I love shoes and they love me!

Cari amici,

We all have days when everything seems to go wrong. The boss is upset with us, someone said something hurtful, our favorite pants has a hole, and the sun is not shining and it’s frizzing cold! We all have different methods of cheering ourselves up, and what works great for one, might do nothing for the other. However, there is a way, which will make almost every woman's day brighter. If you haven't guessed yet, I am talking about “a pair of new shoes” "un paio di scarpe nuove". Men often don't understand why we are so obsessed with shoes and why we claim that different shoes make us feel special. No matter what they say about men and women being the same, most men will never understand how beautiful and sexy we feel when we wear high heel stilettos, despite of how uncomfortable the heels might be. I wrote a song that was recorded on my first CD ”Italian Signorina” about men don’t getting us when it comes to several aspects of our woman-being. The song is titled “I’m a Woman ……don’t you get it?” Shoes is one of them!!

So what's the big deal about heels and shoes? Why do we spend hundreds of dollars buying shoes, which are uncomfortable and damaging to our feet and back? Or why do we need so many diffrent black shoes or boots, that to a man look any way all the same? First of all, high heels make us look more appealing. Wearing them not only makes our legs look longer, but changes our whole posture and make us carry ourself differently. Of course, it stands true only if we know how to walk on high heels properly. Making wide steps and having knees and back bent doesn't make anyone sexier. For the one of us, who are not willing to sacrifice their comfort for style, buying shoes with moderately high heels is a good alternative. They make our legs look good without compromising our health. And there are so many great middle high shoes and boots to choose from!! And even so many wonderful ballerina shoes!!

We like to have different styles and colors of shoes, because they can compliment and spice up any outfit. We can get so excited when we have matching accessories to go along with them. A simple black dress can change its look by changing the accessories and the shoes: sexy and elegant with high sexy hills and a beautiful bag or clutch, comfortable and sporty with ballerina shoes or boots and a big tote. The shoes and the accessories create the look we want to express and we are in the mood for!

This is why we need plenty of it!! There are so many moods and... those can change easily!! LOL
I do love Italian design shoes. My favorites brands are: Sergio Rossi, Giuseppe Zanotti, Ferragamo, Fratelli Rossetti, Cesare Paciotti, Bruno Magli, Bottega Veneta, Dolce e Gabbana, and Geox and Puma, when it comes to comfortable shoes. All these brands make great looking shoes and since they are really made by a team of designers, these shoes are somehow very comfortable and in balance. I own some very expensive shoes and even if the hills are insane high they are very comfortable…and as you know I’m on high hills on stage and I need to be able to walk and feel great for hours while up there!! I save my money on a dress if a have to choose and invest my money for a great pair of designer shoes!! Other shoes that I adore, but that are not Italians are Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin: also those are to die for!! And your heart will stop for a few seconds when you see the price tag!! But they are worth it...I'm a woman, don't you get it?

For some strange and inexplicable reasons buying shoes makes us happier because we love the process of looking for the perfect pair and the satisfaction of finding it. I do get super happy to try different shoes on…even if I don’t buy them at the end, just to try them on give me a boost!! I can spend hours looking for shoes with my girlfriends!! Shopping for shoes is fun and can certainly cheer me up, it’s my obsession, my   weakness. I own more shoes than dresses. Why?

To answer the question, “What is it with women and shoes?” I googled “women and shoes.” Here’s some facts I found:

Houston Chronicle writer, Kathy Gibson, began her article, Shoe Obsession Disorder: “Contrary to popular belief, Cinderella's stepsisters were not desperate for Prince Charming -- they were desperate for her glass slipper. Unlike shopping for jeans (which is about as much fun as going to the gynecologist), shopping for shoes is an exhilarating experience. Feet don't have hips, feet don't have thighs. Feet are our friends."

Jane Eldershaw, author of Heart and Soul: The Shoes of My Life (St. Martin, 2004) adds, "Shoes are fun! Shoes are little personalities just waiting to be put on. Shoes can be instant sex appeal or instant comfort or instant glamour. Just add your feet. With the right shoes, you can slip on a whole new image...And shoes are fun to buy. You don't have to diet to fit into them and you can sit down while you try them on!"

