Getting to Know You

Posted by Bill Steiner – Adventures In Italy

Barbara and Giovanna (center) with two of our travelers

One of the joys of travel is the new people we meet. We not only make new friends, we gain valuable perspectives on our lives, our country, the way we approach life, things we take for granted or don’t think often about. It is not that the people we meet are pointing out differences. It is just that in going about their daily lives, expressing their normal concerns, we see a different outlook that helps us understand our own.

What I like so much about staying longer in one place – what we do with our Slow Travel trips – is that these friendships, and the consequent understanding we gain from them have the necessary time to bloom and bear fruit. When we are moving, traveling from one place to the next, we are focused on that activity. We necessarily have to pay attention, particularly if you don’t know the language, to which binario (train track) you need at che ora (what time). And so, while we are being given much assistance by the natives around us, and are typically impressed with how helpful they are, we aren’t interacting in a deeper, more meaningful way.

Spending a week with us in Orvieto, our traveling friends  get to know the natives. While Orvieto has a

Cristian and his family

tremendous number of resources to hold your interest for a week, it is not a big place. You are more than likely to meet Cristian, owner of one of our favorite restaurants and with whom we try to share our first meal, as you walk by the Blue Bar in the morning. And he’ll take time to enjoy talking with you. Alberto, ceramics artist just across from our B&B, you’ll come to know as you pass by his workshop just about any time you come or go. And of course our hosts at the B&B, Giovanna, Franca, Barbara, Marie Antonella are there taking care of our needs and always available.

While all of these folks are busy, they always make time to talk with you. It is through these casual interactions that insights develop, light bulbs go off. Having the time and familiarity to do this is one of the outgrowths of slow travel.

The thing is, in one short week, these people become friends. We share with them and we learn from them. These are not huge, mind boggling revelations. They are little, subtle, rich pieces of life that make you know you are alive. It is not something you sign up on a trip for, but it is one of the nicer benefits of staying in one place and being with a small group.

Alberto, Kristi and Cristian at the Blue Bar

A secondary beauty of this is that after a week with us you are ready to continue doing the same, and you know how to do it. I always love it when one of our travelers comes to us toward the end of the week and says, “We are reconsidering our next week here in Italy. Could you help us with an itinerary that will be slower and allow us to connect and experience more?” This is about as rich a reward as I can receive!

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Kristi and Bill Steiner - Adventures in Italy

Kristi and Bill Steiner began leading “learning vacations”  to Orvieto, Italy in 2003. Through Adventures in Italy they provide a cultural immersion experience. Many trips include the pursuit of some kind of creative work that complements and reinforces exploration of Italy’s culture. Relationships built over the years enable Kristi and Bill to provide experiences that a typical visitor to Orvieto never gets. Trips are held in May and September/October every year. Their Discover Orvieto and Girlfriend Getaway trips are available to groups any time of the year. Learn more about Kristi and Bill’s trips.

Stay abreast of Adventures in Italy developments, and follow Bill’s musings about travel and Italy on his blog Make Haste Slowly.

Travel Tips: Making Personal Connections

Posted by Kathy Wood – European Experiences / The Luberon Experience

Charley and I have been traveling in Europe for almost 20 years, most of our trips with our daughter Kelly, who’s now 16. Some of our very best memories have involved simple, unexpected experiences we didn’t plan, especially interactions with local people.

Unexpected friends on Lake Como

Once in the Cotswolds, we were admiring a stately home and the owner came outside with her dog. Five minutes into the conversation, she invited us in to show us the house… a tour that ended up lasting two hours. On Lake Como on our second day in Italy, we met two grandparents out for lunch with their granddaughter (left). We spoke no Italian and they spoke no English, but they took us to the pizzeria they owned in a nearby town to meet the rest of their family. In June 2008 we hiked for two weeks in the Cevennes mountains in a very isolated part of France. We met so many friendly people along the trail, almost all of them French. We especially remember one night when about 25 of us stayed at the same small inn, enjoying a wonderful dinner served family-style at two long tables. I could share many more examples of personal connections that have added so much to our travel experiences.

