Enoteca "Al 32" - Sacile

Last night Tom and I stumbled upon this great little wine bar called Enoteca "Al 32" in Sacile. I say stumbled because Tom suggested out of the blue that we take a drive to Sacile for a glass of wine. As we were strolling down one of the beautiful streets along the river, looking for a place to stop for a glass of wine, we peeked our heads into this place and fell in love with it immediately. It had such a warm atmosphere and looked as though it was right out of the movie Under The Tuscan Sun. We were immediately welcomed by the owner and offered a quick education on some of the local wines as well as some of his favorites. It was very evident by the amount of wine bottles/corks spread throughout the place he knew exactly what he was talking about when it came to wine. We settled upon two glasses of Barolo and enjoyed them immensely. We were also excited to find out that in just a few minutes they were going to have some live music. The owners wife and 2 other musicians were going to perform together. His wife sang a mixture of jazz and cabaret while two men played guitars. It was very raw but amazing. Most of the songs were sang in Italian and we had absolutely no idea what they were about, but nevertheless, we enjoyed them. After the music and the wine Michelle commented to the owners on the cute wine cork decor. The owner wife told us that she loves to make things out of wine corks- it's was obvious from all the wine being opened up in the short time we were there she had plenty of corks to choose from. I asked if she would consider making me one of the many decor items she had made and displayed in the bar. She said yes and told me to call her next week... I'm so excited!... I'm also looking forward to taking some of our friends and family when they come for a visit... So Uncle Tony & Aunt MaryAnne when you come back in June we have a new place for you to visit! :) For the rest of our friends that live here in Italy stop by and check it out the next time you're in Sacile.

Kensington Palace & Gardens - London

Kensington Palace in London is a working Royal residence. The Kensington Palace was the favorite residence for the royal family until 1760. It was also the birthplace and childhood home of Queen Victoria. Today Kensington Palace accommodates the offices and private apartments of a number of members of the Royal Family. In 1981 apartments 8 and 9 were combined to create the London residence of the newly-married Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles and Diana, and it remained the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales after her divorce until her death. Her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, went to a local nursery and pre-preparatory schools in Notting Hill, which is a short drive away. As you can see from some of the pictures the gardens were beautiful and the squirrels were quite friendly!

Changing of the Guard - Buckingham Palace

Now that I have a little time on my hands I thought I would post some more pictures of our trip to London. Every other day at the Buckingham Palace at 11:30 they have a formal changing of the guards. Here are a few pictures of Sarah and the ceremony. We were both pretty disappointed on seeing how far away the guards were from the gate, which made it impossible to get a picture with any of them.

Grosmi Coffee Field Trip

Yesterday I went with Sarah's 5th grade class on a field trip to the Grosmi Coffee Company. It was a beautiful day and a very good field trip. We found out some interesting facts and got to witness Italian espresso beans being made first hand. I was surprised to see a national brand of Italian espresso being made in small factory in the middle of a residential area of Sacile, Italy. The factory was neither big or fancy, and has been family owned and operated since 1958. I was shocked to find out that their coffee was a mixture of coffee beans from Vietnam,Costa Rico, Columbia, and India. It's not so much about the beans as much as it's about the roasting process. I guess every brand as a different style of roasting technique which makes them unique to their individual brand. After we finished our tour the owner gave each of us adult chaperons a shot of espresso and a bag of ground espresso to take home. The children each received some chocolate truffles and Mr. Romero, Sarah's teacher, received a bunch of coffee and props he could use to teach with and display in their classroom. After the coffee factory we went to the Sacile market for a short while and then off to a local Italian restaurant for lunch. It was a great field trip and worthwhile experience for all of us.