Laura Ball, in the Vail Daily News, is perhaps most instructive: “(With shoes), you get to dream a little. And we do love it when men compliment our shoes, because it's like looking right into our souls.”

Shoes: windows to our souls!

So, guys, here is an important tip for you: if I want to understand a woman, you better look at her shoes!!

Viva le scarpe,

Love,

Giada

Stay tune for my next blog, Friday, for "When In Italy Do As The Italians Do" to hear more about the "Italians and the art of coffee"!

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Memories of Carnevale in Venice

It's well known that Italians know how to party and the Carnival is one of the biggest events of the year. It’s almost time to celebrate it, so I would like to share with you some history of this traditional and very popular event from Venice.

I’ve been celebrating Carnevale since I was a child. As long as I can remember, and even before that since I have so many pictures of me as a baby dressed up for this event, Carnevale has been part of my life. So many happy memories of it, so many parties with music and family and friends together …of course all dressed up for the event!!

Il Carnevale in Venice is nowadays a major event that brings to Venice thousands and thousands of tourists. The Venice Carnival, which revives the traditional masked balls and elaborate costumes of the 18th century, is the highlight of the city's year. St Mark's square, the theatres, and the famous “campi” burst into life with musical, theatrical, acrobatic and dance performances.

With a two-week series of processions, masquerades, traditional ceremonies, music and all-round festivities among the canals, squares and palaces of this ancient city, the Venice Carnival is one of the most celebrated and fascinating events in Europe. The whole city is filled with musicians, acrobats, theatre troupes and revelers from all over the world, and for those with a more aristocratic bent, there are dozens of masked balls, brunches in period costume and gala dinners to attend. And a lot of private parties too.

The carnival, with its attendant tradition of mask wearing, has existed in some form or another since the 13th century. The masks themselves - along with the traditional bauto (hood and cape), tabarro (cloak) and tricorn hat - were favored because they conferred complete anonymity on their wearers. Some of them are pieces of art, so beautiful and elegant.

Since Venice is a very small city, build on water, like a labyrinth of small streets and canals, well for sure it’s very crowed during the Carnevale while thousands of people try to walk around! It has been estimated that 30,000 visitors coming to the city in one day are enough to make serious pedestrian traffic jams, and on Fat Saturday and Sunday over 120,000 regularly come. You can imagine the madness!! But it’s worth to be there at least once in your life.

The Carnival in Venice was probably born in 1162 A.D., as a celebration for the victory of the "Repubblica della Serenissima", the name of the State of Venice in those times, in the war against Ulrico, Patriarch of Aquileia. St.Mark's Square was – as still is nowadays, the heart of the feast. One of the most ancient traditions was the “Flight Of The Angel”, the opening of the Carnival: a tightrope walker reached the seat of the Doge (the governor) from St.Mark's Bell Tower. Every year a famous person has the honor to do this stunt!!

By the seventeenth century the Carnival of Venice, had become a regular attraction for tourists from Northern Europe – especially the so-called Grand Tourists: young aristocratic men who spent a year or more visiting the cultural attractions of Italy. More then 30,000 visitors would come to the city during the week before Ash Wednesday, along with around 10,000 prostitutes. It would seem that Grand Tourists came to the Carnival of Venice to (in ascending order of interest) dress in costume, see the opera, gamble and frequent the prostitutes. By the mid-eighteenth century the contribution of the Grand Tourists to the Venetian economy was so great that Venice could no longer afford to ban or restrict the festivities without risk of bankruptcy.

But when the Republic fell in 1797, Carnival was soon banned, and it remained forbidden throughout the Austrian occupation (1815-66). With reunification of Italy, however, an attempt was made to bring Carnival back. But under those Fascist laws that forbade wearing a mask in public, for the next half century, the Carnival of Venice was a dress-up event for children’s parties only.

The Carnival came back in early February 1979, when, some parents and civic leaders in Venice decided to sponsor a more formal festival to substitute for the parties of teenagers, which many thought were getting too rowdy. I still remember the Carnevale of 1980: the weather was fantastic and the Venetian put together a great celebration for Carnevale, with music and a spectacular ball in the St. Mark ‘s Square. And slowly the Carnival tradition was born again and slowly the tourists came back.

By 1981, or 1983-84 at the latest, The Carnival of Venice had largely mutated to be A Carnival in Venice, with the city and its citizens playing an increasingly passive and background role for the tens, and then hundreds of thousands of tourists who showed up – more every year. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the numbers could actually be frightening—around 800,000 for the entire 2002 Carnival season (now expanded to around three weeks) and nearly a million by 2004.

This is the history of the Carnevale. On a fun and personal way I can say that the high energy of the thousands of happy people walking around is contagious. And when the night come, the music and the sounds that you have heard around for the whole day start to slowly dime and the romantic and magic beauty of Venice comes back: it’s a surreal and almost magical feeling.  Venice at night is like heaven, it’s like the quiet after the storm…and after a day of the madness of Carnevale, when Venice goes back to her timeless beauty…it feels like time stand still for her. No cars, no boats, only a few people around, some masks walking back home! So quiet and so beautiful!!

I hope you can experience all of this one day!! You will never forget it!!

Stay tune for my next week blog to hear more about “Shoes” and more tips from “When in Italy Do As The Italians do”.

Love to you all,

Giada

When in Italy do as the Italians do:

Italian Usage Error: Dining in the “Prison” of a restaurant.

During the spring and summer, when the weather turns warm and families eat outside on terraces, decks, and porches, you can read any cooking magazine and for sure you can find an article about dining "al fresco." There are even restaurants throughout the United States named Al Fresco (or worse, Alfresco). On your next trip to Italy, though, when you arrive at that highly-recommended “trattoria” or “ristorante” in the city that you are visiting for lunch ”pranzo” and have to decide between dining indoors versus outside on the terrace overlooking a Piazza or a beautiful panorama, the hostess, “la cameriera”, will probably laugh if you ask to dine "al fresco." That's because, strictly speaking, the term means "in the cooler"—similar to the English slang term that means to be in jail or prison. Instead, use the term "all'aperto" or "all’ aria aperta" or even "fuori."




Frittelle: sweet treats for Carnevale

One of the most traditional and famous annual festivals of Venice is for sure ‘Il Carnevale”. Carnival starts around two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday Fat Tuesday or Martedi’ Grasso) the day before Ash Wednesday. This year the Carnival will start February 6th and it will end on February 16th. I want to share with you today one if the most typical Fat Tuesday sweet treats we made in Venice: The Frittelle Veneziane, also knows as Frittole or in dialect from Venice “Fritoe Venessiane”. During Carnevale everybody eats them at least once.

Venice is famous for its pastries and among all of them the “Frittelle”, fried dough with powdered sugar and raisins, are one of the most delicious sweet treats. It’s a very interesting texture – very moist inside, airy, even though it looks like a round puff, very yummy and easy to make. Here how:

Frittelle Veneziane a.k.a. Frittole

Ingredienti/ Ingredient: 20 gr. di lievito di birra/0.7 oz yeast 300 ml di latte/10.15 oz milk 150 gr. di farina/5.29 oz flour 3 uova/ 3 eggs  35 gr. di zucchero/1.25 oz sugar 180 gr. di margarina o burro /6.35 oz margarine or butter 30 gr. di uva sultanina / 1.06 oz sultanas 30 gr. di pinoli / 1.06 oz pine nuts Buccia di limone/ lemon zest 1/2 tazzina di grappa veneta / ½ cup Grappa veneta or Rum Olio di semi / Oil for frying Zucchero a velo  /Castor sugar Sale  un pizzico/ Salt

Preparation:

1. Soak the raisins in lukewarm water.

2. Dissolved in a touch of tepid milk the yeast and add little by little two spoons of bloom, and whip it nicely so not to have lumps. Cover and allow this pasta to rise in a warm corner until such time as the mixture has doubled its size.

3. In another bowl mix the rest of the flour, the risen pasta, together with one whole egg and three eggs yolk, sugar, butter or margarine (ambient temperature). Salt the mixture to taste and zest of a lemon. Pour in the flour and mix the rest of the ingredient: sultanas (drain and squeeze the liquid off the raisins) and pine nuts and the grappa or the rum. Cover the dough with a cloth for the time necessary to heat the oil.

4.When ready, take small quantities of the dough with a dessertspoon, and form small balls with the mixture. Cook these shapes by frying in hot olive oil inside a deep pan. The 'frittelle' are ready when they turn a deep golden color.

Allow the excess olive oil to drain away by placing each on absorbent kitchen paper.

5. Finally, sprinkle the 'frittole' with caster sugar and serve hot.

P.S. It’s also possible to substitute in the dough the pine nuts with small pieces of apple.

Buon appetito and stay tuned for my next week blog that will tell you all about the Masks, the traditions and the fun of the “Carnevale di Venezia”!

 “When in Italy do as the Italians do”

This week: Pasticceria

If you are in Italy and you are craving sweets, then you have to go “una Pasticceria”  which is the Italian pastry shop. You can go early in the morning for a nice pastry or in the afternoon for a sweet and a tea with friends.

Most of them serve coffee, cappuccino and tea as well and they are often called a Bar/Pasticceria.

If you need to buy someone in Italy a gift to repay a small kindness, often a small tray of assorted pastries or biscotti (cookies) from a good Pasticceria may be appropriate.

Pastries are sold by the kilogram if they are small. Ask for un etto, or a tenth of a kilogram, to get about a quarter pound of delicious treats.

You will sometimes find good Italian ice cream, gelato in a pasticceria, especially in a smaller town that might not have a gelateria.

Love always,

Giada

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Getting in the mood

Dear friends,

I’m convinced that the place where we live can give us emotions and create a mood of well being.

I’m always busy running around and working on my music projects. I love to be involved in all the details that have to do with my business, so I spend time not only preparing the shows, but also getting involved all kind of other details. I just love to know that everything is taken care off. I wouldn’t change my work for any other. I love to perform and also to travel, which is a big deal of my work. But I also like to meet my fans and spend time with all of them after my concerts, to stay in contact with them through the web also when I’m not on the road. I have a great job and it’s perfect for my personality….and thanks to God I also have the voice for make this passion of mine of singing my job!

But as you can imagine being on the road a lot, and almost all the time under the pressure of being under the spotlights, can at time be stressful.

Even if you are not in show business, I’m sure you have your share of stress too. We all are under so much pressure in our life that I think it’s important at time to stop and smell the roses. To relax and enjoy some romantic quiet time.

I love, when I have the chance, to stay at home and make my home a romantic place. I love to cook a nice dinner, to relax watching a romantic movie and to relax in a nice bubble bath. And since I’m a big lover of scented candles I like to always burn a candle or more in my free time. From candlelight I get a kind of quietness in my soul and I can finally relax.

Since candles are made from paraffin wax (which is petroleum) –– the most common kind used to infuse rooms with romantic ambiance, warmth, light, and fragrance –– and this is an unrecognized source of exposure to indoor air pollution, I try to burn candles made from bee's wax or soy. Although those are more expensive, apparently are healthier. They do not release potentially harmful amounts of indoor air pollutants while retaining all of the warmth, ambience and fragrance of paraffin candles.

I burn also some of the paraffin candles and I never had any trouble….but to be save, I try to light more and more soy candles.

One of my favorite’s brands of soy candle is “Jimmy Belasco Soy”. From this collection my favorite is the “Tuscan Sun “candle with Italian neroli, mandarin and sandalwood. It’s like  the scent of summer in Italy!

Another brand I love is “Votivo” in particular the Clean Crisp White candle. I love this one it’s the cleanest sent ever and it brings back memories of dried white sheet in a crisp morning in springtime in Italy. An overwhelming aroma of nothing but clean.

I also love the soy candles of “Archipelago Botanicals”, and “Jasmine”, with the familiar summer scent of blooming jasmine it’s my favorite.

I discover recently also the ”Aromatherapy Interventions” candles. I got as a present for Christmas all three scents.

“Arousal”, “Chill Out” and “Workaholic”.

The “Arousal” has the essence of jasmine, which is a proven aphrodisiac scent from centuries.

The “Chill Out” has the essence of ylang ylang and lavender that will induce a calm and peaceful state of mind.

And the” Workaholic” has the essences of citrus and sage of Bethlehem should have an energizing and uplifting effect.

Well in the description of the first one, “Arousal”, they state that even the romantically challenged will have trouble screwing this mood up. With the second “Chill Out” they promise to calm down people who’s having a problem unwinding, mellowing out or just shutting up. And the third one ”Workaholic” is for people who like to work 24 hours a day, 8 days a week.

I can’t tell about the real effect of the smell, but I can tell you they smell fantastic.

And if you like to embrace the wisdom of Astrology and Aromatherapy, you will like the Soular Therapy. They have twelve candles that represent the twelve astrological signs that govern our universe. Each exclusive scent utilizes ancient formulations of plant and flower extracts uniquely associated and beneficial to individual astrological signs. I only know the one of my own sing “Aquarius” and I truly love it. You can check this website you find out more about your own sing and specific candles. http://www.soulartherapy.com/products/astro/index.php#

They offer Soy-based Candles, Skin Scent and Body Wash.

Even if you are enjoying your candlelight dinner in a setting like the one shown in the picture here next, while lighting candles don't forget to be careful…candlelight is very romantic but a big fire is a kind of emotion we all should avoid!!

Love to you all and see you next week for another blog,

Giada

Memories of Rome

Dear friends,

Today I want to take you to one of my favorite cities of Italy: Roma.

Roma is the capital of Italy and it’s located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber river within the Lazio region of Italy.

The city has been one of history’s most powerful and important centers, being the home of the Emperor during the Roman Empire and due to this, the city has often been nicknamed  “Caput Mundi” (Latin for “Capital of the World”) and “The Eternal City”. Also, Rome is widely regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful ancient cities.

Modern Rome is a very cosmopolitan metropolis, and is Italy’s capital of politics, economy, and media: nowadays Roma is the home of the Italian Government and also home of the Roman Catholic Church and the site of the Vatican City an independent city-state run by the Catholic Church. The Bishop of Rome is the Pope.

Rome today is one of the most important tourist destinations of the world:  you will surprised by immensity of its archaeological and artistic treasures, as well as for the charm of its unique traditions, the beauty of its panoramic views, and the majesty of its magnificent “villas” and their parks. There are plenty of museums, some of my favorites the Musei Capitolini, the Vatican Museums, Galleria Borghese. But also aqueducts, fountains, churches, palaces, historical buildings, the monuments and ruins of the Roman Forum, the Catacombs and the Coliseum. Rome is the 3rd most visited city in Europe, after London and Paris.

Rome enjoys a typical Mediterranean climate that is characteristic of the Mediterranean coasts of Italy. It is at its most comfortable from April through June, and from mid-September to October; in particular, the Roman ottobrate (which can be roughly translated as the “beautiful October days”) are famously known as sunny and warm days. By August, the temperature during the heat of the day often exceeds 32 °C (90 °F). Traditionally, many businesses closed during August, and Romans abandoned the city for holiday resorts. But in more recent years, however, in response to growing tourism and changing work habits, the city is increasingly staying open for the whole summer.

The average high temperature in December is about 13 °C (55 °F), but subzero lows are not uncommon and although it is rare, snow can fall in Rome in December, January and February staying for a period of hours rather than a whole day or more. But, since my father’s is from this beautiful city, I have many memories of Christmas dinner outside wearing short sleeves.

Although not as important as Milan, Rome is also an important center for fashion. Major luxury fashion houses and jewelry chains, such as Bulgari, Fendi, Laura Biaggiotti and Brioni, just to name a few, are headquartered or were founded in the city. Also, other major labels, such as Chanel,Prada, Dolce & Gabbanam Armani and Versace have luxury boutiques in Rome, along its prestigious and upscale Via Dei Condotti . Don’t need to tell you that shop in Via Condotti with the beautiful view at his ends of Piazza di Spagna is an experience that you will love.

Rome is since 1956 exclusively and reciprocally twinned only with Paris, another city I totally love!!

There are more than 900 churches in Rome one more beautiful then the other. But Rome is very famous for its numerous fountains, built in all different styles, from Classical and Medieval, to Baroque and Neoclassical. The city has had fountains more than two thousand years, and they have provided drinking water and decorated the piazzas of Rome. From big to small there are more then 3000 fountains. There is no place on earth like this.

Coin throwing in the fountains is one of the most famous traditions for the tourist who visit this city.

A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Among those who are unaware that the “three coins” of  Three Coins in the Fountain were thrown by three different individuals, a reported current interpretation is that two coins will lead to a new romance and three will ensure either a marriage or divorce. A reported current version of this legend is that it is lucky to throw three coins with one’s right hand over one’s left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain.

The Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) is in the Trevi Rione in Rome. The fountain is 25.9 meters (85 feet) high and 19.8 meters (65 feet) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city.

However, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain, approximately 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome’s needy.

Well I through coins on the Trevi Fountain every time I visit Rome…and so far the legend has been working for me!!

The Trevi Fountain was also the setting for an iconic scene in Federico’s film “ La Dolce Vita” starring Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg.

La Dolce Vita was a sensational success, and Anita Ekberg’s walking in Rome’s Trevi Fountain remains one of the most celebrated images in film history.

A few years back I was in Rome, helping with Italian translations for Dutch journalist Henk van der Meyden for the Dutch TV Channel  SBS6. He was there to interview American actress Anne Nicole Smith.

Anne Nicole added some extra memories for me to this beautiful Fountain. She has emulated Anita Ekberg scene and had sprang into the water. Of course she was arrested and a few hours later released with the promise not to do it again. I will never forget the night we walked near the Trevi Fountain again during the interview with Anne Nicole with the police escorting us all the way.

During this particular visit in Rome I stayed at the beautiful The Westin Excelsior Hotel. This hotel is known as the “magnificent white palace on Via Veneto”, is one of the world’s great classic hotels. It is very close to Piazza di Spagna and the Villa Borghese gardens, and it’s in one on the most well-known street of the capital, the famous Via Veneto, one of the famous meeting places of Europe.

My room was so big with two huge bathrooms, and very elegant and cozy! The view from the window of Via Veneto was incredible!! With Anne Nicole and the TV crew we had dinner in a famous restaurant called Taverna Flavia!

Well I don’t really remember the menu, but I will never forget the company. I got to know the real Anne Nicole, enough to say that she was a nice person, a very insecure person, with the bed luck to have in her life horrible people using her and her insecurity to make money. Drugs and alcohol abuse made her do crazy things, like springing in the Fountain ,and that was a money makers for some other people around her. Very sad!! Some unforgettable time and real life lesson I got out of it!!

I want to close this blog on a delicious note I want to tell you that in Rome you will find some great restaurants and great food!!, The city is home to numerous formidable and traditional Italian dishes you will noticed a Jewish influence in the Roman foods, as Jews have lived in Rome since the 1st century BCE. Vegetables, especially globe artichokes, are common.

Examples of these, and some of my favorites include “Saltinbocca alla Romana” a veal cutlet, Roman-style, topped with raw ham and sage and simmered with white wine and butter and “ Carciofi alla Giudia” artichokes fried in olive oil, typical of Roman Jewish cooking. But also delicious are the : Carciofi alla Romana” artichokes Roman-style outer leaves removed, stuffed with mint, garlic, breadcrumbs and braised.

Typical of Rome are the “ Spaghetti alla Carbonara” spaghetti with bacon, eggs and pecorino, and “Gnocchi Di Semolino alla Romana” semolina dumpling, Roman-style, to name but a few. Are you hungry already?

So imagine yourself eating this delicious food in the city of La Dolce Vita, with arts and beauty all over you look…even if the city is full of people rushing and moving all around while in Rome you will find a kind of quietness inside yourself, almost magically you will find a peace of mind that will fill your heart with joy for life and happiness to be alive!!

I call it the magic of Rome!! So while in Rome do as the roman do….enjoy La Dolce Vita!!

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for my next blog…maybe I will share with you some of my favorite recipe!!

Love,

Giada