History, food, architecture, more food and cooking in the green heart of Europe

September 25 – October 4, 2015

Piazza Garibaldi: Sulmona among the mountains

It’s too late to join me on this small group adventure under the glorious skies of one of Italy’s most beautiful regions. But we’ll be going again in 2016. Hope you can come! Meanwhile, here’s what this trip will entail . . .

We will travel to several of Abruzzo’s medieval cities, among the most beautiful ancient villages in all of Italy; will eat and drink very well; will experience two cooking classes and a winery tour; and will still have plenty of time for exploring and relaxation.

This package includes eight nights away:

• 6 nights in Sulmona’s Hotel Ovidius, a short walk from the historic center
• 2 nights at Le Case Della Posta in stunning Santo Stefano di Sessanio

Fee includes accommodations, all breakfasts, six lunches and four dinners, two cooking classes, a winery tour and transportation to Scanno, Santo Stefano, and Rocca Calascio. Travel to and from Fiumicino airport included.

Get your hat, your sunscreen and some walking shoes — andiamo!

Just the Facts . . .

Price per person: $2,495

Package includes:

• six nights in the Hotel Ovidius in the heart of Sulmona
• two nights at Le Case Della Posta in the medieval town of Santo Stefano
• all breakfasts
• 6 lunches
• 5 “aperitivi” happy hours
• 4 dinners (including two cooking classes)
  • o cooking class at Hotel Ovidius, beginning with the weekly mercato
  • o cooking class led by Mamma Aida in Santo Stefano, for a look at regional home cooking at its best
• vineyard tour and wine tasting at the oldest winery in Abruzzo
• private guided walking tours of Sulmona, Scanno and Santo Stefano
• guided walking tour of the Hermitage of San Onofrio
• optional trips and restaurant guidance for times “off”
• visit to the Pelino Confetti store and museum
• ground transportation throughout your stay

Pricing:

Price quoted is per person, double-occupancy sharing a double bedroom. Packages are land packages only. Air travel is not included. Transfers to and from Fiumicino airport will be arranged once we know your flight times.

Accommodations:

Accommodations are included in the package price. Guests will spend the first six nights at the Hotel Ovidius (right across the street from our apartment) in Sulmona. The modern hotel has a spa, lounges and outdoor garden areas for relaxing and taking in the stunning mountain views. For the last two nights, guests will stay at the incredible Le Case Della Posta, in Santo Stefano. Here, each two bedroom suite will share a bathroom — but by then you’ll all be such good friends, it won’t matter.

Transportation:

All ground transportation to and from events and excursions is included. Airport transfers will be determined once we know flights arrival and departure times.

Deposit:

A non-refundable deposit of $ 500.⁰⁰ per person is required at the time of booking. The remaining balance is due by August 15, 2015.

There is only room for 8 people on this tour, so please book early so as not to be disappointed!

 Itinerary

(subject to slight changes, as weather & availabilities dictate)

Friday, September 25

• Fly from your home cities to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. Dinner onboard flight.

Saturday, September 26

• Arrive in Rome’s Fiumicino Airport (FCO) around 10:00 a.m.
• Watch for details about where to meet the bus/car as we get closer to the date
• We will make arrangements for your arrival at the hotel; unpack, relax or walk into town
• Enjoy your first aperitivo with introductions at 6:00 at Casa Linda, our apartment across the street
• Walk to Osteria del Tempo Perso for dinner to experience your first Sulmona pizza around 7:15 (early because we’re all jet-lagged!)

Sunday, September 27

• Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00
• Walking tour of Sulmona begins at 10:00
• Stop for lunch in Sulmona (Il Vecchio Muro)
• Tour of Pellino confetti factory after lunch
• Optional activity: farm visit in Anversa
• Aperitivi around 7:00 at Hotel Ovidius
• Dinner on your own (we’ll make recommendations)
• Optional walk into Sulmona for gelato and the passeggiata

Monday, September 28

• Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00
• Pick up at 10:00 for tour of the Hermitage San Onofrio
• Back to Sulmona for lunch at Da Gino, one of the finest anywhere
• Free time after lunch
• Pick up at 4:00 for visit to Abruzzo’s oldest winery for tour and tasting
• Back to Sulmona; dinner optional

Tuesday, September 29

• Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00
• Pick up at 9:30 for a tour of beautiful Scanno, including a visit to Armando DiRienzo for beautiful traditional filigree jewelry; hopefully we’ll see one of the 25 ladies who still wear the traditional Scanesse costume
• Lunch together in Scanno
• Perhaps an optional trip to one of the area’s finest pasta makers
• Back to Sulmona for Aperitivi around 7:00 at Hotel Ovidius
• Dinner on your own

Wednesday, September 30

• Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00
• Meet at 10:00 at mercato to buy ingredients for your cooking class
• Cooking class
• Lunch will be what we cook
• Free afternoon and evening

Thursday, October 1

• Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00
• Pick up at 11:00 for trip to Palumbo cheese factory
• Lunch on your own: go to Posta Pacentrano together or come back into town
• Time for packing or exploring in the afternoon
• Pick up at 6:30 for Aperitivi in nearby Marane with Carlo and Vittoria
• Farewell dinner in the Marane

Friday, October 2

• Breakfast served at the hotel from 8:00 – 9:00.
• We bid arrividerci to Sulmona and drive to beautiful Santo Stefano di Sessanio
• Settle into our rooms and then come down for lunch at your inn, Le Case Della Posta
• After lunch, we will take a walking tour of Santo Stefano
• Aperitivi in the garden outside Le Case Della Posta at 6:00
• Dinner at a fabulous albergo and ristorante in Santo Stefano

View of Rocca Calascio

Saturday, October 3

• Breakfast served at the inn from 8:00 – 9:00
• We will be picked up in an agribus for our ride out to the country
• Our first stop is the incredible Rocca Calascio: a ruined fortress, and the highest one in Italy. We’ll walk up the last little bit to the top — a gentle hike of about 15 minutes — and take in the scenery and the octagonal church on the way
• The agribus will then take us to our spot for a lunch of arrosticini, traditional small lamb skewers that melt in your mouth
• We will return to Santo Stefano for our cooking class with our hosts Amalia and Mamma Aida, who will create a masterpiece with you including antipasto, lentils, pasta alla chitarra, lamb, special cakes, wines and digestivi — you’ll sleep well!
• All you’ll we able to do after dinner is go up to your room and pack for your flights tomorrow.

Sunday, October 4

• You’ll depart the inn in the morning as your flights require — we’ll get everybody out to meet the earliest flight
• Memories begin . . .

Ci vediamo in Abruzzo!

This trip may be filled, but there will be TWO trips in 2016. Watch this space for announcements about dates and itineraries. Add your name to my mailing list!

Linda Dini Jenkins

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…