Back in Florence for just a couple of days, the birthplace of our love of Italy. Two days here and one in Bologna before returning home to Umbria to start our two weeklong Cucinapalooza cooking tours. Continue reading Language Barrier
What cannot be translated into the American vocabulary Read more
Back in Florence for just a couple of days, the birthplace of our love of Italy. Two days here and one in ...
We first met Angelo Coluccia some years ago – perhaps seven, maybe eight years hence. And unlike the majority of our Italian friends, we did not discover him. Rather, he found us in his research on Italian specialty shops in the U.S. At the time this young man from Puglia, Italy’s southern region known as “the heel of the boot” was in the business of promoting food and wine from his native Puglia and, more specifically, from his home town of Gioia del Colle. We responded to his forthright email offering to introduce us to the treasures of Puglia and a friendship was born.
This week we were introduced to the love of his life, Maria Carmela, and attended our first Italian wedding. Continue reading Gioia
A Magical Puglian Wedding Read more
We first met Angelo Coluccia some years ago - perhaps seven, maybe eight years hence. And unlike the majority of our Italian ...
We bill our Umbria Food & Wine tours as an opportunity to spend harvest time in Umbria. And these weeks in October are truly the heart of harvest time in this area. Grapes have usually just been picked and are fermenting in tanks in cantinas, tractors and combines move from one plot of land to another at all hours of the day and into the night. And the first olio novello is being pressed in mills in this olive crazy region. Continue reading Labor Olive
We bill our Umbria Food & Wine tours as an opportunity to spend harvest time in Umbria. And these weeks in October ...
In yesterday’s post on our Tuscany adventure I included a couple of photos taken in Siena’s Piazza del Campo of a wedding party that had either just said their “I do”s or were about to. It was a memorable image. Continue reading Very Interesting
Wedding Scenes from Siena Read more
In yesterday’s post on our Tuscany adventure I included a couple of photos taken in Siena’s Piazza del Campo of a wedding ...
As the sun comes up on a Saturday morning, the week long intermission between our first and second Food and Wine tours this month is already coming to a close. But as we prepare for the arrival of six new guests, we must look forward and not back at our week in Tuscany, the region next door where we discovered our love of Italy and which for many Americans is synonymous with Italy. Continue reading Tuscany Redux
The Region Next Door Read more
As the sun comes up on a Saturday morning, the week long intermission between our first and second Food and Wine tours ...
We’ve visited Assisi dozens of times, walking in the historic footsteps of St. Francis under the expert guidance of a local tour guide. And it never gets old or stale. Continue reading Assisi? That’s Easy!
We've visited Assisi dozens of times, walking in the historic footsteps of St. Francis under the expert guidance of a local tour ...
Day One of our Food & Wine tour, the first of three weeklong tours over then next five weeks, started as many do. With lunch at Simone’s le Delizie del Borgo restaurant in Bevagna. Continue reading Give Us This Day
Day One of our Food & Wine tour, the first of three weeklong tours over then next five weeks, started as many ...
Often – well, pretty much always -we take for granted the little stuff, the daily stuff, the routine stuff. And this is certainly true when talking about our first activity of the day here in Italy – breakfast. Continue reading Good Morning
Often – well, pretty much always -we take for granted the little stuff, the daily stuff, the routine stuff. And this is ...
Sunday is typically a day of rest and family in Italy. But on the second Sunday of September in Foligno it is a day for blood sport. Continue reading My Kingdom for a Horse
A special sunday in Foligno: Giostra della Quintana Read more
Sunday is typically a day of rest and family in Italy. But on the second Sunday of September in Foligno it is ...
Returning to Italy today, to our home town of Cannara, brought a tear to my eyes. Literally. Continue reading Peel Me an Onion
Festa della Cipolla (the Onion Festival) Read more
Returning to Italy today, to our home town of Cannara, brought a tear to my eyes. Literally. Welcome to the 33rd edition of ...
Although I don’t do it nearly often enough, I love to golf. And golfing in Italy, which I also do not do nearly often enough, is particularly enjoyable. There’s something about the light, the fresh air and the simplicity of the game in Italy that is completely appealing. And even if you play poorly, the food in the clubhouse is quite a bit better than what you’ll find back home. Continue reading The Universal Four Letter Word
Although I don’t do it nearly often enough, I love to golf. And golfing in Italy, which I also do not do ...
Spending a day with Salvatore Denaro is one of life’s great pleasures. But be sure to bring a pair of comfortable shoes and drink plenty of water. It’s going to be one hell of a ride.