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Recently I took a trip with my family to Italy, to do some random quality control on several of our Open Road guidebooks in one of my favorite destinations on Earth.  I use our travel guides when I venture forth, but when I returned a friend pointed out that my trip shadowed in large part the great “Classic Italy” tour offered by the renowned tour operator Tauck.  So let me give you Open Road’s annotated look at Tauck’s itinerary for those of you considering taking their grand tour of La Bella Italia.

You’ll spend the first two days in Sorrento, a lovely Old World town perfectly situated near the island of Capri, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast.  It just so happens that I chose to stay in Sorrento as well, and at the same hotel (for those of you interested in local history, this beautiful hotel set among a five-acre garden with views out into the Bay of Naples, is where the great opera singer Caruso spent his last days):  Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria.  Take a gander at where you’ll be eating breakfast!:

Sorrento has its share of great restaurants:  if you have a free lunch or dinner, consider Caruso or Antica Trattoria, both very close to your hotel.  In your two days in the area, the highlight will be the drive down the Amalfi Coast. While in Ravello, don’t miss the Cathedral, founded in 1086 with brilliant Byzantine mosaics still intact, and the Villa Cimbrone, with its lush gardens and incomparable views over the water (see photo below).

Next up, Pompeii – even if you’re not into ancient history, the majesty of these incredibly well-preserved ruins are breathtaking.  Walk down 2000-year old cobblestone streets, peek into homes and public baths and old marketplaces, admire the statuary and artwork of a kind long gone from this world, and gaze up at Mt. Vesuvius in the background:

Then it’s on to three days of Rome, where you’ll be treated to special tours of St. Peter’s and the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum.  In your down time, I’d suggest wandering around Piazza Navona, where there is fun shopping, great gelato and snacks, street performers, two great fountains by Bernini and Borromini, and great eats.  One restaurant I’d suggest very near the Piazza is Pietro’s (Via dei Pianellari, 19), a very small but intimate dining space, family-run, specializing in Tuscan truffles.  Most tourists don’t know about it – yet!  But you don’t have to leave the Piazza to sample great gelato at Tre Scalini (Piazza Navona, 28).  Less than a 10-minute walk from Piazza Navona is the Pantheon, truly one of the world’s most wondrous sights (see photo below), with its inspiring soaring dome that has a hole at the top to let the elements enter in when the cosmos is angry!  The square in front is wonderful as well, for sitting, people-watching, and enjoying a cappucino.

When you arrive in Tuscany, you’ll see three picture-perfect medieval villages:  Orvieto, Assisi, and San Gimignano.  From the duomos to the great Basilica of St. Francis, to the vineyards and winding streets, this is the real deal for those wanting to experience rural Italy. If you’re looking for things to bring home, Orvieto is the place in this region:  consider the local wine or olive oil, both very tasty, or if you’re in the market for beautifully carved wooden sculptures, toys, figurines or murals, stop in at Michaelangeli (Via Gualverio Michelangeli, 3B).  I see from your schedule that you have dinner free in Viareggio, a seaside town with outdoor cafes along the boardwalk, so let me steer you to L’Oca Bianca (Via Coppino, 409), for a memorable seafood dinner or lunch.  And you’ll also have the pleasure of seeing the Cinque Terre — the five lands — five villages connected to one another by narrow pathways hugging the coast (see photo at right).  If you’re in the village of Vernazza, have lunch at Trattoria del Capitano (Piazza Marconi, 7).  It won’t be a cheap lunch, but it’ll be delicious, with breathtaking views of the surf crashing against the rocks below.

On to Florence, one of the world’s most beautiful cities.  You’ll do all the must-sees on your tour:  The Accademia which house Michaelangelo’s Statue of David; the Duomo and Baptistery; and the world-renowned Uffizi museum.  In your free time, it’s well worth your time to cross the Ponte Vecchio and visit the little Piazzale Michaelangelo, where all those incredible postcard views of Florence are taken (see photo below).  There is a restaurant here on the square, very pricey but incredibly good, called La Loggia.  If you’re here anyway to snap some photos, have some lunch and enjoy the ambience and the views!  Since you’ll have some more free time, you can either stay on the other side of the Arno and visit the sweeping Boboli Gardens and the Pitti Palace, housing masterpieces by Titian, Raphael and many others.  Or you can go back across the Arno and visit the exquisite church of Santa Maria Novella and then the San Marco Museums, one of my favorite museums anywhere.  Inside you’ll find cloisters, a church, a library, cells where the monks used to live, and throughout gorgeous works of art by Fra Bartolomeo, Donatello, Michelozzo, and Fra Angelico (here’s one of his paintings, below):

Looking for some great gelato?  Go to Festival del Gelato (Via del Corso, 75r) where you’ll be treated to more than 80 flavors.  Sweet tooth still not satisfied?  For the best chocolate in the city, try Vestri (Borgo degli Albizi, 11r).  Florence is also renowned for its artisanal stationery, beautiful paper, journals, pens and the like, which make great presents; visit Il Torchio (Via de Bardi, 17).