Perhaps you’re like us, looking for a deeper European experience beyond sightseeing.  How can you increase the likelihood of such unexpected moments? How do you get to know local people when you’re traveling?  Here are our suggestions:

• Travel more slowly and stay longer in fewer places.  Settle in and become a temporary member of the community.
• Spend time in smaller towns and villages—not just busy cities and popular sites that attract most tourists.  Experience the rhythms of daily life.
• Stay in authentic, locally-owned accommodations—small hotels, B&Bs or rentals—where you can develop relationships with the owner, staff and neighbors.
• Reach out to meet others.  Visit the same cafe, grocery store, or bakery every day and get to know the waiter, owner or regular patrons.  Relax on a park bench, enjoy a sporting event, go on a hike, attend a church service or musical event. Go places and pursue activities that will bring you in contact with non-tourists. 
• Be flexible. Don’t fill your days with sightseeing. Allow for spontaneity and simple pleasures. 
• Savor local cuisine and eat where locals eat.  Order the “daily special” and enjoy the local wine.  Shop at outdoor markets and small food shops.  Visit wineries, olive mills or farms, and buy their products.
• Learn some of the language and use it, even when people can speak English, especially the key terms of politeness.  Use sign language and a smile.
• Learn about local history, culture and customs before your trip.  Ask locals questions to learn more about the history and tradition of their area. 
• Dress and behave thoughtfully based on cultural norms and expectations.  Always show respect, courtesy and appreciation. 

Our B&B hosts in the Salzkammergut

Small-group trips like our European Experiences weeks and trips hosted by other members of Slow Travel Tours provide excellent opportunities to make personal connections in local communities.  Because we base in areas we know well, our trips feel very much like traveling with friends… not what some people think when they hear the word “tour.” We stay in one place for a week, usually a small town or village, where our local friends welcome our groups enthusiastically. Our trips are slow and our groups are small, so we can be flexible with plenty of unstructured time for personal discoveries.

Whether you travel independently or with a small group, I encourage you to enrich your trip by reaching out to get to know local people.  I’m sure these unplanned personal connections will be the most memorable experiences of your travels too.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

With Kelly in the Cevennes

Kathy and Charley Wood lead The Luberon Experience, a week-long “slow tour” in the most beautiful area of Provence, France. Their popular trips are offered five weeks a year, in May and September. They also now lead two or three trips a year to other special places in Europe. In 2010 they’re leading European Experiences trips in the Salzkammergut area of Austria and the Cotswolds in England.

Kathy and Charley have been traveling in Europe for almost 20 years and love sharing their special places in Europe with others travelers. Read more about Kathy and Charley here.

Our Tuscan Shopping List

posted by Anne & Kirk Woodyard
Music and Markets Tours

Our luggage is getting heavier and heavier after each trip, loaded with goodies. Not just terra cotta from Impruneta, leather purses and shoes from Florence, or chic accessories from the Prada outlet, but wonderful tastes of Italy that bring home the delights of our visits with each mouthful.

An embarrassing number of our Italian discoveries and enjoyments happen to be food-related! Perhaps a visit to a nearby olive oil frantoio (mill), to watch the final product develop from its initial stage as a tub of olives, leaves and all, is dumped onto an old conveyor belt heading for the press. Minutes later, in a pressing room brimming with fragrant olive essence, the liquid green-gold flows into a vat, from which the owner draws a bottle of oil just for us. What a memory to enjoy as we drizzle the oil over a salad or pasta at home! Each area insists that their oil is absolutely the best – from the fruity mild oil of Lucca, to the piquant gold of Sicily, to our favorite, the peppery fresh spring-green of Chianti.

The wineries of Italy are eager as well to share their bounty with interested travelers. Tucked into Chianti’s rolling hills lined with regiments of vineyards, rambling stone palazzos are home to the world-famous wines of Montepulciano (whose Vino Nobile was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson) Montalcino (for Brunello), and Chianti, the “big three” traditional wines of Tuscany.

Local winemakers often proudly offer a tasting of their favored vintage, with opportunity to buy a case, or a few bottles to tuck in your luggage. We like geography with our wine, and love picturing the very hills and vines that nurtured a favored bottle.

