we did it!

red onion chutney favours

Our day with 80 red onions and lots of tea...not having big enough pots to make a giant batch we made our red onion chutney in batches...obviously this made the whole process much longer...but it was so much fun to spend the day with the amazing Lynne making these little pots of onion tang.

I hope most of you managed to get a pot and will enjoy it with cured meats and cheese.

it's a really such  a simple recipe and easy to make:

6 Jars of Red Onion Chutney

8 Red Onions (chopped)

200g Brown sugar

1 chilli (finely chopped)

2 Bay leaves

150ml Balsamic vinegar

150ml Red wine vinegar

25ml Olive oil

Step 1: Cut your onions and chilli into short, thin slices and put them into a pan with the bay leaves and oil. Cook gently over a low heat for about 20 minutes.

Step 2: Once the onions are dark and sticky, add the sugar and the vinegars and simmer for 30 minutes or so, until the chutney is thick and dark.

Step 3: Pour the chutney into hot, sterilised jars and let it cool. Ideally, you should leave it for a month or more before you eat it, to mature in flavour.

You can sterilise the pots either by boiling them or placing them in the oven.

We boiled them on the hob and then used tongs and a tea towel - it's not the easiest manuvuore

Preparation...the first couple of onions were hard core....I didn't know if I was going to make it through the next 75+ to cut...but either my eyes got used to it...or the first onions were little devils...

cooking up a treat

FINISHED!

Kim!

I've not forgotten about you Kim!
I'm just struggling what to write without getting too soppy...

Kim and I met on our first day at Abercrombie & Fitch and that was pretty much it...she wasn't going to get rid of me!
I couldn't imagine meeting anyone else but Kim on that first day...it was meant to be, she is my rock, my best friend and one of the most beautiful human beings I know.

LIKES

flea market finds

to party 

(although she'd never admit it)

shopping

shoes

sleeping

LOVES

Colorado

Coffee

Chloe & Leon

Jane Austin

Yoga

FAVORITE FOOD

Strawberries

(and makes a delicious Strawberry shortcake)

DISLIKES

Beer

Cheesecake

FAVORITE FILM

The Princess Bride

Kim is a walking pharmacy...if you need any medication she will have it...if not Kim ask her Mum, Audrey!

bridal shower

I had a fabulous bridal shower with my wonderful friends at The Plaza in NYC a couple of weeks ago, I really am so lucky to have these amazingly beautiful women in my life - you spoilt me rotten! and Michael is even luckier to be having them in his life! A huge thank you to all of you, I'm so excited to see you all next week xx YAY!!!!

Weather update

The latest report for Saturday...


77°
SUNNY

weather

Andrew

Andrew. Usher, my cousin. I'm godfather to his son Matthew and very proud of it I am too! We grew up together joined at the hip and, being an only child, he's the closest thing to a brother I have. Learned a few things on the stag weekend, much of which I would have loved to have known prior to meeting Faye...I'll let him explain but lets just say he's the perfect single guys night out partner! 

LIKES

His beautiful kids, Matthew and Alex

Football (great footballer!) 

Italy, a love shared! 

Looking after my parents in my absence - Thank you!  

Very loud Music

DISLIKES 

Jazz

London service in bars!  

FAVORITE ANDREW MOMENT

Spending time together as kids, playing, wrecking things and generally being mischievous.....!!  

Andrew is married to the wonderful Leslie and has 2 kids, Matthew and Alex, thanks to their parents we see them a lot!  

Registered

As requested...

If you wish to buy us a present we have registered with the wonderful Amazon.

However we would like to stress that all we wish for is your presence on the day.

amazon.

Just click on the link above

Cream teas please!

A huge thank you to Emma & Sarah who organised my hen weekend get-away...it was absolutely perfect and so wonderful to spend this time with my amazing friends. The english weather held out for us, and we were able to enjoy our Devonshire cream teas in the sunshine, the biggest concern being 'cream then jam or jam then cream?

 cream then jam

....

'but Sidmouth doesn't do Hen weekends!

as quoted from the women at the tourist information Sidmouth.

Wine tasting

The Friday afternoon before the wedding, for those who have arrived and haven't been roped in to do jobs! We've organised with an amazing local cantina a wine tasting monte dei ragni where everything is still done as it was in the old country...the land is still ploughed by a magnificent horse!

The idea is for you to walk with one of our local friends, from your B&B up to the cantina through the vineyards,  and enjoy an hour or so enjoying one of the best Valpolicella Superiore in the area...

If we have enough interest we will do two trips, the first one being around 15.30 and the second at 16.30.

So if you fancy an hour or so, tasting amazing Amarone and Valpolicella wine please email either myself or Michael and we will put your name down.

Miss Barry

Sarah is the bridesmaid that's known me the longest...

and has been my travel buddy for over 15 years.

She knows me in a way that only a person from home can, and is just as proud as I am to be from Somerset, she has a knack of making sure my feet are firmly on the ground!

LIKES

somerset

chinese take-away

cider

good music - played LOUD!!

Sleep

DISLIKES

most things...

especially mushrooms

and being wrong.

FAVORITE PEOPLE

Marlon Brando, Robert Plant, Hunter S Thompson, Seasick Steve, Jack Kerouac, Grace Slick, Johnny Depp, and Wing, proprietor of Wing’s Chinese Takeaway

FAVORITE QUOTE

 'I'd never join a club that would except me as a member' GROUCHO MARX

Too hot

 4 days of 36° is too much for us...the only way to keep cool seems to be eat ice cream and drink beer!!

This goes against everything I think we're supposed to eat a month before the big day....

Bursting

 The Vineyards are bursting with grapes in the Vapolicella, Michael and I drove up to the venue this weekend it's been amazing to see the change of season up at Costa...my only hope is the grapes will hang on a wee bit longer before they start the vendemmia, so the vineyards are bursting for you too...
If not we'll just have to enjoy the wine!

almost there...

I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, much to the relief of Michael and our families. All those small projects that seemed a good idea at the time are coming to an end...although I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my free time once the wedding is over...anyone need wedding help??

Bed for the night in Fumane

just a reminder...

if you've not yet booked your B&B in Fumane please let us know...

We know that some of you have had problems getting through....welcome to Italy! But please call us or email us with your dates and we can make the booking for you...it's really no problem.

A night in fair Verona?

Verona is an absolutely beautiful city and we would advise anyone who's not been before to try and squeeze a morning or afternoon if not more in Verona. It's a city to wander around, take a coffee, relax enjoy the sunshine see some sights if you wish, Juliets balcony, the Roman Arena...follow this with a relaxing aperitivo, Spritz Aperol being locals choice (it's the orange drink everyone will be holding)

If you are thinking of extending you stay with a night or two in Verona check out these websites for B&B accommodation options...

airbnb

TIP: Make sure that the hotel or B&B is in the centre, they can be quite cheeky sometimes.

arena inn

b&b Leoncino

b&b piazza erbe

piazza erbe b&b

casa coloniale b&b

la dimora di giulietta b&b

If you have any questions or need help with bookings or don't fancy any of the above, please email either myself or Michael and we will do whatever we can to help x

Mr James Lloyd

James. School mate, best man, best mate. Friends since we were 11 years old and have done much together, had lots of fun! Never a dull moment...I'm sure he'll tell you if you ask! Just mention prank phone calls (its a green one...etc) burst footballs and fishing rods and you'll laugh for a week....!  

Good at Spanish too, test him!

LIKES

His beautiful son, Christopher

All things Spanish

Singing Elvis (we want a come-back!)

Football (red) 

Music

High leg kick dance moves - we want a dance-off with Emma!! 

DISLIKES 

Comedy socks

Football (blue) 

Car salesmen (recent)

FAVORITE JIMMY MOMENT

A teenage James being chased through Liverpool by a jealous French schoolboy with a stick, escaping and managing to be caught by him 3 years later....in Spain!  

James is married to Krista who we also love very much and we are very excited to see how Christopher has grown as we haven't seen him for ages!!  

The Weather

 'What's the weather going to be like?

Well, we can honestly say we have absolutely no idea...we can also say it's probably the one thing that Faye has been worrying about the most...and as life would have it...the one thing she has no control over! Much to Michaels amusement!

All we can do is give you the average...

so we all have to wish for sunny skies!!

Emma!

Mrs Emma K Fisher

I was lucky enough to have Em as my flat mate on my first day at Uni and live the following 3 years together, sticking, sewing, stressing and eating 'cowboy food' when things got really tough!

She makes me smile.

LIKES

dressing up

knitting, sewing,

anything crafty

bargain hunting

spending

LOVES

anything red

polka dots a-go-go!

