Holiday!

I have just returned from a lovely holiday to Lake Garda, Italy, with my family! We booked a last minute deal (my family nearly always do this) and we quickly packed up our stuff and made for Italy!

During the holiday, we stayed in a small town close to the Lake but also visited Venice and Verona. I was actually a little disappointed by Venice as I was expecting to be blown away by its beauty but I felt that it was very tourist-y. It certainly did not help that it was really busy but you had to be really careful in all the restaurants and cafes, especially around the centre, that you did not get ripped-off. However, I absolutely loved Verona. It is such a beautiful place. The buildngs are beatifully preserved and the modern city is a lovely contrast to the old buildings and landmarks. I would definitely love to return there some day.

The weather there was very hot and the Lake was really beautiful. Food-wise, it was not so great as a vegan because the holiday was half-board and the hotel food was not particularly vegan friendly. This was because all of the pasta was made with egg and the main course each night was meat/ fish and potatoes. Still, they had a salad bar which always had some beans, so I managed to get something every night. For my lunches, I also found that pasta was not an option because of the egg, or the waiting staff did not understand that I was asking about egg in the pasta, rather than the sauce (lesson- learn the phrase for I am allergic to... rather than just the words for egg, milk etc). However, I did get to enjoy some seriously yummy vegetable pizzas without cheese!

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my holiday:

Venice:

Verona:

View of Lake Garda:

Pizza!:

My family:



And me:

I like birthdays!

So, it was my birthday last Friday (I turned the ripe old age of 20 so have officially left my teenage years behnd me!) Anyway, my lovely friend decided to treat me to a meal out at a restauarant of my choosing! I just knew that I wanted to try this place: http://www.222veggievegan.com/menu.html 222veggievegan! As the name implies, the whole menu is completely vegan! I was so excited and kept looking at the menu before I went because I knew that I was going to have such a hard time selecting what I wanted to order!

We shared some garlic bread to start but we were both pretty hungry so dived in before I remembered to take a photo!

For my main course, I chose the Pasta with wild mushrooms (Wild mushrooms, wholemeal pasta and leek well sautéed, turned in lime, fresh herbs, and finished off with cashew cream. An excellent combination). It was so yummy, really creamy, yet not heavy at all. Sadly, I managed to lose the photo I took of my meal : (

My friend chose the 222burger (Organic tofu and veggie mince burger on a wholemeal roll, served with fresh leaf salad, oven-baked chips, and home-made ketchup.) My friend is a vegetarian yet doesn't eat much tofu so I wasn't sure that she would like the burger but she loved it! I did manage to take a photo of her meal:

Also on my birthday, my mum baked a batch of vegan chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate butercream-style frosting. They were really yummy and devoured quickly by me and my family!

A few days after my birthday, it was my dad's birthday so my mum whipped up yet another batch of vegan cupcakes. This time, she made lemon ones, by modifying the chocolate recipe. She was a little unsure about how they would turn out but all was okay! My mum will definitely be requested to make these again sometime soon!

And lastly, here is a picture of my dad about to blow out his candles!