Let me start to talk about "polenta", this delicious main and second course that you can eat with fish (cod) and meat. Cornmeal cooked in a special pot (that we call "paiolo") in two litres of water with a pinch of salt for an hour.

When this dish is cooked there are a lot of different ways to eat it, hot and less hot, made baked with different cheese, with sugar, with milk (to go for a walk to the mountain and to find on the top of the mountain some "polenta" with fresh milk could be something that you'll never forget).......

Anyway today I'm eating "polenta" with "tapelucco"!
..........you're probably asking what is that????
Don't worry, nothing strange, it's just meat, minced meat cooked with tomatoes and some herbs.

It's a rich dish which can also be eaten like a main dish with all your family, expecially when outside it's cold, it's snowing or it's raining. Eating this dish can't miss a glass of good Italian wine like "Nebbiolo - Chianti - Barbera".

I'm sure that some of you already know this dessert, but for those who don't know it yet, let me explain how to prepare it. Are necessary (for three person) some coffee, two eggs, two spoons of sugar, 250 gr. of "mascarpone", some biscuits and a little bit of liquour.

For those that want to try it here are some informations to prepare it.
You'll have to put two eggs in a basin with two spoons of sugar.
When the eggs will be weel beaten add the mascarpone since you'll get a smooth cream.
After that add a little bit of liquour like brandy or cognac and stir gently. ok, your cream is ready. Now put a little bit of liquour in your coffee too.

You'll have to put in a mold one or more layers of biscuits dippend in the coffee and layers of cream.

After that your "tiramisù" is almost ready.

Put it in the fridge for some hours and before to eat sprinkle with chocolate powder.

After this meal can't miss an Italian "espresso".

Ok, this was first of all my homework for my teacher (please excuse me for my late), than a topic who some readers asked me last week.

Now the worst thing, it's time to say goodbye.

Unfortunately I'm not sure to have enought time for enother blog so this one could be the last one.

First of all I'd like to thank the BBC Learning English and my teacher for gave me this great opportunity that I'll never forget.

I'm sure to have a lot of things to learn but I'm also sure to love this language with all my heart.

At last I'd really like to thank all the readers who sent me message with praise and encouragement, but there are no words for that.

All the best for everyone
and goodbye!

Vito

It's important not to spend a lot for the hotel because to visit some very interesting places you'll have to pay a lot because Venice is really beautiful like expensive. You'll have to pay for everything, also to visit St. Mark's Church or to go on top of St. Mark's tower (I paid Euro 8,00 for my eight years old son for ten minutes).

If you decide to buy this ticket you should be careful because beeing more solutions if you wrong the duration of the ticket you might be obliged to buy enother one (enother advise could be that not to buy tickets at the hotel but to the ticket office). You'll have to validate them each time you take the bus or the boat through the ticket machine. Be careful not to forget to validate your ticket because the inspectors are always present.

By public boat is possible to go to Murano (famous for great glass processing), Burano and Torcello, really interesting with wonderful colours and cute little bridges.

The Ducal Palace, The Glass Museum, St. Mark's Church, St. Mark's Tower, S.Rocco Big School, and others places not less important will enrich your knowledge.

You can't also miss a boat ride by night with the Grand Canal illuminated by the lights of Restaurants, it will be something that you'll never forget in your life.


Best regards to all
Vito

Everything started some years ago, when I decided to try. Whitout evening class after work in my countryside I only had the internet resurces, some genuine and some less genuine. Online I found some friends really interested in learning other foreign languages so this was been my luck.

My biggest problem was to find British mother tongue people who were available to practise with me, I needed to listen (to understand slowly and quickly spoken) and to speak because at the beginning my pronunciation was really bad and full of mistakes. I was interested in British accent because the American one was quite complicated for me and with different words.

Luckely I found some friends, important for different reasons. I'll never forget a friend from Estonia (not mother tongue but really helpful for me), from London (that I also met in London during my British holiday), from Cork and from Guilford. Listing this person I don't want to forget others obviously not less important.

