Anyone have a suggestion for a one day cooking class in Umbria in October? Tuscan Women Cook, which sounded perfect, is fully booked. We would also like to have some recommendatons for a central location for 5 nights. We will have a car. A small hotel in a quiet town, or an agriturismo which will take guests for less than a week is what we are looking for, and not on a luxury scale. THe Hotel Dany in Bastardo which Bill Thayer suggested sounded good.
Letizia is a Slow Trav member and frequent poster, and has a lovely B&B about 15 mintues north of Assisi. She also does cooking classes. I have stayed at Alla Madonna del Piatto and greatly enjoyed the hospitality; I also have booked clients for Letizia's cooking classes, and in fact two of them are going back this summer for a second time. See www.incampagna.com
Anne Robichaud of Anne's Italy in Assisi also has cooking classes. I sponsored one of her classes here while she was on her annual U.S. tour and it was great fun! It think there are some pictures posted in the photo gallery.
We also took her St. Francis Festa Tour in October 2003 - wonderful! Some of the folks on the tour had taken her cooking class in Assisi and had rave reviews.
Posts: 943 | Location: North of Seattle | Registered: 28 February 2003
Thanks so much for the link to Anne's Italy. The website listed many choices for tours and cooking classes. I've emailed her with some requests for possible dates. She also had some hiking tours which interested us. We usually "do our own thing" when we travel, but this trip we wanted to try something different.
We're still looking for recommendations for places to stay in Umbria. Thanks to all for the information so far!
I have enjoyed stays at Malvarina near Assisi and Le Case Gialle near Bevagna - both will allow bookings of less than one week. Although Le Case Gialle prefers a week's rental, October is considered low season - the rates drop and they are willing to accept visitors for shorter stays.
Maria Maurillo at Malvarina is widely known for her excellence in the kitchen and also offers a class. But she does not speak English and, as much as I love the dinners at Malvarina, I think you would be more pleased with your cooking experience with Anne.
Visitors at Malvarina can also arrange hiking and horseback rides through the countryside.
I will be at Le Case Gialle in late April and hope to spend another day with Anne, either a cooking class or tour - she is a fantastic guide and delightful company.
"I am a Southerner. I like the feel of these words. I could no more be otherwise than I could shed my outer skin or change the color of my eyes." Willie Morris
Posts: 1468 | Location: on the Alabama River | Registered: 22 July 2002
I second the idea of cooking at Letizia's agriturismo, she also rents rooms by the night with breakfast and I think another meal as well if you wish. We just spent a day cooking with her (and eating!) and had a wonderful time. Her place has an incredible view of Assisi. We are already trying to plan a return visit.
Maybe I am just unlucky but when I was planning my trip I could never get Anne Robichaud to return my emails. But chances are I would not have been able to afford her services anyway. Our trip turned out just fine.
Posts: 179 | Location: Near Death Valley, CA | Registered: 07 October 2004
Thanks everyone for the great tips! Expecially to Bag Packed for the suggestion to look at Case Gialle. I've emailed them after looking at the website with the apartments. They are just what we have been looking for! Thanks!
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 5108 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
Don't know the first thing about cooking classes, but the Dany, at 20‑30 euros a nite for a large airy clean room, good hot water, comfy beds, a very warm friendly management — and in my 15 months total at the mercy of Italian hoteliers and restaurateurs, I've seen a lot I guess — and in a wonderfully central location (as long as you're driving, or, in my case, are prepared to walk 20 km a day) in maybe the most regularly beautiful area of Umbria — can't be beat. I must surely sound like I own stock in the business. . . !
Be wary of Anne Robichaud. Her reviews are mixed. Personally, I didn't find the tour we took with her to be a good value, but didn't try a cooking class. Check out comments on fodors.com.
Pat and Doug - glad Le Case Gialle suited your needs. Mauro and Silvana are great hosts - be sure to consult with them about the Sagrantino wine roads - Mauro is very active with the promotion of the region.
Re your search for a cooking class, I just received an e-mail from Actividayz,www.actividayz.com. The 2005 schedule will appear on their internet site later this month. Last year's schedule featured cooking classes in Umbria. I think one of the classes in 2004 was with Salvatore at Il Bacco Felice in Foligno. Don't hold me to that memory though - I have been doing a lot of late night trip research and have too many thoughts to process and, unfortunately, lots of professional work further taxing what's left of my mind.
At any rate, have a fabulous time preparing for your October visit to Umbria and do try to enjoy a meal at Il Bacco Felice and a wine tasting at Enoteca Properzio in Spello.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bags packed,
"I am a Southerner. I like the feel of these words. I could no more be otherwise than I could shed my outer skin or change the color of my eyes." Willie Morris
Posts: 1468 | Location: on the Alabama River | Registered: 22 July 2002
Such invaluable advice from so many of you! Thanks to you, bagspacked for more information of Le Case Gialle. I've booked L'Acquaio (sp) apartment for a week! We will surely talk to Mauro about the wine road and try your recommendations for Spello. Thank you Deborah for the positive words on Case Gialle and the olive oil! We can hardly wait until next October! I have also arranged a cooking lesson with Letizia in Assisi, and as FirstButNotLast and betsyt mentioned, I haven't heard from Anne yet. Bill, we nearly went to the Dany after your recommendation, but the self-catering idea and the large porch up in the hills tempted us! Thank you all for your great information! I will want to talk to Bill about his walking trips in the area.
Given your agenda, you did right to let yourself be steered away from the Dany. On the other hand, dinner at the Ristorante Falcinelli in Bastardo — the name of the restaurant arm of the hotel (not sure they're open for lunch) would be a good cap for a quiet day of exploring the deep center of Umbria. Now Bastardo in itself is nothing much, but the immediate area is splendid scenery and includes one first-rate sight, the wonderful abbey of S. Felice di Giano; then the little towns of Viepri, Barattano, Gualdo Cattaneo and Collemancio in particular. As for walking around in the area, some of those links are on diary pages, and you can navigate the diary and the intertwined Gazetteer of Umbria almost endlessly to get a good initial idea of things from the pedestrian's viewpoint.
Yes, you'll have a good time at Case Gialle - we stayed a week last August in la Terrazza, next door to Acquaio, and the view is, indeed, stunning; and Mauro & Silvana are super.
If you're after more views, without quite as much walking as Bill would consider worth getting out of bed for, take the short drive down through Bastardo to Giano, & follow the signs for Monte S Martino. After you've driven round the S side of the summit, there's a little informal campsite (camping sauvage, the French would call it - I can't think of the Italian term), with parking space nearby. From there paths lead up into the hills, giving superb views down to Todi on the W side, and back up the Valle Umbra to the NE. Well worth it if you have a clear day (weatherwise, that is: in terms of time it's only a couple of hours).
And if, unlike us last summer, you've done your homework before and read Bill's suggestions, you won't omit the Abbey of S Felice: lovely photos, Bill. One for the next trip...
Jonathan
Posts: 2978 | Location: Stroud, UK | Registered: 18 November 2001
Hi First; no, just a little hotel with good large rooms at under 30 euros a night, and an excellent restaurant, in a location that is extremely convenient (unless you are getting around by public transportation) to the most beautiful part of central Umbria. Also — by no means to be sneezed at, nor did I of course, the friendliest hotelkeepers I've ever run into in ten years of roaming Italy, and that's saying, as you know, a lot.
My SlowTrav review of the restaurant is here. I stayed at the Dany three nites on two separate occasions, and it thus gets mentioned on 4 different pages of my diary, which you'd probably want to read in chronological order, of course, thus starting with the April 23rd entry. My website is rather completely indexed by Google, so an online search for pretty much anything I mention is easy: a useful general method then, excellent for Umbria, and decreasingly so of course for parts of Italy I know less well, is to follow the example of this very search.
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