The holidays stress people out so much. I suggest you keep it simple and try to have as much fun as you can. —Giada De Laurentis
Hah! — LD Jenkins
‘Tis the season of distress. Too much to do, too many people wanting a piece of your time, and this damned upcoming holiday week, which has become so far removed from what it should be that it makes me weep.
I’ve advised friends to never make important decisions between Thanksgiving and the day after Valentine’s Day because we’re all so unstable during these days. This year is no different. I, who am usually pretty darn centered and easy going, find myself bursting into tears at odd moments, experiencing more pain than I have in years, sleeping almost not at all and just generally being a cranky and miserable person to be around. Ho. Ho. Ho. Poor Tim. Poor Maxine.
That said, I always have Italy. Just thinking about it makes me smile and, thanks to the Internet, I have so many Italian friends on Facebook and Twitter that I can pretty much always know what’s going on in the places that I love, as long as the language isn’t too much in the vernacular.
So how will I get through this season? By making an Italy bucket list for 2016.
Here goes:
One of the things I’m most interested in doing is to go to Italy during the holidays to see the Christmas markets. I’m not sure what goes on in Piazza Garibaldi in Sulmona, but I guess I can stand a side trip. Besides, Sulmona does the best Easter celebration by far, so it can’t be expected to do both!
I want to make a trip to the region of Basiicata in May after my tour is over to visit the city of caves, Matera. See? Didn’t that video make you smile? (Yle, are you ready for us?) Puglia is also on my list, but that may have to wait until 2017.*
More cooking classes are a must, and I’d love to start with the wonderful Simone Proietti and see his brand new ristorante, Le Delize del Borgo, in Bevagna in nearby Umbria. And of course there’s Carmine in nearby Pacentro (the Abruzzese home town of Madonna’s relatives). Carmine’s spectacular taverna, Caldora, is not to be missed.
And I’m always up to meeting new vineyards and new wines, so bring them on! In 2015, we discovered the Pietronatonj and Masciarelli wineries. Bene! What’s not to like with a tasting in a castle, which is just what you get with Masciarelli!?
I want to learn to better appreciate Rome when I go in May. I’m a New York City girl, so am a bit partial to the big city of my youth, but I’m willing to go with an open heart this time.
I would love to get to see Castelli in 2016, which is the Deruta (ceramic center) of Abruzzo.
And I want to finally get to the Adriatic’s Costa dei Trabocchi to see the trabucco fishing piers and try some local fresh fish.
My adopted region of Abruzzo has such an amazing food history and such
culinary opportunities that I want to learn more about their sources and uses: the red garlic, saffron, truffles, lentils, grapes, olives and cheeses. This item will probably cost me 10 pounds, but it will be worth it!
Mostly, I want to keep meeting the wonderful Abruzzese people — the natives as well as the stranieri who have come to settle there and now call it home. We are a colorful bunch, I tell you, and I hope that you’ll join me on one of our twice-yearly tours or will venture here on a self-catering holiday. Casa Linda awaits!
I feel better already . . .
Buon Natale e Buon Capodanno!
N.B. Some of you have asked for a trip to Venice in 2017. Sounds good to me. But you’ll also have to see Verona and Vicenza, because I can’t be that far north and not see two of my other favorite cities and introduce you to some new friends there. Let me know if you’re interested . . .
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…