Your trip ends in Venice, and you have some nice chunks of free time here.  After seeing St. Mark’s, traversing the Grand Canal and a few of the other must-sees, I’d recommend the little island of Murano where Venice’s glass-blowing industry is centered.  You can see them making the glass at a few places as well.  If glass isn’t your thing and you haven’t had your fill of churches, one of the more beautiful churches inside and out is Santa Maria della Salute, with a number of incredible Titian’s inside the sacristy.  For dinner, if you want a local place that has great Venetian ambience, try Bandierette (Calle Barbaria delle Tole, 6671); for more of a splurge, go to Do Leoni (Riva degli Schiavoni, 4171, at the Londra Palace).  The key word here is opulence.  If you’re looking for nightlife in Venice, the place to head to is Campo Santa Margherita:  bars, cafes, Irish pubs (yes, I said Irish!) and good restaurants.  For you shoppers, there’s plenty of action.  Why not bring home something Venice is known for:  masks.  Stop in at Venice’s best mask shop, Tragicomica (Calle di Nomboli, 2800), and you’ll be amazed at the workmanship and high stylings of their beautiful masks.

Let me end by paraphrasing from the introduction to Open Road’s Best of Italy by Doug Morris:  It’s easy to see why so many Americans choose to visit the boot-shaped peninsula that juts into the Mediterranean. From the big tourist cities of Rome, Florence, and Venice to historic hill towns, small mountain villages and breathtaking coastal towns, Italy is romantic, beautiful, fun and exciting.  Let Tauck show you the classic Italy that I know and love!

– Jonathan Stein, Publisher, Open Road Travel Guides

Open Road Publishing puts out travel guides to many destinations.  If you’re interested in Italy, in addition to our Best of Italy mentioned above, we have Eating & Drinking in Paris and Open Road’s Italy with Kids.  Check out all our other guides at the link above.

By Ruba Guest Blogger and Culinary Travel Partner: Oldways–Changing the Way People Eat.

Savoring Food Traditions in France – April 2010

(photo by Elliiot Erwitt, 1955)

Somewhere in your daydreams is a photo of an elderly man in a black beret, riding his bicycle through an alley of plane trees with a baguette under his arm. You know he’s heading home for a looooong lunch, where the baguette will accompany a full bottle of wine, maybe some pâté, a green salad, a small clafouti, and who knows what else, in a country where the old ways of eating will never die.

Or will they? France had an estimated 200,000 cafés in 1960, but the French café federation counted only about 41,500 still open in 2008. And the time that the French are spending at lunch has dropped too, from an average of one and a half hours in 1975 to just 32 minutes in 2005, as “le fast food” becomes more widespread.

Change is afoot in France, and if you want to savor the “old ways” before it’s too late, 2010 is the perfect time to travel, and Oldways is the right guide to have at your side. Oldways, a Boston-based non-profit recognized internationally for changing the way people eat through positive and practical programs grounded in science and tradition, was founded in 1990 to help preserve the world’s fading food cultures.  Every year we travel to another corner of the world for an insider’s tour of culinary and cultural history, and this time we’re taking a small group of food-lovers to Normandy from April 25 to May 2, 2010.

Full disclosure: I’ve been working at Oldways for almost seven years, so I’m not exactly objective. I’ve worn out three passports (including that extra section they add when your passport fills up before it expires) and traveled internationally 62 times in the last twenty years, but I have to say my travels with Oldways have been among the best. One time, for example, we were hired to shepherd a group of journalists, chefs, and gourmet importers through Puglia, in the heel of Italy, to learn more about local food specialties – yes, I got paid for eating my way through Italy for a week. Another time we brought a group of doctors to Tuscany, along with scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, to help the physicians understand the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet.

(photo via Indigo Guide)

For our Normandy trip, we’ll be exploring how terroir, often translated as “the taste of place,” can be an important counterweight to the globalization and homogenization of food choices. Join us, and learn why Normandy’s famous Livarot, Pont l’Eveque and Camembert cheeses can only be made from milk produced by the Norman breed of cow, grazed on Norman pastures … how oysters from Asnelles differ from those in Brittany or the Loire … and why Calvados, Normandy’s local apple brandy, must be distilled twice.

Sure you could travel independently, but if you did, could you visit a farm where they raise l’agneau de pré-salé (saltmarsh lamb), or hear about the foods pictured in the Bayeux Tapestry before you visit that legendary embroidered saga? Could you enjoy cooking demos with Susan Loomis, proprietor of a cooking school in Louviers, Normandy and author of On Rue Tatin? Could you pick all the right restaurants where the traditional local specialties are still served? Could you enjoy the company of two dozen like-minded food-lovers, each more interesting than the next?

With just over four months to go before our departure, Oldways’ Normandy: Camembert and Calvados trip is already half full. If you’d like to join us, you can get all the details (and sign up) on the Camembert & Calvados event page.