2004 Brunello, released in the fall of 2009, is a stellar vintage, and we recently picked up a few bottles to save for a special occasion. A good wine shop, or enoteca is a valuable find in Italy, worth returning to for friendly education and good buys. In Siena, we always look forward to stopping at Enoteca Palazzo Piccolomini on Via Rinaldini, a side street radiating from the lovely central piazza, the Campo. A few weeks ago, armed with Financial Times wine writer Jancis Robinson’s article recommending a few classic Brunellos, we enjoyed an enlightening chat with the knowledgeable and helpful owner, leaving with some well-priced bottles, and anticipating our next visit.

For some of us, visiting food markets is an important part of any itinerary, right up there with museums, palaces, and churches. Market touring, as we brush and bump our way through the sea of color and sounds, is one of the few ways a stranger can see real life in action and join the “regulars” as they select their dinner ingredients.

The sights, sounds and smells of markets provide an entrée to local culture, and nourishment for all the senses as well. The gold of rough-hewn rocks of Parmigiano, hams, salamis, and smooth mortadella swinging above, vast and beautiful still lifes of sensuous purple figs and gray-green artichokes, pyramids of sunny oranges, glistening fish snuggled in beds of ice, plump ravioli flecked with garden herbs… I much prefer seeing it all in person – fragrance, and often a taste, included – to an oil painting in a museum.

Surrounded by outdoor stalls stuffed with leather goods, Florentine papers, and David aprons, Florence’s temple to the tastebud, the majestic Mercato Centrale, holds a treasure house of goodies. The nineteenth century cast-iron building is one of the largest covered markets in Europe. Each time we’re in Florence, we stop by welcoming Giovanni Benevieri’s stall, near the back entry to the Mercato, to stock up on nutty golden Parmigiano Reggiano.  He vacuum-packs chunks for us, and we bring them home and savor the flavor ‘til our next trip.

Another don’t-miss stop in the Mercato is the Conti family’s stall, glistening with an array of jewel-like candied fruits, marmalades, vats, and jars. Judy Witt, of Divina Cucina in Florence, introduced us to their truffled salt during a marvelous day-long cooking class last winter. The salt, infused with truffle flakes (just open the jar and be blown away!), carries a more authentic and lasting flavor than the often-artificially-flavored truffle oils on the market.

If we aren’t able to stop at an olive oil mill, this is the place we load up with olive oil as well. They offer tastings of both olive oil and balsamic vinegar – the best way to determine exactly which vintage of vinegar or locality of oil you prefer.

A final stop at Alessandro Nannini on Borgo Lorenzo for a fierce espresso and a bag or two of deep roasted beans, and we’re ready to pack.

The bottles and jars are wrapped in socks, bubble wrap, or t-shirts, then cuddled into individual or three-pack boxes and wrapped some more to make it safely home. Now that we can’t carry on our hoard of bottles, we wrap well, so that our suitcase of wine, balsamic, and olive oil doesn’t end up as a stellar salad dressing!

Buon Appetito!

************************************************************************

The best way to describe us (Kirk and Anne Woodyard) is that we’re interested in the stories that make the places we visit come alive.
We’ve visited Europe more times than we can count, learned some entertaining stories there, and met some warm and helpful people who also enjoy the wonders of music and life in Europe.

Between our music-related travels, we split our time between our homes near Washington DC and the Languedoc in the south of France. We look forward to sharing these stories and friends and experiences with our Music and Markets guests.

While both of us have experience in organizing travel and music groups Kirk’s background is in project management and competitive writing, and Anne is an accomplished pianist with over thirty years of teaching experience, and a travel and food writer specializing in France and Italy.

A Pastel Jewel

Posted by Valerie Schneider, Panorama Italy

Ascoli Piceno is a monumental city, made that way first by the Romans and then by the “captains of the people,” the power brokers who ruled the province during the Middle Ages and Renaissance period.  Public buildings were constructed to impress and to display the city’s prominence.  Private palaces and churches were also designed to be imposing.  The entire city center was built using stately travertine quarried from nearby hills, furthering the impression of noble importance.

 The use of cream-colored travertine gives Ascoli Piceno an air of solidity and classic splendor.  The marble-like stone is carved into decorative embellishments while immense blocks of it are used for the public structures.  

