Italian fashion “tarots”

Tarots are playing cards used to foresee the future ... but the word “tarot” has been used recently also to define counterfeits, in particular fake designer brand clothes and accessories.

Yet, designers Dolce and Gabbana, or D&G, have shuffled the cards one more time, by naming the perfumes of their collections Anthology Fragrance according to the ancient Marseilles tarot cards.
n. 1 Le Bateleur is a fresh fragrance, with hints of citron, cantaloupe and vetiver;
n.3 L’imperatrice is a sweet eau de toilette, with hints of watermelon, kiwi, rose, musk and cyclamen, a perfect gift for ambitious women;
n.6 L’amoreux mixes bergamot, rose pepper, cardamom and juniper, and also birch leaves, wood and musk; it is the scent of tormented souls;
n. 10 La Roue de la Fortune blends tuberose, gardenia, and jasmine with Spicewood, patchouli, a pinch of banana and candied citrus fruits... very passionate!
n.18 La Lune proposes a mixture of lily, tuberose, sandal, musk and leather; the smell of freedom!

Testimonials (all in the nude) of the new fragrances are: Tyson Ballou, Naomi Campbell, Noah Mills, Eva Herzigova e Fernando Fernandes, Claudia Schiffer.

If none of these fragrances fits your personality, just be you patient: there are 17 more tarots still to be launched!

Comics: Dylan Dog, the detective of the supernatural

He has the face of Rupert Everett, he is a detective and he is English. He is Dylan Dog, a former Scotland Yard agent with a mysterious past of which little is known. He investigates cases crossing to a supernatural and horrific world: he fights vampires, werewolves, and phantoms, but also more dangerous monsters such as racism, indifference and greed for power.
Dylan Dog loathes violence, plays the clarinet and is perpetually building a miniature galleon that he will probably never finish.
A former alcoholic, he warns against the dangers of alcoholism, whenever he can, and does not smoke either; he is also an environmentalist and a dedicated animalist.
Dylan Dog is the protagonist of a famous Italian cartoon strip created by Tiziano Sclavi in 1986, and published by Sergio Bonelli.
Its success is never-ending...

Prepositions and Zen

Complete the text by filling the blanks with the correct prepositions. Choose among the following ones:
alla - a - per – dalla - in - alla - a - dall’ - con - di - in - all’ -a - per - a - con

Un uomo che camminava_______ un campo si imbatté _______ una tigre. Si mise_______ correre, tallonato _______ tigre. Giunto _______ un precipizio si afferrò _______ radice _______una vite selvatica e si lasciò penzolare oltre l’orlo. La tigre lo fiutava _______ alto. Tremando, l’uomo guardò giù, dove, _______fondo _______ abisso, un’altra tigre lo aspettava _______divorarlo. Soltanto la vite lo reggeva. Due topi, uno bianco e uno nero, cominciarono _______rosicchiare pian piano la vite. L’uomo scorse accanto _______sé una bellissima fragolina. Si afferrò _______ vite_______ una mano sola, _______l’altra spiccò la fragola…com’era dolce! (da “101 storie Zen”, trad di A. Motti, Milano, Adelphi 1973)

If the exercise is driving you crazy and Zen is not enough ... you can always write to us!

From Japan

Haiku is a Japanese classic poetry form, a snapshot of a sensation coming from the outside world: it is not a photograph of an item, rather of an atmosphere. Basho, master of haiku in the 17th century, wrote that to write a haiku one needs “to say simply what happens in that place, in that precise moment.”
Caorle’s dam, between Piazza Vescovado and the sea, holds two haiku by two contemporary great poets, Aigner and Zanzotto. In a few words, they captured the moment in which they opened their souls to the world without the desire to possess it, just with intention of letting it be.

Relaxing at the Spa

A few kilometers from Caorle is Bibione with the thermal baths.
The alkaline mineral water of the baths that gushes out of the hydrothermal spring in Bibione is 52°C (125° F) and is rich in sodium and fluorite bicarbonate. Its therapeutic value is acknowledged by the Health Ministry.
The “Bibione Thermae” Spa is located in the middle of a relaxing pine forest, and it offers all kind of therapeutic and beauty treatments.
In addition to the curative and rehabilitative treatments, guests can also enjoy the fitness center, beauty farm, indoor and outdoor thermal pools with hydro-massage, a sauna, Turkish baths, the solarium and restaurants.

Children and language learning: the Secret World of Children

One of the most efficient foreign language teaching methods to use with children is to reproduce in class their normal activities. Playing and drawing which children normally use are thus the central element of our language class. Children love to paint and play with colors, actions which are innate and spontaneous to them, well before verbal communication. Using these tools encourages a natural, engaging introduction to the language itself. Here we can admire one of the works of art done by two very young students in our class for young learners.

Frescos Tour

One of the excursions our students appreciate the most is the one that takes them to discover the beautiful frescos hidden in the region off the beaten tourist path. It is an authentic tour back in time, from the marvelous paintings in Caorle cathedral, to Concordia Sagittaria 11th century baptistery, to the early 13th century abbeys in Summaga and Sesto al Reghena. Of course, the tour is also paired with food and wine tasting of the wonderful, fresh, regional products.