I had been hearing about Bella Luna for a while. I heard that is was independently owned, that it had a beautiful ambience and inventive upscale Italian cuisine but what really got me to go and check it out was that I heard they had a beautiful gargantuan Cassata – Sicilian wedding cake – with layers of sweetened ricotta cheese, white cake and candied fruits . I love a good Cassata and it was a night on one of these rare occasions that I was craving some pasta (mostly I am a really bad Italian, as I do not like eating lots of pasta) and in celebration of our pending nuptials that we decided to check out Bella Luna, celebrate a bit with my mom and see for ourselves!
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This week’s post was very nostalgico. So I want to explore words that have to do with emotions or sentimeni. But first lets start with the catalyst for the post.

Spumoni is Spumoni obviously!

Memories — Ricordi (re-kor-dee)

Grandpa — Nonno (noh-noh)

To Miss (Long For) — Sentire La Mancanza (cen-tear-eh lah mahn-khan-tsah)

This is my submission for the
W is for Writing Challenge Jeff has put forth on C is for Cooking

Isn’t it amazing how a taste of something can bring you back to the past? One minute you are sitting enjoying a sweet treat at the end of a pizza and pasta dinner wondering what your angle should be for yet another Italian restaurant review and in the next moment you are an eight year old child sitting in the Italian hall enjoying the same sweet treat with your Pap-Pap. Sometimes, it has been so long since you had that particular taste that you forgot that it even existed. In that same moment that you are tasting this long-forgotten delight, moments in your life you had also forgotten come flooding back – now full of emotion because they had been forgotten for so long you did not realize how much you missed those simple, wonderful moments that you had no idea you would miss so much later at the original time you experienced them.
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This week we are talking about a variety of summer outdoor activities.
Here are some Italian words that go with this theme:

Nuotare (new-oh-tah-reh) — To Swim

Andare en Barca (ahn-dar-reh een bahr-kah)– To Go Boating

And some more Free Words:

Kayak is Kayak

Snorkeling is Snorkeling

Scuba is Scuba

DeLeon Springs Florida, named for the famous explorer Ponce De Leon is one of Florida’s most beautiful natural springs. It has been voted one of Florida’s best State Parks on several occasions. It may not give you eternal youth, but you can sure spend the day feeling as care free as a child! It is pristine and unique – the swimming area, which is always 72 degrees F (as all other springs in Florida) is large and enclosed, which means no gators, although fish and turtles are often spotted! It is a wonderful place for the whole family as there are lots of great activities for every person - snorkeling, skin-diving or just lounging around on your raft.
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We were in Orlando this past weekend celebrating our engagement and were looking for some good Mediterranean food. There is every kind of restaurant imaginable in Orlando, but what we experienced at Ali Baba’s was more than we could have dreamed up.
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So for this week, since we are talking about going out for a martini, I figured now would be a good time to explain that many words associated with going out for a drink in Italian are the same as their English counterparts. It is also relevant to explain that the word
un bar in Italian is the combination of a coffee bar and what we think of as a bar in English, except that they are combined – so think of it as a Starbucks that serves alcoholic drinks as well! So if you are looking for an espresso, you are going to un bar, the same place you are going if you want one of these:

un bitter – a bitter (like campari)

un martini

un cocktail

alcohol

Cin Cin!

We have been to The Copper Pot several times since we moved to Ocala. What brings us back is that it has a unique dining experience that fits these criteria: intimate, quiet, interesting drinks and gourmet snacks with the whole package being budget-friendly!

Again, this is a case of don’t judge a book by its cover. We have found that with the exception of dining establishments in the downtown area, all the best places to go are in strip malls. If you want a free standing restaurant, you will generally have to eat at a chain restaurant. However, when you walk into The Copper Pot, you know that you have found a unique spot. The ambience is definitely there, every room has a low light and all the furnishings are done in dark wood colors with jewel toned fabrics. There are beautiful flower arrangements everywhere. If you decide to spend your evening in the lounge area you will sit in nice plush booths with the focal point of the room being the beautiful copper bar. Everything is sleek, shiny and stylish.
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