With such grand, commanding edifices around town, it is refreshing to set eyes upon the graceful Caffe Meletti.  The inviting rose-hued building with delicate-looking tables and arched porch helps bring the city back down to a human scale.

Situated on Ascoli Piceno’s much beloved Piazza del Popolo, the Caffe Meletti is the grand dame of the city’s meeting places – a place to linger over drinks or throw back a quick cappuccino.  The historic hang-out has been featured in a number of films and has played a starring role in the daily life of the Ascolani for a century.

The pink Neoclassic building boasts a frescoed portico, elegant arches, and pastel seating on the piazza, giving it a front-row seat to the people parade and daily activity of the town.  Inside it is marked by marble-topped tables, warm woods, towering mirrors and a graceful spiral staircase, all original fixtures. The entire place oozes charm and speaks of sophistication.  The Meletti has been designated on the roster as one of Italy’s 150 historic caffes.

Built in 1884 to house the post office, it was transformed into a cafè and distillery by Silvio Meletti, who began producing his now-famous anisette. It was immediately heralded as rich and refined, and quickly become the town’s favorite meeting point, watering hole, and elegant indulgence- a place where even a simple coffee seems special.

In the morning, the draw is the pasticceria, where buttery croissants and fruit-filled pastries are washed down with well-crafted cappuccini.  At lunchtime, daily specials are served piazza-side.  Pre-dinner drinks are served with flourish and a nice sampling of nibbles.  For the after-dinner crowd, decadent anisette-infused desserts are offered. 

One century after its debut, it is still serving the illustrious, the infamous, and the average joes, and giving a pastel personal touch to a monumental town.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Valerie Schneider is a travel professional turned freelance writer and tour guide who moved to Ascoli Piceno in the beautiful region of Le Marche in 2006. She and her husband Bryan operate Panorama Italy, planning personalized journeys so travelers can experience the colors and flavors of a little known corner of Italy. Walking tours, winery visits, and genealogy trips are just a few of their offerings. Visit Panorama Italy for more information on this beautiful place and how Valerie and Bryan can help you experience it personally

Designing your small group tour

Posted by Cheryl Alexander – Italian Excursion

Designing a tour for your pleasure takes more work behind the scenes than I think anyone imagines. I’m thinking of recent requests that I had from two different sources when travelers have asked me to put together an itinerary with certain specifications, for a group of their friends or colleagues. Keeping in mind there is a lot of competition out there, the first thing we’re asked to do as tour operators is fulfill all the requirements put forth for a trip to Italy that is memorable for a group, then most likely, keep within a certain budget. More often than not, the two requests are not compatible. So, many emails must fly back and forth before the real negotiations begin. Tour operators, especially if they don’t live in the country where they lead tours, have a very small profit margin and mostly do this activity for the love of travel and the countries they work in.

Behind the scenes, again, someone like me will spend hours on the internet, phone, skype, etc. researching things such as lodging, prices for airfare and other transport involved . Then countless more hours getting information from the guests requesting a tour. I’ve counted the number of emails between just one group, which did not include my research and it amounted to over 100! We also had several phone conversations. And even after all that this particular group didn’t choose to travel with me in the end, which sometimes happens. They worked with a larger company who could afford to offer an extra couple of days on the trip because they do business in volume. That doesn’t sound like a vacation to me, so I stick with the smaller groups, get to know people and what it is they are looking for as an experience that will be fulfilling and memorable.

My idea of traveling as a leader of a small group in Italy is to think of the group as guests. I want them to be comfortable with me and one another, have most of their expectations met,(we all have ideas in mind about what it is we want to experience), and go home with a sense that they know the people and culture previously unfamiliar to them, a bit better. In order to produce such results it takes countless hours of communication, research and clarification. And to me, that’s a large part of the fun of creating these tours. It’s sort of like the sense of accomplishment one feels having put together a puzzle with 5000 pieces! Thought it might be interesting to know just a little about what goes into your special small group tour.

Hope to see you on our next Spring trip to Italy,

Ciao,

Cheryl

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Cheryl has been traveling to Europe, particularly Italy, for more than fourteen years. Her interest in Italy, its history, art and rich culture led her to purchase property near Orvieto, allowing her to spend more time there. Cheryl’s exploration of Italy include the regions of Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, as well as the areas around Venice and south towards Sorrento. She continues to travel into Italy’s less traveled regions, and enjoys sharing her discoveries with others. Relaxed, leisurely tours are her specialty with an emphasis on the comfort of her guests.Cheryl spends the rest of her time near the beach in San Diego, cavorting with her two small grandchildren. She’s an avid reader, health advocate and community volunteer. Her career as a social worker brings an understanding of people’s needs to the tour business.

Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.

Via Del Fosso

Via del Fosso

I love the Italian language – how it seems to roll so melodically off the tongue – not mine of course, but I am an Italophile, so everything sounds better to me when spoken in Italian. Via del Fosso is the name of the street that fronts our hotel of choice in the historic center of Lucca. Via del Fosso is divided down the middle by an open waterway. It is a little canal – our own mini-Venice in the heart of northwest Tuscany!

The clear water in Via del Fosso flows down a brick-walled channel, perhaps eight feet below the level of the pavement. It enters Lucca’s historic center from beneath the ancient city walls several blocks north of our hotel; first rushing into a pool below the foundation of a large stucco building before continuing on its course. Schools of fish, probably some type of carp, swim against the swift current, with the largest ones congregating in the pool near the mouth of the opening. Many others of various sizes swim back and forth along the length of the canal, darting amidst waving aquatic plants and, I must admit, the occasional plastic bags and discarded bottles. After passing our hotel the little canal heads south for a few more blocks, skirting the Orto Botanico, then takes a hard right against the Passeggiata

A Watercolor by Matthew Daub

delle Mura where it flows parallel for a while longer; eventually exiting near Baluardo San Columbiano.

I love to walk up and down Via del Fosso. It is not a through street; so there is not much traffic; mostly bicycles and pedestrians. In fact, the entire center of Lucca has only limited vehicular traffic. The paucity of automobiles along the Fosso makes it easy to stop to watch the Lucchese version of Sea World while at the same time satisfying my voyeuristic urges. The center canal makes for an unusually broad street that affords a top-to-bottom view of the apartments on either side with their daily changing displays of colorful laundry strung between balconies and the intimate glimpses of domestic life played out behind warmly lit night windows. There are obviously some wealthy people who live along Via del Fosso along with the middle class, and perhaps some that are slightly less fortunate. It is a cross-section of Tuscan life.

My Italian vocabulary is adequate, but not exactly comprehensive. I have visited Lucca many times over many years. I have brought two of our Arts Sojourn travel groups there and we plan to return again in 2011. I have spent many hours painting along Via del Fosso, but it was only last year that I decided to look up the word, fosso. I discovered that it means “ditch.” The Via del Fosso is actually Ditch Street. How I love the Italian language!

Matthew and Barbara Daub

Matthew Daub is a professional artist and university professor with works in major public and private collections throughout the United States and Europe. He has been leading plein air painting workshops in Italy since 1994. In 1999, Matthew and his wife Barbara formed Arts Sojourn as “a vacation for artists and their friends.” The program is designed to appeal to artists of all levels as well as non-artists who enjoy the company of creative people in a slow travel format.

Offering Three Cups of Tea in Italy

Posted by Bill Steiner – Adventures in Italy

One of the many things Kristi and I pause to give thanks for during this season is the friends and relationships we have built in Orvieto. In this, I am reminded of Greg Mortenson and his book “Three Cups of Tea.” Perhaps I am partial to the book and Greg since I spent four of my formative years in Afghanistan. But I love the message and title of the book – in part, because it speaks to our experiences in Orvieto.

Afghans are notoriously hospitable, inviting strangers into their homes and giving them their last bit of food even if it means going without themselves. But, it takes time to earn an Afghani’s trust. Mortenson relates how, when he had been invited back for the third cup of tea to the village leader’s house in the first community where he began his work of building schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan, he knew he had earned that trust, been accepted, was part of the family. It is only when you have been offered that third cup of tea that you know you are family.

Some of our friends in Orvieto

One of the great joys for Kristi and me, and one of the exceptional dimensions we are able to offer on our trips, is that, in Orvieto, we have figuratively been invited back for that third cup of tea by many different people. As a result we are shown a level of hospitality, openness, and connection to Italian life that very few travelers see.

