You may remember my July 2010 newsletter article on how much I delighted in eating my way through the first Florence Gelato Festival that May and my 2011 and 2012 reminders to go the Florence gelato festival. This year it happens May 17-26. 

In Florence, lots of artisan and big commercial gelaterias have stands in the main piazzas like Piazza della Repubblica and at Palazzo Pitti, presenting you with an overwhelming array of tempting gelato flavours to eat. Chefs show you how to create gelato desserts in demonstration classes. The GelatoUniversity near Bologna staff shows you how they make gelato. And lots more!

This year the same style of gelato festival will happen in:

Milan: May 31-June 2

Turin: June 7-9

Rome: June 21-23

The Italia Gelato Tour website, italiagelatotour.it has no information yet on what cool, sweet events will take place in the four cities or where they’ll take place. The web site is in Italian, but of course, you can use Google Translator. Mark these dates on your Italy travel calendar and stay tuned to their website much closer to the dates for all the delicious details!

Four Gelato Festivals in Italy This Summer

Enjoying the café life in Siena’s famous Campo piazza

We’re getting calls from food and wine lovers who have only 5-7 days to explore Tuscany. They list the towns they’d like to visit like Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Volterra. How to see them all in such a short time? Let’s say you’re looking for a quick taste of each place. You’ll save time and stress if you base yourself in one place and take day trips from there. No changing hotels.

For 7 days on a first vacation in Tuscany, its capital, Florence makes a perfect base. From Florence you can take guided day tours that take you to Siena and San Gimignano or elsewhere. If you want to explore on your own, Siena is an easy, one hour bus or train ride from Florence—no need to rent a car if you’re going only to Siena. Both Siena and San Gimignano in one day on your own with bus or train transport is difficult. Best to rent a car or choose to visit one of the two for that day.

You can take a direct train from Florence to Lucca (make sure you’re not changing trains so your trip is shorter) in about 1 ½ hours. The train from Florence gets you to Pisa in an hour. To get to Volterra from Florence, you have only the bus, a 2 hour trip each way for a rather long, but doable day.

In summary, for your 7 day Tuscany holiday, you could arrive evening number 1 in time for dinner in Florence and enjoy exploring Florence for 2 more days (nights 2 and 3). Take a guided tour to Siena and San Gimignano on day 4. That leaves Lucca, Pisa and Volterra for days 5 and 6 so choose 2 of the 3. Check out on day 7 for your next destination. Or stay an extra day! Or stay for a few more days since you could easily spend a week in Florence if it’s your first time. I never tire of Florence! Always something new as well as old haunts.

How To Explore Tuscany In Seven Days

cooking in the villa’s kitchen with Tuscan chef

When each of her grandkids turns 16, Mrs. J from Minnesota takes her/him on a special trip, just the two of them. Both she and her 16 year old granddaughter love cooking, eating and exploring, so she decided on an Italian cooking school tour for a week this July at a 13^th century villa and wine estate outside Florence.

When I talked with Mrs. J on the phone on their return, she exclaimed, “We did so many things together! We were on the same wavelength. It was 10/10!”

In the villa’s kitchen, the cooking lessons with two chefs were “very good”. They had fun meeting lots of people in the cooking classes: some were there for the same week while others came for a one day class. “We weren’t there for intensive cooking. We were there for the experiences so people coming and going added to our experiences.”

13^th century villa near Florence

Their walking guide on their Florence excursion was “excellent”. They visited a market, tasted cheeses and vinegars, saw key sights and enjoyed free time. On their wine country tour, they visited a winery in a Wine Spectator article that also sold great olive oil which Mrs. J got shipped home. They also explored Siena, Pisa and San Gimignano.

On the estate, they stayed in a very clean, air-conditioned cottage, nicely decorated in period style with a fridge stocked with breakfast and snack food.

“Each day was an adventure”, she said. “We ate two gelatos every day.”

What a fabulous holiday for Mrs. J and her granddaughter to remember together! Sounds like she and her granddaughter deepened their heart to heart connection even more on this trip.

Grandmother Rates Tuscan Cooking Tour With 16 Year Old Granddaughter: 10/10!

Margaret at Le Volpi e L’Uva wine bar, Florence

In her great Florence For Foodies guide, (see divinacucina.com) Tuscan cooking teacher, Judy Witts lists a wine bar, a “hidden treasure trove just over Ponte Vecchio, hidden off to the left past a piazza and under an arch.” Intriguing—sounded like a wine lover’s treasure hunt! Off I went, prepared to search through a maze of medieval streets. I found it right away in a small piazza just off the main street leading from Ponte Vecchio to the PittiP alace.

Le Volpi e L’Uva wine bar (levolpieluva.com) offers a wonderful range of Italian reds, whites, dessert wines and distilled drinks by the glass, with a few from France thrown in. The sommelier and wine maker owners search for interesting, top quality wines from smaller, lesser known wineries.  The knowledgeable man at the bar asked me what kind of wine I wanted and suggested a 2007 red wine from Tuscany’s Bolghieri region. The staff matches the wines with a great array of Italian and French cheeses, Italian cold cuts, small sandwiches like one with a porcini mushroom & truffle spread, or crostini or small vegetable salads. I asked for their four cheeses plate and loved the two pecorino cheeses and the tuma cheese with tomatoes and bread. Perfect light lunch! It’ll become one of my Florence haunts! 

Why the name, Le Volpi e L’Uva–the foxes and the grape? An Aesop fable about a fox on a hot summer day inspired them.  The fox saw some ripe, juicy looking grapes trained over a high branch in a vineyard. Perfect to quench his thirst! He jumped as high as he could four times but missed. Finally he resigned himself to his thirsty fate and walked away thinking, “They were probably too sour.” 

The Le Volpi e L’Uva owners search and taste high and low at wine fairs and small wineries to find the best wines for their wine bar and they succeed, unlike the fox. 

Le volpi e l’uva (wine bar), Piazza dei Rossi, 1R, Florence. Tel: 055-23-98-132

Excellent Florence Wine Bar Features Top, Less Known Wines

Piazza San Carlo in Turin, Italy, home to historic cafes with chocolate treats

Planning on visiting Turin, Rome or Palermo? In big Italian cities, plan on using public buses, subways or taxis or walk. They say the best way to see a country is on foot and that’s certainly true in the historic centre of many Italian cities. 

Avoid driving a car. Driving a car in big cities like Naples will either terrify you so you have recurring nightmares or thrill you if you have a secret desire to drive fast in chaotic obstacle courses. I still close my eyes at times when I’m with my friend Lucia in her car in Rome and she’s an excellent driver! 

Cities like Florence have a labyrinth of  one way streets off the main thoroughfares so you’ll circle around and around, with ever more colourful swear words coming out of your mouth each time you circle back or go too far.  Why put yourself through that? 

Parking is very expensive. Many hotels in historic centres have parking garages.

However, many side streets are too narrow to accommodate cars easily and have narrow sidewalks so pedestrians almost flatten themselves against building walls when a car passes by. No fun driving that way!

Taxis abound. Check that the meter is running and before you get going, ask for an estimate of the fare. Adopt a friendly, but confident “I know where I’m going” air so the driver may be less tempted to drive the long way to your hotel. 

Before boarding public buses, you need to buy tickets which aren’t sold on city buses. Buy them at news vendor stands on the streets, train stations or at some tobacco shops. For example in Rome, I often buy mine at the news vendor in the main train station or in the subway stations. 

On the bus, you must get your ticket stamped in the validating machine since tickets are valid for 90 minutes or so. Ticket controllers do board the buses sometimes to check if tickets are validated, so avoid embarrassment and fines by using the machine. Same system for subways in cities like Rome where you must validate your ticket at the turnstile before walking down to the train platform. 

Many cities like Naples, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Verona and Turin have “hop on hop off” buses that let you get off and on as you wish at major tourist sites in a 24 or 48 hour period for a reasonable price like $25 for 48 hours in Rome. A great way to get oriented quickly to a new city! 