After some months of study I could see my first progresses so I decided to do an English course also if it wasn't near my house. The final result was quite good so I had to go in England to crown my dream and this I did, I went to London for a week with all my family.

In London I visited a lot of really interesting places like The Big Ban,

The house of Parliament:

Buckingham Palace, The Westminster Abbey, The S.Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge:

The National Gallery, Madame Tussauds Museum ect.

Today I'd like to speak a little bit about my countryside, in particoular about mountains of "Valle Formazza".

Very often I love to go there in Summer for a great walks in the woods and in Winter too.
In a better season it's really nice to find after some hour walk really beautiful natural Likes like this one, with suggestive coulors and really peaceful.

Walking through the paths is really nice to find some squirrels who are waiting for something to eat than if you have a look in the sky in a total silence some hang gliders lands slowly on the grass.

It's also easy to find good mushrooms, blueberries, delicious fresh milk, yoghurt and of course cheese.

So, what should I have more?

Go to work like everyone every day and go to the mountains as soon as I can to have a rest seams me a pretty nice combination to regenerate our bodies and our minds.
There aren't just bad things to see, think and live but it's important to be a little bit positive always and for everything.

That's life!

Best regards to all!

Vito

This time I'd like to speak a little bit about my trip in Rome (dedicated to Hope who comes from there and to all those who follow me).

My latest time for visiting Rome was four years ago, when I went there to show some really interesting places to my children. There where a lot of Monuments and interesting sights to see but one in particoular I'm sure to not forget in my life: the wonderful "fontana di Trevi" because was almost incredible and to be there almost surreal, so this was the reason because before to return at home we had staied to see it twice.

The "Colosseo", "Musei Vaticani", "Basilica di S.Pietro", "Panteon", "Galleria Borghese", "Piazza di Spagna" and "Piazza Navona" were just some others sites, not less important of course!

With a red bus like the English's ones (and others colours as the particoular site of the city you would like to see) is possible to go eround the city taking wonderful pictures. This one was a very interesting service, not very expensive and helpful to not spend a lot of time.

In the evening was nice go to "Trastevere" to find some good restaurants with a really friendly people, to eat some delicious dishes like "Spaghetti all'amatriciana". Trastevere is a particoular site of the city aslways connected by public transport, not very distant from the city centre and where everything it's always less expensive but really nice and sudgestive.

I'm sure to return there for my next trip to the Capital.

I really hope to not have problems to explain what I have in my mind and please excuse me for all the mistakes that I'm sure there will be in my written.

For my first blog let me introduce myself explaining the reason because I'm here.
My name is Vito Stelfi, I was born in Italy where I live whith all my family.
I work as accountant in a small factory near here.
I'm forty-four years old, I'm married and I have two lovely children. They go to the secondary level school and to the primary school.

We live in the north Italy in a little country near a beautiful like name's Lake Maggiore.

Just one year ago I went to an English course in the evening, after work, twice a week for six months. This course was really helpful for me but anway I know my limits and I'm sure to still have a lot of things to learn. Unfortunately I can't go to the evening class this year because it's quiet distant from my country and to go there, there are almost twenty kilometers by car........

Like everyone we always have a lot of others things to do more important for the family so this is the reason because I have to practise online.

In this site I found a lot of interesting things to read and to listen but sometimes they are quiet difficult for me because I'm at the beginning.

In some sites around the web it's difficult to find mother tongue English people who are interestend to learn Italian so it's difficult too to have a tandem exercise.

I don't know why, but there are a lot of people who want to learn English and less people who want to learn Italian. Very often there are some foreign friends to speak English with, but not from England but from all over the world, and sometimes this is better, because they can understand my spoken (also with some mistakes) but without problems.

Anyway I think to have found a great opportunity in this site, whit a lot of interesting materials and where I'll be able to have a chat with people from all over the world.

Best regards to all for now
Vito