you are, then you should introduce your new feeding schedule to your baby well before your trip so that they have time to get used to it. When you arrive, you don’t want to be short of nappies, and the area you’re staying in may not have the particular size or fit of nappies that your baby wears, so try to pack as many as you need.

Creche facilities – If you are travelling with particularly young children, then you may want to find out about crèches and childcare facilities in and around the resort. When you’re looking for a suitable childcare facility, take a look at prices, the age range of children that are catered for, and find out if you need to bring anything with you – perhaps you have to provide your child’s food for the day for example. Taking a list with you detailing your children’s daily routine – sleeping hours, eating habits etc, to pass on to any childminder or nursery nurse who will be looking after you little ones is always helpful.

Ski clothes – Warm and waterproof clothing is a necessity, including hats, jackets, gloves, warm boots and scarves. If you or the children are wearing pre-worn or second-hand ski clothing, it’s usually a good idea to have them re-proofed before your trip just to make sure they’re still nice and watertight. The sunlight reflecting off the snowy slopes can be particularly strong so it is a good idea to pack some sunglasses or shaded ski-goggles for your children as well as a high-factor sunscreen.

Health and safety – The most important thing you can do for your children on your skiing holiday is to keep them warmly dressed and dry. Your children will need good quality ski helmets too, to protect them if they fall. A great way to improve your children’s safety is to enrol them in ski classes, either before your trip or at your resort. Here they’ll learn to ski safely and in a protective environment.

For a skiing trip, travel insurance is an essential. The increased risk of injuries means that you want to be covered for as much healthcare as possible should you need it. And family skiing holidays can be very expensive, so in the event of any cancellations you want to make sure that you will be refunded.

For great deals on cheap holiday insurance including annual travel insurance visit AA Travel Insurance and ensure that emergency assistance is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Article Source: Advice for taking your children on a ski holiday