Thank you to Alice Lawless of Vancouver whose ideas inspired this article.

Top 8 Tips For Getting Around Easily In Big Italian Cities

My Top Four Romantic Experiences In Italy 

Florence 

We’d stroll along the Arno at night, the river reflecting the street lights and illuminated buildings, up to Piazzale Michelangelo. There we’d admire the view of the city all lit up below us as we hugged. 

Stromboli, an Aeolian Island off the northeast coast of Sicily 

We’d hike up and down and along the quiet mountainside path in the late afternoon, gazing far out to sea and over the white town, and walk down to a restaurant perched on a cliff above the sea. On the outdoor patio, we’d drink a cool glass of wine as the sun set in orange and pink over the sea below. As the sky darkened, we’d look up at the volcano and watch it hurl its fireworks into the air every 15 minutes, reminding us of our passion for each other. 

Monterosso in the Cinque Terre 

We’d stay at pink Villa Steno with its garden of lemon trees in the old town in a room with a balcony and view of the old town and the sea. In the evening, we’d walk along the seafront promenade from the old town, around the harbour and along the seafront in the new town. Beautiful views of the Cinque Terre coast! We’d wander down to the beach, take off our shoes and wade hand in hand in the warm sea as we meandered along the beach and paused every now and then for a kiss. 

view of Positano from Hotel Tramonto D’Oro in Praiano

Hotel Tramonto D’Oro in Praiano on the Amalfi Coast 

One warm June evening at sunset, I was sitting all alone on my balcony of my room at this lovely four star hotel in Praiano, sipping prosecco from my frigo bar, awestruck at my view over homes with gardens and along the coast to Positano and beyond. I thought, “So romantic! Who would I like to share this with?”  

Kathy, the blogger at Food Lovers’ Odyssey at foodloversodyssey.typepad.com, listed her top 10 places to kiss in Italy in a January 2011 article. She’s attracted to places with water views like:

• In Rome at Castel Sant’Angelo on its Terrace of the Angels with a lovely night view of the Tiber River and city lights.
• The Belvedere view point in Sorrento
• Any bridge, canal or street in Venice
• Camogli’s beach at dusk (very pretty town one hour north of Cinque Terre)
• Lago Maggiore in the terraced gardens of Isola Bella
• In Naples Via Partenope, a seaside promenade with views of a castle and Vesuvius. 

Martha Bakerjian, the Italy travel blogger at goitaly.about.com lists

• Venice
• Amalfi Coast
• Capri
• Lake Como
• Portofino
• Verona
• Taormina
• Gulf of Poets nearLa Spezia
• Perugia with its Baci (kisses) chocolates 

Where are your top places and experiences for romance in Italy?

Top 23 Romantic Experiences in Italy

I love collages and sewing so decided to save them. I bought some plain white T shirts and cut the pictures off the old T shirts. On the new T shirt I made a collage of cloth scraps from other clothes I’d made and the old T shirt picture. 

Yesterday I finished making my Etruscan Tomb of the Leopards “new” T shirt. I love the Etruscans and went to Tarquinia, an hour north of Rome, in the 1980s and in 1991 to go down into Etruscan tombs, including the famous Tomb of the Leopards with musicians. I got a kick of the T shirt that transformed them into a rock band. I got this T shirt in Florence around 1991.

new T shirt with Etruscan Tomb of the Leopards

In first “save the T shirt” project, I put the “wine lovers’ food pyramid” on a new T shirt and went a bit overboard with the number of patterns and colours! A tour client gave me the original shirt around 1998.

new T shirt with wine lovers’ food pyramid

Did you know that Michelangelo’s David and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa had a love affair? I found this T shirt in Rome in 1996 and still chuckle over it. I added the red lace to spice it up and decided less was more in the collage design.

new T shirt of David and Mona Lisa

I love Matisse’s strong colours and lively dancers on this T shirt which I got in Vancouver way back when. I made my extra tidbits to follow the spirit of the original picture.