We are entering our eighth year of leading trips to Orvieto. I think it took a few years for Orvietani to believe we would continue to come back. Now they know we will, and they look for us each spring and fall. We are family and doors are opened for us as family that are rarely opened for others visiting this city. I think this is one of the ingredients all of us who contribute to this blog are able to offer, one of the qualities we provide our travelers that they won’t receive in most of their travels.

More Orvietani friends

It is nice for Kristi and me to be able to provide this deeper dimension. It is also incredible to be able to count the friendships of dozens of people in Orvieto amongst the list of things for which we are grateful this season.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Kristi and Bill Steiner began leading “learning vacations” to Orvieto, Italy in 2003. Through Adventures in Italy they provide a cultural immersion experience. Many trips include the pursuit of some kind of creative work that complements and reinforces exploration of Italy’s culture. Relationships built over the years enable Kristi and Bill to provide experiences that a typical visitor to Orvieto never gets. Trips are held in May and September/October every year. Their Discover Orvieto and Girlfriend Getaway trips are available to groups any time of the year. Learn more about Kristi and Bill’s trips.

Stay abreast of Adventures in Italy developments, and follow Bill’s musings about travel and Italy on his blog Make Haste Slowly.

Circles of Friends

Posted by Kathy Wood – European Experiences / The Luberon Experience

The holiday season is a time when we draw close to family and friends.  Although Charley, Kelly and I love celebrating with our family and friends at home, we find ourselves thinking of the special friends we’ve made in Provence and wishing we could celebrate this special time of year with them too. 

We treasure our relationships with two circles of friends in Provence.  Our first circle is the travelers who have entrusted us with their vacations, over 150 of them during the past four years.  They come to the Luberon from all over the USA and also Australia, Canada and New Zealand.  Our relationships begin through e-mails and phone calls, sometimes a year or more in advance, and it’s always exciting to finally meet everyone in person.  In a week together we get to know each other very well, and within a day or two each group of strangers becomes a group of compatible and comfortable friends. After our time in Provence it’s fun to stay in touch through e-mails, photos, facebook, and visits.  We’ve especially enjoyed sharing another European Experience week with several of these friends… and look forward to traveling again with others this summer.

Women's group at Domaine Faverot (May 2009)

Our second circle of friends lives in Provence and is a big reason we never tire of our weeks there.  After being away during the winter months, we always look forward to seeing them again. Some are friends we made during the six months our family lived in Bonnieux a few years ago.  When we were planning our first Luberon Experience trips, they offered encouragement, help and support.  Other friendships developed later, during our many stays in the area.  Our local friends really enjoy being involved with our groups.

Our circle of Luberon friends plays an important part in our Luberon Experience week. We aren’t just touring and sightseeing. .. our groups become part of the life of a small village and enjoy its rhythms.  They get to know these local friends. They visit their homes and meet their friends and family.  They run into them later in the week in the village. It’s very special when greetings and farewells involve the three kisses (“bisous”) traditional in our area.

A warm welcome from Pierre

That sense of friendship begins when each group arrives in Bonnieux at the small hotel that’s our home for the week. Our host Pierre, his daughter Celine, and his assistant Sophie greet everyone enthusiastically that first afternoon and at breakfast every morning.  They create such a special environment for us, especially around the dinner table on the first and last nights when we enjoy Pierre’s Provençal cuisine.

Michele and her son Jean-Camille are proud to show us the amazing caves underneath their home, where early residents of Bonnieux lived over 1000 years ago.  We explore their secret garden just inside the village walls, experiencing dimensions of this historic village unknown to other travelers.

Marianne hosts us at her farm near Saignon where she raises goats and fabricates several types of goat cheese.  The baby goats are adorable in May, and the cheese tasting is always popular. Later in the week we see her again, making a delivery to Pierre’s hotel and selling her cheeses at the weekly market.

In the village of Roussillon we love to visit the gallery of our artist-friend Françoise Valenti. We’re enchanted by her beautiful art and her enthusiastic reception for everyone who enters her door.

Charley calls Nathalie Margan his “French daughter.”  Regardless of how busy she is, Nathalie hosts our group for a private visit to the grounds and winery of Chateau la Canorgue, one of the best-known wineries in the Luberon. She’s an amazing young woman, and we love the Canorgue wines.

With Nathalie at Chateau la Canorgue

Originally from Scotland, Kim sells colorful scarves at several local markets.  She has a fabulous sense of humor.  Our visits to Kim’s stand at the Gordes market are always such fun, and the women in our groups model their fashionable scarves the rest of the week. 

One of our family’s favorite places in Bonnieux is Le Terrail, the cafe on the main square. This quickly becomes a popular spot for our groups too: for lunch, an afternoon beer, or a coffee during the Friday morning market. Our good friend Michel always has a cheerful welcome and a big smile for our travelers.

Cooking with Janice (May 2009)

Our dear friend Janice has welcomed all 16 of our groups to an evening at her beautiful home on the plateau above Bonnieux.  We have a delightful evening around her table… a delicious multi-course meal and fun conversation.  Some of the group always goes up early to help with dinner preparations or just to relax in the peaceful garden.

A highlight of every week is our afternoon at Domaine Faverot, the home and winery of François and Sally Faverot.  First, an entertaining and informative tour, led by François… then a wine tasting… then a delicious and leisurely lunch prepared by Sally, enjoyed with more of the excellent Faverot wine.  François may even play the guitar and sing. Friends of Faverots usually join our group and add to the fun. 

These two circles of friends intersect to enrich our experiences in Provence.  We love the beauty, the history, the lifestyle, the food and wine of the Luberon.  But most of all, we treasure our friends who live there and the other friends who’ve shared a week with us.  We don’t just have a tour. All these special people make it an experience.

See all our local friends in our slide show, A Circle of Friends in the Luberon.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Kathy and Charley Wood

Kathy and Charley Wood lead The Luberon Experience, a week-long “slow tour” in the most beautiful area of Provence, France. Their popular trips are offered five weeks a year, in May and September. They also now lead two or three trips a year to other special places in Europe. Their other 2010 European Experiences will be based in the Salzkammergut area of Austria and the Cotswolds in England.

Kathy and Charley have been traveling in Europe for almost 20 years and love sharing their special places in Europe with others travelers. Read more about Kathy and Charley here.

Holidays Abroad

posted by Anne & Kirk Woodyard
Music and Markets Tours

It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since we celebrated the millennium in Paris, watching in delight and awe as the Eiffel Tower lit up with fireworks.

This anniversary of a decade has brought to mind the many holidays we’ve enjoyed in locations other than home…really soaking in the atmosphere of a particular place

There’s the Christmas we spent in London with our son who was studying in the UK for a year…carols and concerts at St. Martin in the Fields, a cold and windy day trip to Bath, Christmas crackers and crowns at a restaurant near Buckingham Palace, and an adventurous train trip north to Edinburgh for Hogmanay, their renowned New Year’s Eve bash.
The posters and advertisements of the celebration showed planet earth, from outer space, with a big arrow pointing to Edinburgh: “The party’s HERE!”And what a party it was – the chilly temperatures didn’t hold anyone back from celebrating! And the spitting snow just added to the magic of the many street performances and the proud hilltop castle.
A few years ago our Slow Travel speeded up a bit. Kirk and I had been in Vias, at our home in France, La Belle Cour, and excitedly drove north to Toulouse to pick up our son, who was flying in from the US. On the way back to Vias we stopped in Carcassonne to give him a taste of old France, then on Thanksgiving Day we drove all day to reach our brother-and-sister-in-law’s home in the French Alps. A turkey dinner complete with all the trimmings was ready to be served to us hungry travelers, and the pleasure of having family to enjoy it with made the long trip worthwhile! We had been singing as we drove – “over the river and through the woods, to Aunt Patty’s house we go!” The holiday that year included some beautiful snowscapes in the mountains, and visits to charming lake-side Annecy.
We’ve spent several Thanksgivings in France – the last two in Paris, where the holiday decorations are already in place, the Christmas markets line the Champs Elysees, and the giant ferris wheel is in place on Place de la Concorde.

Our Thanksgiving dinner of choice in France is duck, not turkey, when we’re eating out!
Here or there, the greatest pleasure of all is being with friends and family to celebrate the holidays. We’ll get an early start on Christmas celebrations this weekend, when we join our son and his wife and our newest granddaughter (not even a week old!), Ivy, in Texas. Then the fun will continue as we celebrate Christmas with our daughter and family in Florida.
And then – maybe Paris again? I really think we should celebrate the decade since the millennium by the Eiffel Tower again, don’t you?!

************************************************************************************

The best way to describe us (Kirk and Anne Woodyard) is that we’re interested in the stories that make the places we visit come alive.
We’ve visited Europe more times than we can count, learned some entertaining stories there, and met some warm and helpful people who also enjoy the wonders of music and life in Europe.

Between our music-related travels, we split our time between our homes near Washington DC and the Languedoc in the south of France. We look forward to sharing these stories and friends and experiences with our Music and Markets guests.

While both of us have experience in organizing travel and music groups Kirk’s background is in project management and competitive writing, and Anne is an accomplished pianist with over thirty years of teaching experience, and a travel and food writer specializing in France and Italy.

Buone Feste

Posted by Valerie Schneider – Panorama Italy

As I write this I am watching snowfall steadily covering the grass and I am reminded that this weekend kicks off the holiday season in Italy, ushered in officially with the festa della immacolata on December 8.  Lights will be strung across narrow streets, and piazzas will be packed with people admiring the displays and enjoying festivities.

Prosecco

Our adopted city of Ascoli Piceno is particularly pretty this time of year.  A skating rink will be erected in Piazza Arringo and a carousel will merrily whirl in Piazza del Popolo.  The weekly mercato grows larger than usual; kids squeal in delight as one shop window after another begins to display glittery goods and appealing apparel.  Despite the cold, everyone wants to be outside to stroll.

The holidays in Italy are enjoyable as they seem more sedate and less commercial than in the US.  There is not the over-hyped shopping frenzy or unending, inescapable muzak flow of canned carols everywhere.  Emphasis is placed on spending time with family and friends, food (no surprise there!) and enjoying the festive atmosphere in simple ways.

While there are many regional differences and traditions, we have noticed that there are some common denominators throughout the peninsula when it comes to Christmas-time celebrations.

Panettone

- Prosecco.  The Italian sparkling wine of choice is popped open for aperitivo with friends, and uncorked to end holiday meals as a toast to the guests just before they depart, a sort of christening for Christmas and the upcoming new year. It is often purchased by the case and will be consumed frequently from the Immacolata right on through Epiphany.

- Panettone.  Unlike the weighty fruitcakes that we grew up with, panettone is a high-rise bread-textured sweetened loaf containing small pieces of candied fruit and raisins.  Huge boxes contain the confections, which are handed out like greeting cards to all acquaintances.  Panettone is served at the end of nearly every meal for the next month.  It is the most traditional holiday fare no matter where you go in Italy, and it can be found in commercially-produced versions at the supermarket, or homemade varieties that are proffered in the pasticcerias.

Presepio

- Presepi.  By far the most popular seasonal decoration is the nativity scene.  From humble mangers to elaborate displays and live, almost theatrical scenes played out in great detail, the nativity is a treasured tradition.  It is said that St. Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene, and his birthplace certainly pulls out the stops with decorative displays from around the world.  Every church and town has their own version and local residents enjoy strolling from one to the next to behold the year’s new themes and variations.

Outside the snow is stopping but thoughts of the simple pleasures of the holiday season linger.  If you can’t travel to Italy, you can still adopt some of these traditions to give your holidays an Italian flair.  However you choose to celebrate, Bryan and I wish you buone feste.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Valerie Schneider is a travel professional turned freelance writer and tour guide who moved to Ascoli Piceno in the beautiful region of Le Marche in 2006. She and her husband Bryan operate Panorama Italy, planning personalized journeys so travelers can experience the colors and flavors of a little known corner of Italy. Walking tours, winery visits, and genealogy trips are just a few of their offerings. Visit Panorama Italy for more information on this beautiful place and how Valerie and Bryan can help you experience it personally.

Posted by panorama, December 7th, 2009
Posted in Events, Valerie Schneider | No Comments