FAVORITE FOOD

pasta

cheese

bread

DISLIKES

being on her own

BEST DANCE MOVE

the leg kick

but Em would definitely say they're all the greatest!

Em's married to the amazing Sam, who just loves ALL her stuff!

Single digits

Can't quite believe that we are now in single digits for the number of weeks left...

It's all getting very exciting and very close!!!

Hopefully you've all received your invites and the RSVP's are winging their way back to us.

Please don't forget to let us know of your travels plans.

Busy Michael!

Introducing...

the youngest of the wedding party, my beautiful little niece and flower girl Neelufar...
 she likes changing and wearing different dresses every hour, so we'd better watch out on the day for some wardrobe changes from this little fashionista!

LIKES

Cars

 Shoes

 Pretty dresses

 Lipsticks

 Nail varnishes

 Sunglasses

FAVORITE SAYING

My Pleasure!

My favourite!

FAVORITE DRINK

Pepsi

FAVORITE SONG

Love love love love love your fellowman 

DISLIKES
 Going to bed

 Fluff (really scared of it...)

Taking baths

FAVORITE TV SHOW & MOVIES

Peppa Pig, Pingu, Cars, Ratatoui and Toy Story 1

Wedding Registry

If you wish to buy us a present we have registered with the wonderful Amazon.

However we would like to stress that all we wish for is your presence on the day.

amazon.

Just click on the link above

getting exciting now...

we've just had a wonderful weekend of preparing and making stuff for our wedding...still lots to do but slowly things are being crossed off the list, and we're getting very excited!

54th international art exhibition Venice

For those of you who have the time and may want to venture off to Venice for the day, it's about an hour & a half from Verona on the train.

As well as losing yourself in this wonderful city,  the 54th Arte Biennale will still be showing, with over 80 different artist exhibiting.

Venues, dates and opening times

Venezia, Giardini and Arsenale, from June, 4th to November, 27th  2011

Opening times: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Entrance fee €20

Take a look at the website...

la biennale art exhibition Venezia

Martin Creed

Nick Relph

Save the dates...

Finally we managed to get the 'Save the Dates' in the post and are relieved that they've survived the Italian Postal Service and are finding their way to you...

Costa degli Ulivi

We drove up to the Agriturismo on Sunday, as we thought it time to try the food and wine...the roomie & I are both passionate about food and eating so it was no hardship.

Agriturismo traditionally means a place where you can sleep and experience rural life whilst eating traditional local food that is often grown at the farm.

Luciana who runs Costa degli Ulivi, makes her own Valpolicella wines, olive oil, marmalades, chutneys and other great produce, the Orange marmalade is something to try!

No decisions for our menu yet, but it's all very exciting to start thinking about which foods will be in season, and we had a great lunch with wonderful friends and explored Luciana's amazing property some more....

When the sunshines...

 The Adige towards Ponte Pietra

     Piazza Bra

Getting to Verona

We're here to help with any travel questions or worries you have about getting to Italy, but here are some suggestions for getting to Verona from the UK...

Direct to Verona

British Airways

London Gatwick direct to Verona they run daily flights at 08.10 am and 15.50pm with daily returning flights.

They run great offers on flights (today it's £49 each way) and are often more reasonable than the 'budget' airlines.

Easyjet

London Gatwick direct to Verona

Ryanair

Standstead direct to Verona

Ryanair

Arriving Bristol - Venice Marco Polo (Treviso is closed until 30th Sept for arriving flights)

Departing Venice Treviso - Bristol


Ryanair
Liverpool  - Bergamo (Milan)
Dublin - Venice Treviso/Marco Polo
Madrid - Verona 

Fumane

Fumane is in the heart of the Valpolicella region of Veneto, a hilly agricultural region famous for it's marble and wine production. 

Situated 17km from the beautiful Roman city of Verona and the same distance from the largest lake in Italy Lake Garda.

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&q=fumane&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

Looking down to wedding venue

Lake Garda

The date is set.

After a slight confusion with the chosen venue, and a quick change of dates, it is now set!

Saturday 1st October 2011 - we are so excited and can't wait to get the 'Save the date' out in the mail...

Location...

it's taken us a little time...but I think we've found the location for our wedding...nestled in the centre of the Valpolicella region just outside of Verona. A small family run Agriturismo with amazing views and the relaxed atmosphere we've been looking for...the date will be confirmed this week. But the countdown has now begun...