January can mean a host of different things to different people: diet; detox; dark days; debt and the token drastic New Year’s resolution are just a few. If 2009 left you with a nasty hangover and one too many unfulfilled ambitions, then let the new decade be a fresh and resolute beginning. Whether you’re looking to spice up your cooking skills or jazz up your dance moves, these inspiring breaks will start your New Year on the right foot.

Basta la pasta?

Cooking at the Vecchia Scuola – Bologna, Italy

Known as “Bologna the Gluttonous” – and for good reason – this northern Italian town makes an ideal setting for learning how to cook authentic cucina italiana. The Vecchia Scuola is one of the best places in Italy to learn how to make fresh pasta by hand, with passionate instructors who’ll teach you how to tell your tortellini from your tortelloni in no time. The school prides itself on its use of traditional recipes and techniques to ensure the finest quality, with in-depth lessons ensuring a comprehensive understanding of Italian cuisine. Courses in pasta making at the Vecchia Scuola consist of five lessons, each four hours long. There are usually no more than five people in a class so there’s plenty of opportunity for individual attention. If you discover a secret talent for pasta making after the introductory course, then the school offers further professional pasta courses and a professional kitchen course. There is also a small restaurant on site, so you can see how your own efforts compare to the work of the experts.

The amateur pasta-making course costs €205 for 20 hours of teaching. All equipment is provided by the school.

http://www.lavecchiascuola.com

Get into the groove with flamenco

Learning Flamenco at Taller Flamenco School – Seville, Spain

If your waltz is weak, you’ve tried the tango and your cha-cha-cha is far from ooh-la-la, then try getting into the groove in 2010 with flamenco dancing. Head to Andalusia in southern Spain, home to the art of flamenco, for a week’s lessons in this passionate and evocative folk dance. Alongside regular classes in flamenco dance, technique and Spanish guitar, the Taller Flamenco School also offers intensive weekend courses once a month. You can pick up the flamenco technique and have lessons in Compás & Palmas (hand clapping) to become a true flamenco “aficionao” in just one weekend. For anyone looking to lose weight in the New Year it’s also a surprisingly effective workout and your efforts are handsomely rewarded at the end of the course. As a reward for participants’ hard work a troupe of professional dancers put on a special show while you sit back and put your feet up.

2010 winter weekend courses run 22-23 January, 19-20 February and 19-20 March.

Seville; €146 per person

http://www.tallerflamenco.com

Real skating in Scandinavia

Skating on natural ice – Östergötland/Södermanland, Sweden

Ice rinks that pop up during the festive season would look so magical – were it not for the invariable troupe of tottering bodies that flap and falter their way around the course. If you’re usually one of the gaggle that gingerly makes it way around the rink, consider learning to glide gracefully over ice in the frozen wilds of Scandinavia. Winter in Sweden means a large network of frozen waterways which provide perfect routes for “trip skating”. Local guides ensure the safest and most enjoyable tracks, leaving you to perfect your prowess whilst experiencing the country’s breathtaking natural beauty. And fear not, there’s also plenty of time at the end of the day for a well-deserved sauna to soothe tired feet.

Nature Travels offers four-day skating trips on the ice in the counties of Östergötland and/or Södermanland (flights to Stockholm) from 5830 SEK/person including full board.

www.naturetravels.co.uk

Relax and rejuvenate down on the farm

Stay on an organic farm – Monte da Cunca, Algarve, Portugal

Desperate to get away but conscious of your impact on the environment? You can escape the rat race and your guilty conscience on this organic farm in Portugal’s Algarve. As part of the WWOOFing scheme (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), volunteers receive free food and accommodation in return for unpaid work during the day. This particular project offers WWOOFers the chance to contribute to an organic farm in Monte da Cunca, by working in the vegetable garden, making jam, helping to build wind generators and looking after the resident goats and donkey. Accommodation is in caravans, dorms and biodegradable straw-bale houses which have been decorated by previous WWOOFers. After a hard day of manual labour borrow the farm’s kayaks, surfboards and sand boards and reward yourself with a trip to Bordeira beach, only fifteen minutes’ walk through the sand dunes. Admittedly not the most glamorous holiday option going, but the healthy glow and feel-good factor you’ll return home with are definite fashion-forward looks this year.

To go to Monte da Cunca as a WWOOFer you must be a member of WWOOF Portugal. Annual membership costs €15. Available at www.wwoof.pt

http://montedacunca.com/

A really spiritual retreat

Spiritual retreat at Marienkron Abbey and Hotel – Mönchof, Austria

If you’re looking for an increased sense of serenity and solitude this year, then look no further. Home to the Sisters of the Cistercian Order, Marienkon Abbey in Austria has been transformed into a health resort with a spiritual twist. The nuns have been running the convent-based centre since 1969 and have created a haven of tranquillity in the process. Set amongst rolling meadows, buffered by woodland and containing a scattering of Henry Moore sculptures, the grounds are a refuge from the pace and punch of everyday life. Whether it’s yoga, Tibetan meditation or immune-boosting water therapy you’re interested in, the nuns will be sure to set you on the right track for the New Year, while trained instructors will be happy to give you guidance on the techniques they practise. A godsend should you want to administer some of the soothing techniques you’ve learned once you’ve returned to 9-to-5 purgatory back home.

Two-night all inclusive package from €200

www.marienkron.at