Ciao! Enjoy my latest Italy food, wine, travel & fun news!

In this issue, you'll discover five unique ways to enjoy Florence, how to hear and see our Piedmont wine country webinar online, a well priced, fun cooking, food and cultural tour with a delightful family in Sorrento and an easy, delicious recipe for an asparagus appetizer. Looking for cooking & wine tours to share some fun times with other food and wine lovers like you? Check out our list of tours other people have registered for.

Margaret picking grapes in Piedmont

Five Unique Ways To Enjoy Florence

Perhaps you feel about Florence as I do, like she's an old friend you keep visiting. If you visit Florence regularly, as well as going back to your favourite haunts, you may also want to see different sides of the city. 1. Florence by Bicycle: Instead of exploring on foot, ride a bicycle behind your local guide through narrow pedestrian streets and past major sites like Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce and Oltrano. You'll stop and relax in several spots but will not go inside buildings. Maximum six people. One tour every day afternoon, 2 ½ hours,  49 Euros per person. More information at florencetasting.com

View of Florence from near Piazzale Michelangelo

2. Florence by Segway

If you're seeking a new, cool way to see the city, glide behind your local guide on a Segway through the Renaissance streets of Florence's historic centre past The Duomo, Dante Alighieri's house, Piazza della Signoria and more. The tour starts with a 30 minute Segway riding lesson so you feel comfortable on it. Maximum six people. Tours twice a day, 3 hours, 75-90 Euros a person. More information at florencetasting.com

3. Leather & Ice Cream Artisan Tour

Visit the extraordinary leather artisan Simone Taddei in his workshop on a tiny street across from Dante's house. Like his father and grandfather, Taddei makes exquisite, highly polished leather boxes in a myriad of sizes and forms.

Your tour continues to one of the most famous traditional Italian gelaterias in Florence, where you'll visit the labortory to see how they make ice cream and taste a variety of unique flavours made exclusively there. Wednesday & Thursday afternoon, 2 hours, 35 Euros a person. More information at florencetasting.com

4. Renaissance Garden Walks with a Tuscan Garden Designer

If you love gardens, your morning walk with Jessica may turn into the highlight of your Florence visit. American born Jessica has been designing gardens in Tuscany for 20 years through her professional landscape design service and is passionate about the history of Italian gardens.

Her knowledge and expertise opens doors to gardens like the first Renaissance garden designed in 1470. Walks 9:30 to 1:00 daily, 55 Euros a person + about 10 Euros for garden entrance fees. Minimum 4 people. More information at holidayintoscana.com

5. Do You Love Irises?

If you love irises like I do, and you're in Florence from April 27 to May 20, head up to the iris gardens. Every spring for one month only, the Iris Garden just below Piazzale Michelangelo opens to show off all the glory of its 2500 different kinds of irises in a stunning display of colour.

As you wander to admire the irises on the lawns and around the trees, you'll enjoy magnificent views of Florence and also feel you're in a peaceful refuge, away from the city noise and crowds. Many irises are entered in an International Iris Competition, the Premio Firenze, which has been held there since 1954. The iris is the symbol of Florence.

The Iris Garden is open 10am–12.30 midday and 3–7pm from 27 April to 20 May (admission free). The competition runs from 7 to 12 May, during which an international jury of experts judges the various entries. The awards ceremony is on 10 May in Palazzo Vecchio. 

How to Enjoy Wine, Food and Travel in Piedmont's Barolo Wine Country

Did you miss our webinar on this delicious, fun region that's a paradise for red wine lovers? No problemo! Enjoy the 39 minute webinar talk and slides now.

Please let us know what topics you'd like to see in our future webinars, so we can serve you in the best way possible and give you information you really find valuable.  We'd also appreciate your comments on our Piedmont webinar—what did you like, what would you improve?

Featured Italy Cooking Tour: Discover Sorrento and the Bay of Naples with a Wonderful Local Family

In the past three years, we've sent many, many happy food lovers (including me and Heather!) to our Neapolitan family friends at their down to earth, homey B & B near Sorrento set among gardens of lemon and fruit trees, eggplants, tomatoes and aromatic herbs. Around communal breakfast and dinner tables, single travelers will find lots of congenial people to share conversation and laughter. Your delightful hosts Camilla and Biagio, a retired chef, their outgoing sons, Giuseppe who runs the office and Agostino, who assists in the kitchen, and two daughters welcome you warmly and really make you feel at home. Lovely people!

some wise advice on the Amalfi Coast

The four and six day tours give you the perfect combination of cooking lessons, food visits (olive oil producer, wine tasting) and sightseeing to Pompeii and Positano on the Amalfi Coast. If you go on their excursion to Capri, you may be lucky enough to go with their simpatico friend, Salvatore, who takes you on his boat to the Blue Grotto at 5:00 p.m. after everyone has gone, so you can swim in the grotto and have it all to yourself!

Priced at 855 Euros (about $1370 Cdn/US) for four days and 1355 Euros ($2170 Cdn/US) for six days, these tours give you very good value for the money.

Would You Like To Join Other Food & Wine Lovers On These Cooking Tours?

Fellow lovers of food, wine and life are waiting for you to share wonderful experiences with them on these tours:

2008 Cooking Tours
Cooking, Wine & Volcanoes in Sicily's Mt. Etna and Island of Stromboli. Sept 20-26 , 2008
Tuscan Cooking, Wine & Food Weekend at Farmhouses and Homes Sept 25-28, 2008
Cooking & Wine Lovers' tour in Tuscany’s Brunello Wine Country at a historic hotel Sept 28-Oct 4, 2008
Cook with Great Cooks in Their Homes in Friuli Venezia Giulia Oct 5-10, 2008

2009 Cooking Tours
Cooking, Wine & Volcanoes in Sicily's Mt. Etna and Island of Stromboli. May 23-29, 2009

Sit down with a glass of your favourite Italian wine, drool over the tour descriptions and call us today!

Asparagus Rolls—Rotolini di Asparagi

This easy, tasty, spring time recipe, accented with classic Emilia-Romagna ingredients of prosciutto and parmesan cheese, comes from Epicurean.com

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 pounds asparagus, spears trimmed
• 1/4 cup butter, plus extra for greasing
• 3 1/2 ounces prosciutto, sliced
• scant 1 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
• salt

Preparation

Cook the asparagus in salted, boiling water for 15 minutes (or less depending on your taste). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F/180 C. Grease an ovenproof dish with butter. Drain the asparagus and gently pat dry. Spread out the prosciutto on the counter, lay two large or three small asparagus on each slice, roll up and fasten each roulade with a toothpick. Place the rolls in the prepared dish, sprinkle with the parmesan, dot with the butter and bake for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Buon appetito!

Enjoy sharing good Italian food, wine and good times around the table with people you care about in May!

Ciao for now,

"Mama" Margaret

Join our Italy Travel & Food Newsletter so you can receive your newsletter by e-mail personally next time!