Living Italy     Holidays for the Thinking Traveller

www.livingitaly.com

SICILY TOUR 2010   Goddesses, Saints & Heroes

 

 

PUGLIA & ABRUZZO TOUR 2010

Mysteries of the Mezzogiorno

ENQUIRIES

info@livingitaly.com

Comments

[Helen Kulhanek]

A TASTE OF UMBRIA

2 weeks - Springtime - Umbria - the privilege of being inside the kitchens of keen cooks and passionate chefs - hands on creativity with seasonal local produce just as the Umbrians have done for generations and many continue to do. What a holiday!!

In one of the most beautiful checkerboard landscapes of Italy, the region around Montefalco offered us a priceless experience of cooking, eating and savouring individual flavours, recognising even the slightest nuance of locally made wine or olive oil, and locally found truffles, artichokes and wild asparagus.

The cooking experiences were all so different and all so much fun and included always dishes for prima, seconda and terza piatti usually with extras as well. Following each lesson there was of course a wonderful meal of all that had been prepared. I am a coeliac and I was amazed to find that provision was always made for me to avoid gluten and all the chefs were interested to discuss how gluten free dishes could be tweaked to perfection with a little creativity.

Added to our 8 truly amazing cooking lessons - this from a now ambitious cook - we thoroughly enjoyed so many different activities such as a truffle hunt, admiring age old weaving patterns still being worked on looms of various ages - up to 900 years old, how and why the charcoal burners’ craft was carried out, the finer points of olive oil pressing, and the particular qualities of the particularly locally grown Sagrantino wine - so good that a long time ago a pope decided to designate it as THE wine for the mass. We also spent a lovely relaxing morning just wandering and gathering local herbs and wild asparagus and an afternoon observing the potters craft at Deruta.

As our holiday coincided with Easter we were able to enjoy some of the age old customs and games. It was a fascinating mix of active and passive experiences. No wonder we are finding it difficult to adjust back to ordinary life.

Added to all these memorable activities were historical walks, shopping possibilities and art appreciation in several Umbrian towns such as Perugia, Spoleto and Orvieto.

The Living Italy team, led by Carol an Neil but truly a group of enthusiastic people I now count as friends, work together with their own networks of friends and family to bring the experience of living in Italy to those lucky enough to find this website: livingitaly@optusnet.com.au or to discover it through their travel agent, or to hear about it by word of mouth.

The accommodation is provided by the Fabrizi family, another part of the Living Italy team, in their Agriturismo which has some buildings over 500 years old, but all mod cons are provided and we were treated as friends of the family with nothing too difficult to arrange. Meals here were always special too, so many an evening stays in the memory as time well spent with interesting folk and flavoursome wine.

My suggestion is to enjoy a whole two week experience - we really saw Springtime come to Umbria, and this also allows the mind and senses to take it all in. I can only encourage all of you who are looking for an in depth experience of Italy to contact Carol and begin making plans. You will never regret it!

Helen Kulhanek April 2009