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Welcome to News From Italy, my blog about our Italian Adventure. Although this blog has now ceased publication I will be continuing to blog and I am sincerely hoping that my many followers here will move with me to Travel Tales blog to follow my next adventures wherever they may take me. The links to my other blogs are:-


I look forward to keeping in touch with you via them, thanks once again for all the support you have given 'News From Italy' over the years.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Tourists in Town - Festa del Cioccolato

                                                          
Easter was cold, damp and windy in most of Italy for the long weekend. Monday turned out to be the best day as at least the skies were blue, as you can see from my photos, but it was bitterly cold.     


Easter Monday is called  Pasquetta in Italy, literally Little Easter. Having probably spent the Sunday with their families, it is the day that traditionally Italians go out for the day into the countryside, for maybe weather permitting a picnic. 


Marta was overrun with tourists, with car parks overflowing and restaurants and bars pulling in customers as it was too cold for picnics this year.   This year for the first time Marta played host to 'Prima Festa del Cioccolato'  'First Festival of Chocolate', what a shame the weather was so disappointing as by Monday, some of the participants along the lakeside had already packed up and gone home.
                                                                                
You will see from my photos that the area around the 'Prima Festa del Cioccolato'  was particularly busy. Although on our stroll around the rest of the town there were lots of people walking along the lakeside, I did manage to get photos without the crowds. A few streets back from the lake where it was not in the sun was very quiet in comparison, also the harbour, was not surprisingly due to the cold, still very empty of  boats, although we did see a few out on the lake braving the wind.
 Those of you that have been following the changes at  Fishermens Beach - Spiaggia del Pescatore  will notice that the replacement trees are now all planted and we have new railings, plant troughs and benches. What do you think of them? 



The collages tell the story of the day, however  if you wish to view the full album or look at individual pictures enlarged you are welcome to visit my album entitled Pasquetta in Marta  at Flickr.com.


Have a lovely weekend, I am thinking of starting a new feature soon to replace Sunday Song, which has appeared three times this year, it had a good following as many of you have asked me to post Italian music more often.  I was planning on posting exactly the same sort of feature, but calling it a Musical Moment so that I am not committed to posting on a particular day of the week. What do you think? 

59 comments:

  1. Hello:
    Yes, the Easter weekend was pretty chilly here too in Budapest and we did not have the benefit of the chocolate! Such a pity that the weather did not rise to the occasion, but it certainly all looks very attractive from your photographs.

    It is so good to see that new trees are being planted and that plenty of stone seats are being provided for people to rest and admire the view.

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  2. Enjoyed your photos of Marta! I like the idea of Musical Moment. I used to do several day-themed posts that eventually fell away. It was great for inspiration and ideas when I first started blogging, but they do sometimes begin to feel limiting. Will enjoy your music posts whenever you share them! :-)

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  3. Your photos are fabulous. Too bad the weather was not better. I do think you should change your post name regarding music ( I like Musical Moment ). It is nice as the author to do our posts any day we feel inspired. A chocolate festival sounds wonderfully yummy. Take care.

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  4. Easter sweet Easter indeed! What a yummy little Easter it was in your lovely town! I love the views of the sea and the boats and all of the photos in the top collage! Musical Moment sounds brilliant, looking forward to those.

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  5. A festival for chocolate! The Italians sure know about the important things in life. I hope it warms up for you soon. It's in the 80s here in Texas.
    Ann

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  6. I agree with Laura - I will enjoy your musical posts no matter when you post them. I drove past casa piccola this morning and saw all those fishing boats. I wish I had made it to the chocolate festival - probably good I didn't as I ate plenty of chocolate!

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  7. lovely mosaics of your village!
    It was fun to read your Sunday song posts, as I didn't know many of the songs you were talking about LOL!
    Have a good weekend, it looks like an umbrella is much needed :(

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  8. Too bad my wife missed that chocolate festival, she would have loved that!

    I am happy to see that trees were replanted. Trees look great near the beach area.

    I love Italian music. The more of it on your blog, the more enjoyment it will bring to people.

