Guys, let’s go to Italy together! Here’s the story: I first visited Abruzzo, the Italian region sprawling to the East of Rome, four years ago. It was absolute love at first sight. The area combines historic, small town charm with an innate kind of sophistication. It feels homey and relaxed, but there’s still this amazing energy running through the streets of the towns. The people who live there are incredible – friendly, charming, and seemingly very happy. I’ll never forget an older lady we ran into on an empty street of a quiet village, with no one else in sight. She was sitting in her rocking chair opposite a stone wall, doing nothing more than admiring the wall and enjoying the fresh air. What struck me was how put together she was, wearing a black dress, pearls, and an updo. She greeted us with a smile and proceeded to look at the wall quite contently. It’s a very different, slow way of life that’s able to offer a shift of perspective, and it had a very lasting, therapeutic effect on me.
And the food! I can’t say enough about the quality of the food there, since the climate in the region supports the growth of extraordinary produce like truffles, saffron, wine grapes, lentils, various grains, and endless fruits and vegetables. Farm-to-table is just the way of life there, and I definitely had some of the most incredible meals of my life in Abruzzo.
I was very surprised to see that the whole region is still completely off the beaten path and hugely undiscovered – we barely saw any tourists the whole time we were there. It’s also there that I met Anna from Abruzzo with Gusto, an incredible woman living in Abruzzo. Anna is an Italian cuisine expert and a food and travel journalist, who organizes unforgettable gastronomic tours in Abruzzo and knows the area like the back of her hand. We’ve become good friends over the years, and have been talking about organizing a foraging and cooking Abruzzo retreat for just as long. We finally set the date for September 2018, and we are starting the process of gathering participants for our first retreat now. We would love to see you there to experience this incredible part of Italy with us! Read on for all the retreat details, including the sample itinerary, accommodations, and price.
Book Now! Click here to book your stay on our retreats website :)
Book Now:
Click here to book your stay on our retreats website :)
When and Where
— October 1st – October 7th, 2018.
— Abruzzo, Italy
In our opinion, this is the best time to visit Abruzzo. The weather is perfect – warm but not too hot, with deliciously refreshing mountain air and soft light. It’s also the harvesting season for a bunch of amazing produce: persimmons, figs, pears, grapes and pumpkin.
Hosts
—Anya and Masha of Golubka Kitchen + Anna of Abruzzo with Gusto
Guests
Singles, couples or small groups, interested in experiencing the culture, food, and slow way of life, unique to the magical region Abruzzo. We are looking to gather a group of 5-12 people.
Accommodations
The first half of the trip, we will be staying at Sextantio in the medieval village of Santo Stefano, which is an absolutely unique and stunning hotel, with rooms in a series of medieval buildings, with handmade detailing.
We will spend the second half of the trip at Pietrantica, which is a converted farmhouse guesthouse with an organic garden in the small village of Decontra.
Price and What’s Included
— $2500/person, price is USD
Included:
— A double occupancy room with a private bath for 6 nights or a single occupancy room with an additional cost of $500
— Three vegan or vegetarian meals daily: breakfast, lunch and dinner, wine included
— All ground transportation via private coach and drivers
— All excursions and tours
— Two cooking classes
— Transfers between Abruzzo and Rome, upon arrival and departure
— Taxes and service charges
Not included:
— Airfare to Rome
— Trip insurance
— Optional activities during free time
Sample Itinerary
*details are subject to change
DAY 1
We’ll pick you up in Rome (location TBC) at 12 PM and drive you to Abruzzo. You’ll have time to unpack and relax in a restored monastery, where you will stay for the next three days. After settling in, we will have a welcome aperitif and dinner.
DAY 2
In the morning, we will head to visit the Castle of Bominaco and the frescoed Oratory of San Pellegrino, then have a picnic-style lunch with local produce. Afterwards, we will hike to Rocca Calascio, a medieval fortress and visit the hill town of Santo Stefano, where we will have dinner at a local restaurant.
DAY 3
In the morning, we will go truffle hunting with a local and learn the tricks and secrets of the trade. We’ll enjoy the truffles we find with our lunch. In the afternoon, Anya will teach a vegetarian cooking class, and we’ll enjoy the prepared dishes for dinner.
DAY 4
After breakfast, we’ll move to our next location, a small hamlet in the mountains where we’ll spend the next three nights staying in a restored farm. Once we arrive, our host Marisa will take us on an herb foraging walk. She’ll show us how to cook with the herbs we find, and we’ll get to cook with ancient grain flours such as solina and farro, grown right on Marisa’s farm. We’ll have lunch after the cooking class. In the afternoon, we’ll visit an olive oil mill for an olive oil tasting and a picnic-style dinner in an olive grove.
DAY 5
We’ll explore the stunning town of Sulmona on a food tour. After lunch, you’ll have free time for a leisurely walk in the town and souvenir shopping. In the evening we will head to the mountain village of Pacentro for dinner.
DAY 6
We’ll begin the day with a visit to two local wineries to taste their exquisite wines. After lunch, we will collect wild herbs and flowers to make cocktails (or mocktails!) combining century-old local traditions with modern techniques.
