Though our time in Naples was a little bit cloudy and damp, once we arrive to Positano, all that changes....nothing but sunshine!
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​As a surprise for this special group, I've organized a full day, private boat trip to the Isle of Capri. (They thought they were taking the ferry for a short tour.)

Look waaaay down there! There are the rocks our boat went through on our way here!

The taxis bring us to the lovely town of Anacapri. Once there, we take the individual chairlifts to the tippy top for Amazing (yes, with a capital "A") views!

As we approach Positano, Captain Robbie gives us a farewell serenade with Bocelli music. (He never even told me he could sing!)

Today has truly been a Bella Giornata. We've had so many memorable experiences. We've seen such natural beauty, eaten fantastic food, danced, sang and laughed our hearts out. Thank you to my wonderful colleagues in Italy for making the day so special. Thanks to Robbie, Lavinia and Vicenzo. Until we meet again!

Tomorrow....we work for our food!
Stay tuned for more fun adventures with the Bisaccia Family.

Continuing the Journey on the Amalfi Coast/Puglia Tour:

Naples is really a city like no other. I always call it a "city well lived in". Why? Well, it has a reputation for many things; chaotic traffic, petty crime, chaos in general...all somewhat true. Rome has all those things too, but Rome always feels so touristic, while Naples feels like you're just witnessing life happening. 

Here, the group is posing around the famous Pulcinella statue. Pulcinella was a classic character from Italian theatre. Represented as a "fool", the character in fact rather thumbed its nose at government rules and bureaucracy...I guess that explains a few things right there.

Lest you think Naples is all negative connotation, nothing could be further from the truth. Its streets are simply fascinating; filled with history, great food and traditions, and beautiful art. Naples is full of things to see and deserves any amount of time you can afford to spend there. 

​Here are a few things I found while wandering:

We saw many sights on our walking tour with our officially licensed guide, but what better way to take in the traditions of Napoli than with a pizza lunch?

And to end the evening? We made our own karaoke party!

Oh those knuckleheads! Maybe everyone was a little rummy from having just arrived to Italy yesterday. Or maybe, this is just a fun-loving group! 

You'll see in the days ahead.....

Next stop: Pompei and then the true Amalfi Coast begins!

I was recently in the beautiful town of Lecce located in Puglia, the “heel” of the “boot” of Italy. Lecce really has it all: Beautiful archaeological ruins located in the heart of the town, elegant Baroque buildings, delicious food and wines, and wonderful people. A stroll through the historic center took me past several artisanal shops. One in particular caught my eye.

I was enticed in by the display of disembodied body parts, and the interesting statue, made of straw in the entry. I was about to enter into the world of Claudio Riso. Claudio’s workshop is where he creates amazing works of art from…..paper. Paper Mache to be more precise. 

The second type of sculpture he creates are small figures from everyday peasant life. These figures are often placed in a diorama type setting, and represent the history of the area. Every bit of the diorama is made by hand, and often by corresponding art specialists. For example, a kitchen scene might have real miniature ceramic pots and little brass cooking pans all made by local artisans. A fishing scene will have fishing nets made by area fishermen. Wood carvers are employed to make certain bits. Everyone and everything has its place. 

At one time in the history of Lecce, there were an abundance of Paper Mache artists. But as with many things, over time they disappeared. Claudio was apprenticed as a youngster to study this special process of Paper Mache, and now he has apprentices working with him. Claudio and his staff work hard not only to make these charming figures, but also to maintain this dying tradition.

It’s fascinating, isn’t it….to see an artisan at work….to witness the creation of something special by someone who is passionate about what they do? I can’t get enough of it. Come with me to Italy….to Puglia….to Lecce. There is so much to see and do there. We can go meet Claudio, watch him work, even have a lesson if we want to get our hands dirty. Drop me a line at irene@bellagiornatatours.com and let’s start planning your next trip to Italy.