 I have other Italian T shirts that are approaching the “save me!” stage: red wines of Italy, types of coffee drinks in Italyand my beloved one of Mona Lisa laughing hysterically. I’ve also saved the cloth of my two umbrellas with Botticelli’s La Primavera and the Birth of Venus.

Saving Favourite Italian T Shirts

Amalfi Coast T shirt says, “Save water, drink limoncello.” Good advice!

You’ve decided to explore Italy for your 2012 vacation. Where to go? You face endless, tantalizing possibilities and feel like shouting, “Help!” Help is on its way…right here. 

1. “What kind of travelers are we?” Choose the best regions for you. 

Are you big wine lovers and want to experience your favourite wines right where they’re made with the producers? If you love Amarone, choose the Veneto. For Barolo—Piedmont. For Chianti or Brunello—Tuscany. For Nero D’Avola—Sicily. 

If food is your number one priority in life, ask yourself, “What kind of Italian food?” For silk-like pasta,Emilia-Romagna. For healthy vegetable dishes and seafood, the Riviera or Puglia among others. 

If you love adventures in nature, what season to go? In winter, you can ski in the Dolomites north of Venice, in the mountains near Turin in Piedmont or on Mount Etna in Sicily. 

In summer, you can hike on paths on the Amalfi Coast or in hills in many parts of Tuscany and Umbria. Italy’s two coasts of beaches may beckon you like in Sardinia, the Riviera and Calabria. 

If you adore art, what period of art and architecture? Florence focuses mostly on the Renaissance. For me, Rome shines for the antiquities and Baroque. Puglia offers imposing castles, Greek temples, quaint trulli houses, white Greek-like hill towns. 

Find regions that match at least one of your passions. How? Stay tuned for your next newsletter! 

David and his shadow at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence

 2. “What kind of travelers are we?” Slow or fast?  

Do you like to settle in one place, hang out for a few days and get a good feel for life, food, wine and culture there? If you have a week, pick one region as a base, or two regions a short trip apart. If you have two weeks, choose two or three regions. You’ll avoid spending too much time traveling and getting settled in too many hotels. 

Some flights cost less money and time than longer train rides. For example, flying from Rome to Catania in Sicily takes one hour and costs from 98 Euros return so you could do Rome and eastern Sicily in a week. 

Do you want to see as much as you can in the short time you have? Plan to stay at least two, or better three nights in each place. 

Travel time between places can eat up half a day door to door.Venice to Florence is about two hours by train. But add time to get to the train in Venice from your hotel, find your train in Venice (assuming you bought tickets in advance), get from the Florence train station to your hotel and get settled, and time for the unexpected. You’ve lost a morning. 

If you stay night #1 in Florence, tour Florence day #2, stay in Florence night #2 and leave day #3, you’ve spent about 1.5 days there.  Hardly doing this magnificent city justice.

Planning Your Trip In Italy: Where Should We Go?

Tap Venice Eating 

For 15 years Michaela Scibilia’s book, Venice Osterie, has been the go-to guide for locals eating out in Venice (tapvenice.com). Michaela describes a huge variety of spots from down home style trattorias, to wine bars with quick snacks to famous but good value restaurants. She features only places she’s eaten at. 

In this iPhone version of her book, you’ll find 130 eateries in Venice and 30 near Venice: restaurants, trattorias, wine bars, specialty food shops, bakeries, bars, chocolate shops. Her descriptions include photos, maps, closing day, hours open, prices. Search by categories like “scenic view” or “tables outside”. You can even search multiple categories like a restaurant on Monday for a romantic dinner. 

Available at Apple’s iTunes store at $2.99. Updated September 2010. 

gelatos in Florence—Oh! Which flavours to pick today?

Eat Florence 

Rome resident and food journalist Elizabeth Minchilli (elizabethminchilliinrome.com) has written six books on Italian living and many articles for over 40 newspapers and magazines. Now she’s published two foodie apps, Eat Rome and Eat Florence.  