Join Us: Click here to book your stay on our retreats website :)
Claudia says
This sounds like a dream vacation, Italy, great food, cooking classes, wine, great people! :) My question is, I’m vegan and I assume that a lot of the dishes will be prepared with dairy or eggs? This may not be the best trip if one is vegan? thanks! :)
Anya says
Hi Claudia,
Thank you so much for asking! We talked about doing the whole thing 100% vegan, but it’s a bit tough in Abruzzo, since their traditions do involve quite a bit of eggs and cheese. I’m discussing this with Anna, and will email you in a few days to let you know if what we come up with.
Sue says
I have the same question as Claudia!
Anya says
Hi Sue,
Will discuss this with our organizer Anna and email you personally when we decide whether we can offer a 100% vegan menu :) Thank you! We’ll be in touch soon.
Anya says
Hi Sue,
Good news! We are able to offer and all-vegan menu! We emailed you personally about it :)
Anya says
Hi Claudia,
Good news! We are able to offer and all-vegan menu! We emailed you personally about it :)
Claudia says
I just signed up, cannot wait for the trip!! :)
Natalie says
aww, this offer is really interesting!! Italia is a great place for travel.
However I cannot travel at this year due to my plan. My Italian boyfriend have invited me to Italy a few times but I just can’t :( I’m looking forward to a great review of your trip, it must be awesome! :)
Anya says
Thank you Natalie! We’ll hopefully be doing a few of these retreats, so maybe you can join us on one of the future ones :)
Natalie says
Yayyy! I would love to. Travel is my love <3
Ella says
Was just checking to see if there will be more retreats planned. Very exciting! It sounds like an absolute dream but I don’t think I have the budget this year. Is there a mailing list to find out about future retreats?
Anya says
Hi Ella,
Yes, we are planning to do more next year! The best way to learn about new retreats is to sign up to our newsletter, where we always announce all our new posts and projects. You can also follow us on social media, like instagram, facebook, etc. We’ll be announcing future retreats there as well :)
Mary Turnwald says
This sounds like a wonderful trip and I sish I could go. Maybe if I convince my son to change his wedding date… lol. I will just have to sit back and wait to see your story and pics afterwards, and hope it’s offered again in the future!.
Anya says
Hi Mary,
We are pretty flexible on our dates for now. Will email you shortly to see what dates work for you. Thank you!
Lori Moss says
Hi there- I’m discussing this trip with my daughter. We are both vegan, so I’m asking the same question. This sounds fantastic!
Anya says
Emailed you. Thank you!
Debbie says
Sounds great! Love Italy & their food but have not been to this region yet. I’m not vegetarian but eating more vegetables and more healthfully. Will consider. Thank you.
Anya says
Thank you for considering, Debbie :)
Karen says
Sounds like a great trip . Unfortunately it coincides with Yom Kippur a very holy Jewish holiday on September 30. I wonder how firm these dates are?
Thanks
Karen
Anya says
Hi Karen,
Thank you for letting us know about that. We are pretty flexible on our dates for now. Will email you shortly to see what dates work for you. Thank you!
Jane Gulick says
I am interested too!
I also have the same vegan question!
Thx!!
Anya says
Hi Jane,
We are working out whether we can offer an all-vegan menu for those who need it. We will email you once we figure out if that’s possible. Thank you!
Anya says
Hi Jane,
Good news! We are able to offer and all-vegan menu! We emailed you personally about it :)
Linda says
Hello,
Would you also let me know if you are going to have a vegan tour. My husband and I would be interested in it. Thanks so much. Linda
Anya says
Hi Linda,
We’ll email you once we know if we can do an all-vegan menu. Thank you!
Anya says
Hi Linda,
Good news! We are able to offer and all-vegan menu! We emailed you personally about it :)
Carrie says
I’m very interested but Vegan please keep me posted, I saw the other posts about you looking into this. Also do you the places we will be staying have websites?
Anya says
Hi Carrie,
We’ll email you once we know if we can do an all-vegan menu. We will have all the accommodation details once we know how big our group is. Thank you!
Anya says
Hi Carrie,
Good news! We are able to offer and all-vegan menu! We emailed you personally about it :)
Anya says
For everyone asking, we are pleased to say that we will be able to accommodate an all-vegan menu! There are a lot of traditionally vegan dishes cooked in the area, and it’s a very produce-rich region :) Please email us to reserve your spot!
Dina Buck says
Hi, I would love to think about doing this in 2019, especially if you will be truffle hunting again! The latest email featuring “Our Favorite Weeknight Curry” is the only way I found out about this trip, however, and if I hadn’t opened that email to get the recipe, I would have never seen the additional post about this trip. I also don’t see evidence of a previous announcement of this trip in my inbox from you ladies. If you have a dedicated email list you will use to specifically announce this again next year, I would love to be on it. (I don’t mean to nitpick. I just would have loved to have found out about this offering sooner.) Thank you so much!
Anya says
Hi Dina,
That’s strange, we did send out a whole separate email when this post went out. If you are on our mailing list, you should have received it. Maybe it went into your spam folder? We still have a few spots left in this retreat, and we would love for you to join us! And if we ever do any more of these retreats in the future, we will definitely be notifying our newsletter family :)
Lẩu Đức Trọc says
Wow i love Italy. It is really interesting place to travel. Hope you will have a nice trip!! Can’t wait to see these photos.
Anya says
Thank you :)
Maudia Lanzotti says
My friend and I are very interested! Is the trip a go for sure? Maudia
Anya says
Hi Maudia,
Yes, the trip is a go! Would love for you to join. Will email you personally :)