My clients have long come to realize that when they travel with me…..they eat well.  Sometimes, I admit we eat too much, but we do eat well. Today, is no exception. We have a couple of great treats in store; a lovely lunch, a riotous wine tasting, and finally the unique treat of a Sausage and Black Celery Festival. Whew! But first, we need to build up an appetite. And what better way to do that, than with a few hours of shopping for ceramics!

Lunch is delicious! Each person gets their own appetizer plate…..tooooo much! But so good. Then comes gnocchi. But this is no ordinary gnocchi. The sauce is made from Sagrantino wine, my fave! Again; too much, but so good. And lastly, three big silver tureens arrive to the table. Each is filled with the house recipe for wild boar stew. Oh. My. Goodness. I was wondering what that little special something was in there, and upon close inspection, I find a few tiny grapes in the stew. Unique and wonderful.

After a little more time to explore the booths in the piazza in Bevagna, we load into the van and head to Trevi for a really unique and special treat. We happen to be in the area during the time of the annual Sagra di Salsicce e Sedano Nero, or the Sausage and Black Celery Festival. Everyone knows sausages are incredibly delicious in Italy, but Black Celery? In fact, the celery itself is not black; but the seeds that it grows from are. This particular celery, indigenous to this area, is quite hearty. It has a stronger flavor than the celery we are used to, and is denser, with less water content. The celery farmer below is the first place winner for this year's celery!

And when we have finished the nightwalk, we are just in time for our reservation at a pop-up taverna. These little restaurants aren’t open for the bulk of the year, but at special times, open up and serve delicious local food. Tonight, we have reservations at one that has received awards for its food. It’s a boisterous atmosphere. People are flush from watching live enacted battle scenes, and from drinking local wine. 

We order toast covered in fresh ricotta drizzled with the famous local olive oil. Another toast arrives which is slathered in a sausage spread (This is the sausage fest, remember?) And best of all, we order stuffed black celery. It’s a little hard to describe, but the local celery is packed with a sausage, vegetable mixture, then baked and lastly slathered in a delicious, yet simple tomato sauce. 

It is just so good, and the local wine served in terra cotta cups flows. The crowd is loud and casual. We are loud and casual. It is: So.Much.Fun. These are the experiences that simply can’t be replicated in the U.S. Everyone around us is speaking Italian; we are the only tourists in the building. 

I’m dying for one of the adorable terra cotta cups and ask if I can buy one. “Just take it”, says the owner with a smile. 

We start the day at Granarium. This is a place I have blogged about before. It’s a place I love, and will continue to return to. Granarium is a farm, flour mill, bakery and storefront all rolled into one. It’s amazing isn’t it? In order to create delicious bakery products, the folks at Granarium start with growing the wheat. It’s kind of like the story of the Little Red Hen….they grow the wheat, turn the wheat into flour, use the flour to make fantastic doughs for pizza, cookies and cakes, and then sell it all in their tiny little shop.  Notice our shopping bags :)

At the end of our tour, we find that Tiziana has set out a huge variety of samples for us to try. And then we all cram into the tiny shop and make so many purchases because it’s all simply so good. Their whole wheat biscuits are my morning go-to staple with a cappuccino. When I eat one, it holds me until lunch, it’s so filling, and just so darned tasty. (That's them in the upper, right hand corner of the photo.)

After good-byes at the mill, we are off to our next food destination; cooking class! Yes, this is our second cooking lesson after our earlier wood-fired pizza making lesson. Today, we’ll be cooking an entire classic Umbrian meal under the tutelage of Wendy Aulsebrook and her local helpers at Antonelli winery. 

We have so many dishes to prepare, it’s nearly mind-boggling, but the group is so excited for today, and everyone is ready for our hands-on lesson. Here's our menu:

This chicken is amazingly flavorful and tender. It has been rubbed with a garlic and fresh herb mixture. Fresh lemon juice and liberal amounts of olive oil are poured over the top. Then it is baked in a convection oven. We can't get enough! 

Our side dish, or "contorno" is a roasted combination of potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes. So delicious...especially the little bites of tomato!

Yesterday, I let everybody off the hook easy. Today, we're going to ramp it up a bit. In fact, we're going to get everyone's juices flowing by starting the day with a wild cage ride! 

The beautiful hill town of Gubbio has had these "birdcage" rides forever. They are so fun! There are two circles painted on the platform. One person stands in each. As the cage approaches the first circle, the attendant swings open the door, and the first person hops on while the cage is still moving. Then the second person hops aboard, the attendant slams the door shut, and you're off!

The ride takes you up the mountain side for spectacular views over Gubbio and the surrounding countryside. The trip is quite vertical, and today, it's quite windy. But my intrepid crew is ready for the adventure!

The troops begin to gather....it must be time to eat! We are trying out a new lunch spot today, and we are so glad we did!

And now it's time to taste the oil. First we are offered a taste of the oil from last year's harvest. It's delicious, but then Antonio gives us some great news. Though it is early, just yesterday, they crushed a small amount of olives. So......we are so lucky to be able to test the freshly pressed oil! You can see (and taste!) the difference between last year's oil and the new oil. Delicious!

Luckily, we arrive early....on the first day of the festival, really just as it is getting underway. I have been to this festival in years past when it has been so crowded as to be nearly unbearable. But this evening is perfect...we go our separate ways, strolling, ogling the chocolate, tasting the chocolate, buying the chocolate......

After lots of purchases and hugs goodbye, we pile back into the van and make the very short trip to Perugia for the EuroChocolate Festival.

We're headed back to Spello now to end our day with a lovely dinner and more fantastic wine from Umbria. So I leave you with this final photo of the day, taken from the top of Perugia looking back over the countryside as the sun is going down.

We've had a long and very productive day. The back of the van is filled with olive oil, chocolate and other purchases made during the day. Ahhh.....Italy. Sigh.

Now that our bellies are full (yet again), we have the stamina to head off for the sightseeing portion of our trip to Assisi. We are joined by our official guide who escorts us through the famous and lovely Basilica of San Francesco. We are thrilled to see the beautiful frescoes and awed by the crypt of St. Francis.
 
The group has the remainder of the afternoon to explore Assisi on their own, stopping to see whatever they would like to take a closer look at.

Personally, I'm always amazed by the number of bakery/sweet shops in Assisi. People from this town seem to have an crazy affinity for sweets...my kind of people.

Fontanaro processes all of its own olives on the premises. We take a quick peek at how it is done, before saying our good-byes.
After lots of olive oil purchases, and lots of hugs, we load up the van and say a final farewell. 

We’re on our way to Spello, but first we make a quick stop at one of the loveliest churches I have ever seen. It’s not the church itself that impresses as much as what is hiding inside of it. Inside this gigantic church is a tiny gem called the Portiuncula; the hut-like, but heart-stopping tiny church that St. Francis rebuilt himself as a gathering place for his ever-increasing number of followers back in the 1200’s. 

(Note: This photo was taken on a previous trip. Photos of the interior of this church are not allowed.)

Our visit to Agriturismo Fontanaro has come at the perfect point in our itinerary. We are about halfway through our trip, and everyone could use a little "down-time".

My group of clients, all family and friends, have a whole villa to themselves! After last night's late birthday dinner, today they get to sleep in a bit, and fix their own breakfast when they feel like it.

They just have to be ready by noon today. What's happening at high noon? It's pizza-making time!

We will be making our pizzas in a wood-fired oven. It actually takes many hours for the oven to get hot enough, so the fire has been burning in the oven all morning.



Now comes time to make the pizza dough. Anna shows us how to make the dough from scratch. She builds a well of flour, adds a pinch of salt, some olive oil and a yeast mixture. Then comes the mixing and kneading. 

Everyone takes their turn working the dough, stretching, kneading...until it is nice and smooth. Then the dough gets a second rising on the pan, before it is finally ready to roll out.

Next stop, the beautiful hilltop town of Orvieto. The duomo here is one of the most beautiful in Italy, and inside are some really fantastic frescoes (which we are not allowed to take pictures of). We have a nice little guided walk here before moving on to our final destination; a B & B in lower Tuscany.