Category: Italy in the media

Olive this and NPR too

TUSCANY, Italy– I was scooting around the house like a chicken with my head cut off this morning. Off to a frantic start to the new years. Where are my car keys? Shoes? College interviews for one daughter, a trip for another, prescriptions at the drug store, doctor appointments, and on and on all before 8 AM yes 2007 may be the Year of Hit the Ground Running. See 2006, 2005, etc. whew.

But I did actually stop in my buzzzzing around like a bee with a thread tied to one leg. When I heard the soothing tones of Italian language being spoken I stopped and I listened to an NPR story about Picking Olives and Tasting Olive Oil, in Southern Tuscany. A great and timely story about the olive harvest. I don’t know how long the story will be at this link but it was there when I got into the office and Googled NPR and Morning Edition.

Coming up soon is my story of being at the olive oil press with the olives we picked. It is decidedly a fun way to pass the day, you get involved and trust me you feel wanted. During the harvest there is definitely a scramble to recruit any able bodied buddy for any amount of time. If you go to the home page of our site you will see Midge picking away at this fall’s harvest in Italy. She’s so funny. She’s a great hard worker at office or church or committee but, not sure she likes “manual labor”. Obviously not raised on a farm in Iowa where this is not totally an option. But peer pressure is a wonderful thing and once coaxed into it she loved it and ended up picking olives in Panicale in Umbria for a couple wild days and then picked at Spannocchia in Tuscany too. A true gypsy migrant worker that girl. With seventy degree temps and good friends up every tree it was hard work but more satisfying than a day at the beach!

See you in Italy,

Stew

Umbria Jazz starts today in Orvieto!

ORVIETO, Umbria, Italy–from now till Jan 1, 2007! fantastic music. Be there! or check out the site at least! Umbria Jazz

The Boston Globe calls it A New Year’s Eve party disquised as a jazz festival. We’ve been to it and concur. It may be jazz, but it ROCKS.

Happy New Year and Felice Anno Nuovo too!

See you in Italy

Stew

Will you be in Umbria for the Holidays?

BOSTON / UMBRIA–Did you see the Boston Globe? Sunday’s paper. November 26th. In their “Destinations/Night life” section they had a big photo of trumpet legend Paolo Frescu. He’s being honored at Umbria Jazz Inverno in Orvieto, Italy. They had his photo and a nice mention of the festival. If you are going to be in the area Dec 28 – Jan 1, check it out. We’ve been. It is seriously awesome. 13th-century buildings filled with modern Italian Jazz! The music pouring out the windows and spilling over the happy shoppers in the streets. You bet those Umbrian hills are alive with the sound of music during the holidays. The Globe calls the whole event “a New Years Eve party disguised as a jazz festival”. Take it from me, or take it from the Globe, Umbria Jazz is a great way to end the year on a high note. Full details on the Umbria Jazz Web site.

See you in Italy,

Stew

Spannocchia on the cover of the Travel Section of this week’s Boston Globe

SIENA, Tuscany/BOSTON, Mass — In this blog you have seen us go on and on about the big Agri-Cultural estate called Spannocchia. Just outside Siena. Midge is on the board of directors of this non profit organization and has been for years. Our marketing company’s tech master has just done the NEW Spannocchia web site and released it to coincide with the mention in the article. We have done brochures, newsletters for them probono also for many years, so we are as proud as new parents. We have been going to Spannocchia since the 1980’s because one branch of the owners’ family are neighbors of ours here in Maine. And the foundation’s headquarters are just down the street in Portland.

This article on the cover of the Boston Globe and two inside pages tells the Spannocchia story better than any one of us could ever imagine it being told. The writer clearly spent some quality time there and his wife contributed the most excellent photos.

Here is the link to the story.
Spannocchia in Boston Globe Should this not work for any reason just simply go to the Boston Globe web site: http://www.boston.com/ and hit Travel and it is the top story there at least for the moment.

If you are planning a trip to the Siena area and want to get a bit of the flavor of the area, this article may be just what you are looking for. Author is so lucid and observant. What a magical way with words. Puts you right in the picture with every turn of the phrase. If you have not been there yet, you will feel like you have after reading this. If you HAVE been there it will be a virtual homecoming for you.

See you in Siena, Italy!

Stew

What is in your Dreams?

Our new friend, Kathy of Dream of Italy, Travel Newsletter quoted little old us in her latest edition which featured Tuscan Hideways.

UMBRIA, 45 DAYS TO GO—
Well, this was a fun diversion. Our new friend, Kathy of Dream of Italy, Travel Newsletter quoted little old us in her latest edition which featured Tuscan Hideways. Her newsletter describes itself as the “Insider’s Guide to Undiscovered Italy: Newsletter and Resource Center”. And it does that very well based on her latest edition. She had a great cover story on an exotic estate outside Florence called Mangiacane. It was certainly undiscovered to me! And the story made me want to go there, even if I probably will not be able to avail myself of its helipad in the foreseeable near future. But I can Dream, can’t I?

This is SO not an ad. But Dream of Italy is a paid subscription newsletter, so I guess you will have to get take our word for it that we were in there. Or get a subscription. But there we are. Right on page 8 talking about Tuscany and Umbria. I made two points about finding something economical in Tuscany. The first one was that buyers need to consider southern Tuscany, the area around Chiusi. The other way to save money on Tuscan real estate is to . . . buy in Umbria! And why the heck not? Umbria is Tuscany is Umbria. Really. Those rolling cypress-topped hills do NOT have a clue where the border is. All the same to me. If you look at a map, Tuscany is on about three sides of Umbria anyway, driving down the road, even on a casual jaunt to Cortona, we find ourselves going across the border over and over. Tuscany, Umbria. Umria, Tuscany. Who cares? They are both great!

Anyway, Complimenti Kathy, nice to know about your publication. We were tickled to be mentioned in it.

YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT!