The Bottle Pocket - Better Than the Wineskin? Maybe!

Bottle Pocket: http://www.magellans.com/store/Health___Hygiene___Food___DrinkFP106?Args=

Check this out! Are you always afraid that your wine or olive oil is going to break in your luggage? I've managed to bring home all sorts of bottled goodies without having them break, but I'm always on the look-out for an easier way. Well, last year, I blogged about the "Wine Skin," (http://www.magellans.com/store/Health___Hygiene___Food___DrinkFP321?Args=),

. There is now another product on the market: the Bottle Pocket. It looks great for packing home that precious wine or olive oil ! I still might bring my paper wine tubes (similar to the one in this picture, http://www.papertube86.com/products/Paper-Wine-Tube-corrugated-tube-gift-tube-ball-tube--HG-0185.htm though I get mine at the local "Tuesday Morning" discount store.) I've found that the combination of bubble wrap and the strong paper tubes really works. The Bottle Pocket adds another layer of protection - if the bottle should break, the Bottle Pocket will contain the leak. Hope this helps. Happy Traveling!

Truffle Trivia

Do you know all the differences between white and black truffles? between summer and winter truffles? Do you know how much you should pay for each kind?

Check back in mid-October for a post on "truffle trivia."

The information comes direct to you from the "people in the know," the chefs of "Il Tartufo," which means "The Truffle," a lovely historic restaurant in the heart of Umbria and one of the places where we hold our La Contadina cooking classes. Remember to come back and check out the blog!

pere al vino UPDATE

OK, you have GOT to try this! I made canned pears two ways yesterday - with ruby port wine and with pear brandy. Both ways are intoxicatingly delicious. I wish I had enough to ship a jar to everyone who reads this blog. You only add 1 tbsp. of the liquor to each 8 oz. jar, while the rest is packed with the sliced, lightly-cooked pears and the sugar syrup. Indescribable.

View our latest Press Release:

http://www.prlog.org/10348235-la-contadina-travels-tours-announces-new-italy-tour-itinerary-my-own-private-italy.html

Announcing the new "My Private Italy" tour! Mid December 2009

Announcing our new “My Private Italy” tour, mid December 2009.

We have developed a new itinerary featuring some of the places highlighted in Steve’s film, “My Private Italy,” and we’ve also included some old favorites from the “Postcards from Italy” tour itinerary. Plus, there are a few surprises included that we just can’t mention ‘til we get there!

We are planning to stay in Lucca, Tuscany for the 1st part of the tour, with day visits to the Cinque Terre (5 villages clinging to the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean, and famous for their pesto and their wine), to Firenze (Florence), a major art and cultural city in Italy, and to Santa Luce, a darling hilltop village. Lucca, founded by the Romans, was later encircled by a series of pink-brick ramparts (construction began in 1544), which are now a favorite place atop which both locals and tourists like to stroll, gazing down into the city and out over the surrounding mountains. It's a lovely place to stay for 4 nights, and you will have some free time to explore Lucca on your own and find some souvenirs and do some Christmas shopping :-)

Santa Luce and the Cinque Terre are featured in Steve's film, "My Private Italy." A copy of this film is available on DVD to those interested in booking the tour. Just send us an email and provide your mailing address.

Starting this tour in Pisa also affords us the opportunity to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa before we head to Lucca - an added bonus not to be underestimated. You can see a picture of me on top of the Leaning Tower on a blog post below. Climbing the marble steps once climbed by Galileo is a very powerful experience.

Then we head to Spoleto, Umbria for the last few nights of our tour. Spoleto is where we have our fabulous cooking class (it is SO much FUN!). Spoleto is a hilltop town in Umbria that boasts fabulous restaurants and a lot of Roman sites (an ancient "teatro," or theater, and the famous "Bridge of the Towers," which began as a Roman aquaduct. That's also where my favorite ceramics shop is located. I plan to buy a few more coffee cups this time - the perfect spot for Christmas gift shopping.

Spoleto, by the way, is featured in another of Steve's films, "Postcards from Italy."

Following our precious time in Spoleto, we transfer to Rome and our tour concludes upon our arrival at the airport, about noontime. Some tour guests like to stay on at the end of the tour and explore more of Rome on their own for a day or two. I always stay myself for a day or two to do some shopping (my favorite bookstore is there!) and exploring. There is still so much to see!

This tour includes a wine tasting, the cooking class, all transportation including airport pick up and drop off, all breakfasts, and either lunch or dinner (more dinners than lunches), and wine with dinner. Tour starts in Pisa and ends in Rome. Let me know what you think! Cost is 2300 Euros, plus airfare (which is about 1/2 the usual cost right now!).

New Tours Scheduled!

We are announcing a December 2009 tour as well as a spring 2010 tour to Italia! Dates will be released soon. With these super low airfares, we just can't resist planning some new tours to our favorite destination. Check out www.lacontadina.com for more information in the coming weeks, and also note that the La Contadina website will have a fresh look soon. We are revamping and updating the website to better serve your needs!!

New Venice Film Clip from Steve McCurdy

Please view this recently produced short clip on Venice, Italy, by Steve McCurdy. You'll be buying a plane ticket shortly thereafter! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RarC8vlQodo

pere al vino, and so much more!

Hi everyone,

It's early fall, and it's the season to break out my copy of, "Conservare frutta e verdura," a book in Italian (of course) about preserving your garden's harvest by canning, drying, etc. I stumbled across a "pere al vino" recipe last night, and it's one I've got to try with all the pears that are dropping from my pear tree. Basically, you quarter the pears, core them, soak them in sugary water and lemon juice, then cook them in red wine before canning them. Yum! If they turn out well, I'll let you know and post the "ricette."