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  9. Your photos are gorgeous, pity about the weather though. It was not very nice here either, but we did manage to go to a wine fair on Saturday without freezing or getting wet. I would have loved the chocolate festival......
    As for your musical moments it makes little difference to me when, how or why as you know that I cannot play them :(( Take care and have a great weekend Diane

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  10. Wonderful pictures - looks a bit cold though. As for chocolate - yes please!

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  11. Pity about the weather--it wasn't that good here either but at least you had the chocolate festival! yum!
    Think the new fittings at the Spiaggia look nice and once they have planted up the stone troughs it will look even better.

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  12. Love the way you've displayed your photographs. Is that something you can do in blogger or a special gadget?
    An interesting couple of posts about your Easter in Italy. Slightly cooler weather has to be better for the chocolate, don't you think? I hate soft chocolate!
    I think its nice to have some trees planted to add interest and colour.

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  13. Once the benches, troughs and railings, plus the trees start to grow, it should look very smart. I expect the troughs will be filled with flowers as the season gets underway. I love your photo montages.

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    1. Sorry I intended to say - have matured - after railings

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  14. I love it when you do these types of collages. I just like seeing the images grouped together.

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  15. I think Musical Moment is a great idea.
    thanks for dropping by and I have changed the background colour to make it easier to read, thanks for the advice!!

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  16. Yummy! Buonissima la festa del cioccolato, ma attenta al mal di pancia! :D
    Can't wait to read (listen) your new musical moments. Ciao.

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  17. Easter is always cold, damp and windy..I blame the Moon!
    Great selection of photos, really enjoy them!
    Btw, these Ads are still there when opening your Comments, but I clicked out before realising that I could do a screenshot!

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    1. Oh dear! You are the only one who still seems to be having problems as far as I know and blogger were unable to find any problems with the blog. They cannot proceed until someone sends them a screenshot so maybe if it happens again you would be willing to do so. Thankyou.

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  18. Our Easter was also a bit cold and wet but not that bad our winter hasn't started yet........but each day it's getting colder and we are having a bit of rain............here too..........the photos are wonderful

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  19. I'm so happy to see the new trees planted. What a lovely collage of beautiful Italy. So happy I visited tonight!

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  20. what a neat festival. love all of the pictures, so that i'm able to experience Italy as close as i'll probably EVER get! just gorgeous!

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  21. Beautiful photos. I appreciated all the work you do here. Love learning more about Italy.

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  22. We too had cold weather only 9° but on Saturday/Sunday the sun was shining fortunately ! Yes now the tourists appear ! we also had a lot in Waterloo for the Lion and the battle field. Your collages are very nice !

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  23. It's really nice place to visit. I guess that many people like this place. Thank you for sharing. :)

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  24. Yummy....a chocolate festival....Sweet Easter, indeed! Your mosaics are amazing. I like making them, but since Photobucket upgraded, I can no longer find the mosaic function...it is so frustrating!

    I hate that Easter was so bitterly cold for you guys. It was cold for us here, too, in Central Alabama. We went to our outdoor lakeside church for sunrise services and almost froze! It was in the high thirties! Brrrr!!!

    xo,
    RJ

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  25. G'Day, Lovely pics and part of the world you are living in. Easter here was sunny and cooling down towards winter. Pretty autumn colors are developing.

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  26. Wonderful set of photos, hope it is starting to warm up for you now? x

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  27. I loved to see the new trees, everything will be nice and happy again!
    Chocolate festival? I would love to be there! Happy Spring dear Lindy!

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  28. What a spectacular day...and pretty photos that really put you there. My favorite is the overturned boats all lined up. I did a coastal Italy painting just similar to that a long time ago. A huge post, but only the 3rd picture down if you want to see http://lisagrahamart.blogspot.com/2011/12/recap-of-artful-2011.html

    One of these days we will hopefully get to see this beauty in person. Oh how short life seems...not enough time, right?

    Easter on Monday...who would have thought? I liked your facebook page...and I am loving your bumble bee banner photo on your other blog! You take such great pictures!

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  29. Fantastic photos from the spring in your town and from these Festival. Great capture. Beautiful ! Kind regards, Synnöve

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  30. Great mosaics, Lindy Lou! We've had a lovely two Easters - yesterday especially was a gorgeous Autumn day.

    I like your Musical Moments idea. I have a large collection of Italian music, which I really like. Look forward to it.

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  31. You go to the neatest places Linda, and I thank you so much for taking us along!
    Sending you wishes for a wonderful start to your week!

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  32. Chocolate festival! That sounds dangerous...

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  33. It is good to see the trees planted and a chocolate festival is a good way to get visitors to the town whatever the weather.

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  34. Delicious mosaics, I like chocolate. Greetings.
    PS: Red Russian Spanish singer is a woman who calls herself well and is the one singing the song called Nick Drake. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Red

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  35. Gorgeous mosaics of what must have been a glorious day. Thanks for taking us along.

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  36. I love your photos and stories. I get to feel like I'm there. One day, though I do hope to make it to Italy. If I can convince my husband to get on a plane for that long.

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  37. What I love about your posts, besides the gorgeous photos, is information about Italy, which is very sweet - such as that the Monday after Easter is called Little Easter.

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  38. Lovely collages! It was rain, rain, rain for us! It made for a nice, quiet holiday though. The sun is trying valiantly to shine today though! We've had soooo much rain here this spring. Our grass is nice & green! I hope to put in flowers soon!

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  39. Great pictures Linda! We are looking forward to seeing all this in the Fall
    Jo

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  40. Your photos are wonderful! The colors are so vibrant there! Enjoy your week!

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  41. WOW! My comment went through...finally! I've missed commenting, my friend! I enjoy your blog and have really learned a lot about the music you enjoy with that series. Thanks so much for introducing me to new artists and music! Hugs!

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  42. Hi Linda,

    Easter here wasn't the best, with the Monday being absolutely awful, cold, wet and windy.

    'Fisherman's Beach' looks like a different place with the new planting and will be spectacular once it has all matured a little.

    The chocolate fesival is definitely my kind of thing, despite the cold weather. We once visited the Nestles factory in Switzerland, which was so interesting, although I have to say that the sickly sweet smell even got to me by the end of the tour!!

    Great montage of pictures once again.

    Yvonne

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  43. I think that the new plantings will make everyone happy as they mature. Easter weekend looks beautiful in your part of the world!

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  44. A chocolate festival sounds like fun. I love all your photos and the new plantings. The shots around the coast and water are beautiful. Wonderful post and photos. I hope you have a great day!

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  45. Beautiful mosaics! A festival is fun to have, but for residents, it's a dreaded time also. I used to live in a town where they held a festival every year, and coming home on those days, we had no parking unless we put out chairs to save our spots!

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  46. Lovely photos! The new trees should grow fast, don't you think? Looks so much better! I hope you get warm weather soon!

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  47. I like the mosaics of photos. It looks an interesting event and day.

    I confess I always skip your music posts as I'm not interested, sorry.

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  48. such a wonderful celebration..and lovely photos too..been in Italy like venice, rome, san remo and verona...and wish to visit more places there..i love italy too! thanks for sharing this wonderful post and pictures.

    best regards,
    Ruby

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  49. Magnifiques photos!
    Merci pour le pargage;o)

    ***
    Belle soirée****

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  50. You said it is bitterly cold there, oh how lovely that can be. But your photos just show some cold but they are all beautiful. How nice it could be if you can send some of those cold to this heat stricken country! We already have the feeling that this is the hottest at 35C but they said it is still soaring till May. Our rainy season which will finish all these will still be in June, OMG, i envy your cold.

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  51. Hooray for new trees planted!! That's so exciting. :-) Your pictures look so beautiful and not cold at all. It made me shiver reading your description. Well I know that cold off the water that gets into your bones. :-)

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  52. Gorgeous, gorgeous shots and display. What an absolutely beautiful place. I hope you have a great week ahead!

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    1. Thankyou for your comment, but it is a shame you are only doing so touting for business. :(

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  53. Now that's my kind of festival! Chocolate! :-) You made some great pictures of the town, but it was a shame it was so cold.

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  54. It looks like a great area, I've never been in that part of Italy, thanks for sharing it, enjoy the weekend,
    Maureen

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  55. Easter would've been better if I didn't catch a cold that turned into the flu! Probably one of the only Easters in a long time where we did not enjoy a picnic outdoors (we tried, but with the rain...). Still, it was nice to get out of the chestnut forest for a little r&r.

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