- Cynthia Harriman, Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies, Oldways

By Ruba Guest Blogger, Connie Motz

Caretaking is a profession whereby one or more people cares for a property (e.g., home, estate, resort, ranch, farm, bed & breakfast, lighthouse, or a private island) in the desired manner in exchange for rent-free accommodations for a set period of time. In other words, it’s a great way to travel and see the world without paying for hotels!

Ruba recently had the chance to interview Gary C. Dunn, Publisher, of The Caretaker Gazette located in Boerne, TX.

Ruba: As far as the actual duties of a caretaker, what’s involved?

Dunn: “They range from simple house sitting assignments where you just water the plants once a week to full time estate management positions.”

Ruba: Tell our readers about a typical caretaker – who are they and what are they expecting to get out of the experience?

Dunn:  “Anyone who has common sense, positive references, and is in good health can be a caretaker.  Caretaking generally attracts people who have a desire to live rent-free and who want to travel; sometimes it’s a pre-retirement couple looking for the perfect retirement location.”

Ruba: Caretaking sounds like a great opportunity.  When and where was your first caretaking experience?

Dunn: “Back in the 1970’s my wife and I did some caretaking at a hunting cabin in rural Pennsylvania and looked after the property – and fell in love with the whole concept of property caretaking. We have also lived and traveled extensively overseas, including in the developing world, living rent-free as property caretakers while we were teaching and my wife was engaged in field work and research in Namibia, India, and Mauritania.”

Ruba: For someone with no experience, how can they break into caretaking?

Dunn: “If you have never been a caretaker, you need to establish a reference list.  Your reference list will not include the names of homeowners but will instead include professional references: your employer, doctor, attorney, landlord, etc.  Have a one-page list of your references prepared and ready to send out immediately.”

Ruba: What fringe benefits can be expected?

Dunn: “Each opportunity is different, so one cannot have expectations but fringe benefits have included: free housing with all utilities paid, free travel, use of vehicles, medical and life insurance, cash bonuses, etc. as well as what many caretakers say is a stress-free lifestyle.”

Ruba: We like the sound of that.  Is there a hot spot destination where caretaker jobs always seem to be available?

Dunn: “We have had positions in all 50 states and 80 countries. Because we receive new rent-free living opportunities every day from property owners seeking caretakers and house sitters for homes and properties throughout the world, it’s difficult to cite one specific area as being the hot spot.”

Ruba: Tell our readers about a typical property available for caretaking or is there a typical property?

Dunn: “There is no typical property, each one is unique. We’ve published rent-free living opportunities in everything from caves to private islands.”

Ruba: What’s the most extravagant property you’ve seen listed?

Dunn: “A few years ago, we had an Estate Manager position that required the applicant to live on three different continents in three different mansions, with a starting salary of $200,000/year, full benefits, and free housing provided at each mansion.”

Ruba: Wow!  Do caretakers tend to return to the same property year after year?

Dunn: “It’s a personal decision based upon the subscriber’s preference – some will return annually to a destination (e.g., England, Australia, or Costa Rica) while others want to experience different geographic locales and travel to a new opportunity each time.”

Ruba: Once a caretaker, always a caretaker?

Dunn: “After their first house sitting or caretaking experience, the majority of our subscribers tell us that they would do it again in a heartbeat.  For some, it was a life-changing experience and caretaking becomes their new career.”

Ruba: This caretaking concept almost sounds too good to be true and you know what they say about that…..how do you know if an offer is truly legitimate?

Dunn: “We’ve been publishing The Caretaker Gazette since 1983 and we’ve never heard of any illegitimate offers. The difference between The Caretaker Gazette and other websites is that our property owners pay to run their ads with us so it decreases the chance of illegitimate ads (we’ve all heard about the illegitimate ads on free websites out there!). We also keep detailed info on each property owner in our advertising database here, so we have contact info to call on – if needed.”

Ruba: Tell our readers about your publication.

Dunn: “The Caretaker Gazette has listings for property caretakers and house sitters in all 50 states and throughout the world.  We’ve been publishing since 1983 and have over 10,000 subscribers.”

Ruba: How often is it published?

Dunn: “Although the issues of The Caretaker Gazette are published bi-monthly, we send out email updates with new listings to our subscribers 4-5 times each week.”

Ruba: Approximately how many caretaking positions are listed in each issue?

Dunn: “Between the issues of the Gazette and our email updates, we publish 1,000 to 2,000 rent-free living opportunities each year.”

Ruba: Once an advertisement appears, how long does it take to fill the position?

Dunn: “That depends on the property owner and how extensive a background check they wish to do and how many candidates they want to interview.”

Ruba:  How can readers subscribe to The Caretaker Gazette?

Dunn: “They can go to our secure website at www.caretaker.org and click on the subscribe button or call us at 830-755-2300 or mail a check or money order to: The Caretaker Gazette, 3 Estancia Lane, Boerne, TX 78006.”

Ruba thanks Gary C. Dunn for his time and his enlightenment on the curious world of caretaking.  For more information, please visit The Caretaker Gazette blog.

Check out Ruba’s Guest Blogger, Connie Motz, on her blog: Travel Writer

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