Dream of Italy’s Umbria Harvest Week is a wonderful introduction to the food, the wine and the craft of Umbrian living. I could have used another week because I wanted to keep going. Grazie a Kathy e tutti! — Linda Dini Jenkins
The gorgeous olives
Yep. That’s what I said about it on the evaluation form. And she’s doing it again. Kathy McCabe, that is, Editor and Publisher of the wonderfully informative Dream of Italy newsletter. (If you’re an Italophile, you really should subscribe.)
I went on her 2010 Umbria Harvest Week: Food, Wine and Ceramics. She calls it a gourmet Umbria tour, and that it is. And since my spring trip to Verona fell through this year — and if you really wanted to get to bella Italia this year — consider going on this adventure with Kathy in the fall (November 5 – 11). She’ll show you Umbria like a native, and you’ll eat very, very well. Food is what Umbria, the green heart of Italy, is all about.
Start by staying at La Fattoria del Gelso, a 17th century farmhouse villa
After the harvest
near Assisi. You’ll be part of a small, well-cared-for group that shares many adventures. You’ll visit Deruta, Italy’s ceramics capital. Then you’ll eat. You’ll tour wineries and an olive oil mill. You’ll eat. You’ll get a 1/2 day cooking class that will put you in a food stupor, but in a good way. You’ll go to the dogs . . . to hunt for truffles. And then you’ll eat. You’ll get guided tours of St. Francis’s beloved Assisi and the historic Umbrian capital of Perugia. And did I mention you’ll eat?
There’s more — and it’s all included in the price. Room. Board. Food. Wine. Guides. Van. And more. Only airfare and transportation to the villa are extra, and Kathy can help you with that. Check out the 2011 itinerary here.
At the Winery
So think about it. If you wanted a trip to Italy this year and you missed out on Verona — which we’ll offer again next year, so keep the spring open — this is the trip to go on. Tell Kathy I sent you.
Buon viaggio!
Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…