I also just received, "The Complete Book of Garlic," a huge volume containing - you guessed it - everything you want to know about growing, harvesting, tasting, and cooking with garlic. I've ordered 4 new kinds to grow next year, including "Italian Purple" and "Lorz Italian." I'll let you know how they taste!

Hope everyone has enjoyed the summer!!
PS Sept 21: I just received my 20'-long fruit tree fruit picker and a cool harvesting bag. I feel like a real orchardist now :-)

New Press Release Issued! Special Holiday Booking Discount for La Contadina Tours in 2009

Please visit our latest press release to learn more about La Contadina's Holiday Booking Discount: http://www.prlog.org/10151783-la-contadina-travels-and-tours-offers-discount-for-holiday-bookings-of-small-group-tours-to-italy.html

Travel360Network member

I just learned about the WineSkin bag (http://www.ftscontent.com/index.html), which I'm going to order and try on my next trip for bringing home wine. In the past, I've brought bubble wrap, neoprene bags such as the ones by Built, NY, and cylindrical cardboard bottle holders. I've brought home many bottles of wine and olive oil, and I've yet to break one! I think these WineSkins look really cool, though. If anyone has experience with these, please let me know!

I recommend that you visit www.elisatoffoli.com to listen some great music by a darling and very talented Italian artist - she is a superstar in Italy! Elisa came to Salt Lake City recently on her first American & Canadian tour, and I went to the club to see her perform. She was awesome! I've just received one of her CD/DVD sets from ibs.it. Now all I need is to get my portable region-free, zone-free DVD player so I can watch the DVD (it won't play on a regular U.S. DVD player).

New Press Release about our upcoming tour!

http://www.prlog.org/10143073-introducing-la-contadinas-new-italy-tour-with-documentary-filmmaker-steven-robert-mccurdy.html

Click on this link to read our latest press release!

This press release announces the new "Postcards from Italy" tour that we are launching for 2009.

Italy trip Dec 2005

Tramonto a Roma - Roman Sunset - December 2005

In December 2005, I had the opportunity to travel with my boss to Italy to attend a research conference in Genoa, and she and I decided to extend our trip into a week's vacation. I studied Italian intensively for 3 weeks prior to the trip and tried to speak as much Italian as I could during the trip. I used to be fluent in French, so it wasn't as hard as it might otherwise have been :-) Trying to connect with the locals in their native language really enhanced my overall experience. I could tell that they were touched by my efforts (and amused at my mistakes!). After our conference in Genoa, we hopped on a train and headed "solo andata" (one-way) to Pisa before proceeding to Rome. Whereas others had told me that Pisa was 'boring' or a 'let-down' or 'not worth seeing,' I found it breathtaking and exhilerating. We rounded the corner in the cab at night, on a full moon, to have the Leaning Tower come into view right in front of us. I was moved to tears. The next morning, we climbed the steps, the worn, marble steps once walked by Galileo, to the very top for a spectacular view of the city and the mountains to the northeast. What part of that was 'boring' or 'not worth seeing?' Here we are at the top of the Leaning Tower:

Pisa is also where I first heard about and experienced a wonderful Tuscan treat - vin santo with cantuccini. Vin santo is a sweet dessert wine made from dried grapes, and it is enjoyed by dunking cantucci, or cantuccini (small cookies, or biscotti) into the glass. Certainly not 'boring!'

Then we traveled to Rome. I am not a city person, per se. I generally prefer being in the woods and the mountains, away from the crowds. However, there was something so remarkable about the ancient history of Rome that I felt myself wanting to stay, and wanting to try living there for a while. We hired a guide and explored the Forum, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, and the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. That evening, we enjoyed an incredibly delicious feast at Il Giardino, a restaurant right near our Hotel, the Antica Roma, specializing in Sardinian food. I made the grave error (!) of telling the waiter how much I was enjoying the Sicilian food - oh Mamma Mia, not a good mistake to make! He feigned terrible indignation, and then kindly explained my 'faux pas.' :-) We also did a fair amount of shopping and found a terrific shop selling our new favorite - limoncello! Here is my boss trying to decide which bottle(s) of limoncello to buy!

Italy New Year's Eve Tour Dec 06/Jan 07

In December 2006, I participated in Giuliana's

La Contadina New Year's eve tour. This is our

group after a day spent savoring the Umbrian town of Assisi. We arrived in Rome and transferred to Siena, where we experienced fabulous Tuscan food and wine and where we toured the Campo and the enjoyed exploring the historic city center. One of my biggest adventures was finding the yarn shop I'd identified on-line before my trip, and I did find it, and I bought many beautiful skeins of Italian yarn! The shopkeepers were very kind and quite amused at my excitement over finding them :-)

After a side trip to Monteriggione, a true Tuscan gem, we left Tuscany for Umbria and settled into a lovely "castello" (a beautifully-renovated farm house on extensive and well-kept grounds) on the outskirts of Assisi. What a fabulous place for a New Year's Eve celebration, and a great home base for excursions into Assisi and Todi.

The end of our tour would find us in Spoleto, a hilltop town in southern Umbria featuring an ancient Roman theater, the impressive Ponte delle Torri, and the site of our cooking class - a memorable afternoon and evening indeed! Here is a picture of us in our cooking class: