One holiday three discoveries

Sunderland

An old house, the smell of cigarettes and simple life. I like this house, I whisper to his hear. I like how old and typical is, and how auntie Gill has managed to leave everything as it was when Nana was alive: "Do not touch these cups, they were Nana's" reads a sign in front of the teacups. So ten people take turns to have tea and two or three women stay constantly in the kitchen to wash tea cups. The hilariousness of big families rests with the familiarity they find everywhere, with every sort of people, because they know each other so well. Maybe when you get to know deeply your many siblings, you have already understood many things of the world and life. I sit there silently. Maybe he thinks I am not appreciating being there, but actually mine is nostalgia.

I imagine how it would be if my mum was this close to her family - now spread all over Europe - I get to imagine all the dinner parties I miss and all the birthdays that could have been special.

But there I am again, dressed up as Snow White and saying to everyone that I have lost my dwarfs. We drink, we dance and Sian, as Cinderella, has the time of her life on her 21st birthday. A big dressed up family that have so much to catch up with, I am so glad to be there, even when their thick northern accent is inaccessible to my Italian ears. And then once back home, we joke, we drink tea and I fall asleep with my head on his shoulder. When I briefly wake up to have an auntie Jan's cupcake, I hear Sian saying "Bish!" we all wonder what bish would mean up there? Sian says "Bish is the posh version of bitch." That is definitely the highlight of the stay. 

Edinburgh

After a stroll trying to find the place where we booked, we pleasantly find out that the flat we got is a double bed flat, with wide view to the Scottish sea. Not too bad as a start!

On the first day the sun is shining so we do some sightseeing. Edinburgh is incredibly pretty in a gothic way and Scots clearly love their food!!

We have a big breakfast just by a lane in the centre, in a very quirky looking little old-fashioned breakfast place. It reminds me of one I used to go to on the Isle of Wight, but smaller and arty. Try to go anywhere with a chef and you realise quickly that the holiday will be about food.

So for dinner we find a place in Rose Street called Mussle Inn, where we have a kilo of mussles and a beautiful starter at a really good price. Can’t go wrong! On our way "home" our taxi driver indicates where we can find all the good restaurants, which is Victoria Quay. This is by Leith, close to our apartment, so the next day we go restaurant hunting! Being too late for breakfast, we look for a light lunch place, as we have our Michelin star restaurant booked for dinner: 21212. But I'll tell about this later.

Once in the quay, we have a good nose in each and every menu, making picky comments on every detail such as the design, the attitude, every place was a potential review and inspiration.

We end up eating in Fishers, a very welcoming place that looks like a chip shop from the outside, but is a posh sea-side pub. We are the only people dressed casually, and the manager looks like he wants us to rush a little. He is nice though, and our food is very beautiful. I still can taste the mushrooms on my scallops if I think about it, wonderful!

That night we go to 21212, the Paul Kitchings' restaurant and boutique hotel with a Michelin star. A little joke about fate and names on someone called Kitchings who ends up working as a chef, and we are ready to delight our palate with his amusing creations. That legend about small portions in Michelin star restaurants is very true, but every mouthful is an explosion of flavours. These people are real specialists of delicacy.

I leave Edinburgh with the memory of the smallest, but also the tastiest soup of my life. 

The Isle of Wight

Although I have no family there, the time I spent on the Isle of Wight formed me and the people I have met there will always be my friends. When we arrive, Cowes is still quite sunny and lively, in spite of the cold wind of the end of season. He enjoyed meeting everyone and taking part to one of the most important events of my life: being a godmother. Gabriella is the happiest baby and I was very proud to hold her during the ceremony. I also enjoyed the sweetcorn festival in Arreton Village with him, who loved the Farmer Jack's Farm Shop so much that we bought everything to have a wonderful dinner with Mike and Helen, who were hosting us. The Isle of Wight is my first love, and now that I made permanent connections there, it makes me happy to know that I will spend more time on the island, breath that sea and hug my great friends.