With Eat Florence, you’ll avoid tourist trap eateries through her expert suggestions and lively comments for 110 carefully chosen restaurants, bakeries, wine bars, kitchen and food stores, coffee bars and more. You can see over 800 photos and share reviews, photos and user comments. 

Available on her web site and sutromedia.com/apps.html at $2.99. Updated August 2011  

Umbria Slow: Food, Culture & Travel 

Alex Leviton has written the Umbria part for four Lonely Planet Tuscany & Umbria guides. Rebecca Winke, with her husband, owns and runs an agriturismo, Brigolante, nearAssisi and blogs regularly about Umbria. 

Along with uniquely Umbria spots tourists rarely experience, Alex and Rebecca tell you about family-owned restaurants, a zero-emission winery, their favourite cooking classes. You learn about the food like truffles, a truffle hunter’s restaurant, the wines and where to ride on horseback through vineyards. 

You can easily sort listings by category, name, price, area or distance. Check out hundreds of travel hints, tips for local events, weather or history. Look at step by step photos like how to pay for parking and share your reviews and photos. 

Available at sutromedia.com/apps.html at $2.99. Updated September 2011. 

Other Italy food travel apps: 

Tuscany For Foodies by James Martin at sutromedia.com/apps.html

Rome For Foodies by Katie Parla. Coming soon! See her web site at parlafood.com

Eat Rome by Elizabeth Minchilli 

Other app guides with lots of food and wine spots at sutromedia.com/apps.html: 

Milanand More by Stef Smulders

Florence Explorer by Leif Pettersen

Rome Dream of Italy by Kathy McCabe

Puglia Travel Guide by Martha Bakerjian

Apps for Italy Food Lovers: Perfect Gifts

mother from Australia with daughter living in UK enjoying Capri on their cooking tour in Sorrento. Courtesy of Elizabeth Sykes.

More and more parents are gathering their adult children, and sometimes their grandchildren, to share meaningful vacations where you learn something new and have fun together, as well as discover new cultures or ways of living. 

At the same time, you reconnect and deepen relationships with loved ones you may not see as often as you’d like to, and create wonderful memories your family will treasure forever. 

Here are some true family travel tales from our Italian cooking tours this year. There’s something about cooking and laughing together in Italy with local people and eating your efforts that brings people together! I’ve seen it happen so many times in Italy.

A 60 something uncle and aunt from South Carolina took their 16 year old nephew, who lives in Massachusetts and loves cooking, on our cooking tour in Emilia-Romagna. They wanted to spend more quality time with him and encourage his interest in cooking. Who knows, he may become a chef specializing in Italian cuisine! They had a fabulous time together, seeing first hand how parmesan cheese is made from scratch and making all kinds of pasta by hand. Their nephew loves cars too, so they visited the Ferrari museum. 

A 50 something mother and her 22 year old daughter from Florida enjoyed a week of cooking, wine and exploring Tuscany at a wine estate near Florence. The daughter had just graduated from journalism school so this special trip celebrated an important achievement. These two foodies had happily travelled together before but not for awhile and had lots of fun in Italy. 

A 60ish mother from New Hampshire travelled with Mama Margaret in 2001 with a group of women friends to Piedmont, Cinque Terre and southern Tuscany and has been getting our newsletter ever since. Her 26 year old daughter lives in Boston and as her mum put it, “needs a break”. With our tour colleague in south east Sicily, we custom designed a Sicilian cooking tour with extra outdoor activities for these active souls starting November 26, 2011. 

I’m 61 and very healthy, but am thinking I need to travel while I still can. A good women friend of mine died last week at age 57. Many baby boomers are traveling now with their adult kids while their health is still good and while their adult kids aren’t tied down in jobs, marriages or parenthood. 

I’m off to French Polynesia and Hawaii for Christmas and New Year on a ballroom dance cruise—my first cruise ever! Before sailing away, I’ll explore islands Tahiti, Moorea and less touristed Huahine, staying in more rustic accommodations, soaking up sun, slathering myself in insect repellent and savouring local food.

Share Meaningful, Fun Vacations With Your Family: True Tales