E Cho asked:


Athens is a city rooted in its Greek history. The birthplace of democracy and now the capital city of Greece, Athens is a cultural center with fine cuisine, theater, the Acropolis, and generous Greek hospitality.

The best time to visit Athens is in the Spring. The weather is perfect and rates are reasonable. Beware of summers in Athens as they can reach high temperatures near 110 degrees F. So if you plan on going to Athens in the summer please make sure to bring a hat, light clothing, sun block, and a bottle of water everywhere you go.

Greek Hospitality

The Greek are known for their hospitality and generous ways. Athenians are laid back people who are generally accepting of all visitors. Many people in Athens know English so feel free to ask for help or directions from locals and passers-by.

Meet Athenians half way and learn a few words of Greek. People will appreciate your effort and maybe more inclined to help you.

The Acropolis

The most famous landmark in Greece is the Acropolis, and happens to be located in Athens. Ancient Greek civilization was represented on top of this hill by the Parthenon and other structures that symbolized the lavish lifestyle of the Greek gods.

The New Athens

Since the Olympics were held in Athens in 2004, the city has been revamped. It seems the over growth of Athens has caused poor air quality, busy streets, and a generally overcrowded feeling. But some of this has been made better since the renovations.

Best Hotel Value in Athens

If you want to stay in the heart of Athens, the G.R. Louis Hotel is the perfect choice with a selection of museums and a concert hall, right down the way. The hotel is known for its knowledgeable staff and quiet surroundings. Tourists will definitely enjoy their stay in Athens at the GR Louis Hotel.

Local Customs

Beware of the concrete jungle that has become Athens. With so many drivers, people have a bit of road rage. Try to stay off the streets if possible. Even pedestrians may have trouble walking across the street in a crosswalk. Athenians don’t always adhere to the traffic rules.

Smoking in Athens is perfectly acceptable to locals and you can light up just about anywhere you wish. So, you probably shouldn’t ask locals to go find a smoking section since that is the norm there.

Independence Day is March 25th. They celebrate their Independence day with parades and celebrations making traffic congested and the city busier than ever.

“Ochi” Day, held on October 28th, is another Greek holiday. Greeks commemorate the day Mussolini’s request to let Italian troops into the country at the beginning of World War II was denied. “Ochi” means “no” in Greek. You may see soldiers and tanks parading down the streets in show of Greek pride.

Whenever you plan on visiting Athens, you are sure to be met with fabulous Greek food, plenty of shopping, historical monuments, and local Athenian culture and customs.

Giorgos Kontopoulos asked:


Greece can satisfy even the most demanding of its visitors. It has beautiful scenery and great man made establishments, it has sea but also mountains, it has archaeological sites and night clubs as well, it has crowded areas but it also has nice and quite places. The best of all is that all these are not far away from each other. I don’t think its an overstatement to say that Greece is a traveler’s paradise.

Where can you find such places.

If you want to find fancy restaurants and Hotels and all the comforts a man can get those are the services every known place has and they are actually difficult to miss. Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Corfu, Crete, Athens, Thessaloniki, Samos are among the most visited destinations in Greece. If you need luxurious accommodations, fancy restaurants, loud music, packed cafes, lots of visitors you can find them here.

Places that are not crowded but still have lot to offer are more difficult to find. There are less services and less money to be gained from visitors and therefore are not heavily promoted. If you are looking for those places don’t ask at your local travel agent. Don’t arrange a Cruise hoping to find them. The are usually very close to the crowded centers but not much is mentioned of them.

Lots of smaller islands that are not heavily advertised, and island satellites to famous ones usually fall under this category and would be ideal places for people that want to explore the alternative Greece. For the sake of the discussion I am going to mention Gaudos, Paxoi, Fournoi, Sifnos, Ikaria, Chios but this is not extensive by any means. These places are usually recommended from people that have already gone there. If you have not had such recommendations then I would advise you to prepare your trip to the most favorable location leaving some room in your schedule for visiting places that the locals will undoubtedly suggest. An inquiry to a local Greek travel agent or a Greek Habitant might reveal some hidden treasures around the area. Keeping in mind the pros and cons presented right after, one can easily recognize such places.

With quiet destinations you avoid the mass tourism and the noise and you enjoy more the nature and the hospitality of people simple and not caught up at the great rush of our times. Nature is purer and the food is fresher and atmosphere is unspoiled and healthier. The prices are cheaper too. One great disadvantage is that such places don’t have many means of transportation to and from them and not to many comforts should be expected when looking for accommodation. Some of them don’t even have air connectivity with mainland Greece. They might have boat or bus connection 3-7 times a week from the near by Town.

Travel off high season

Greeks usually take their summer vacation around the 15th of August that is the biggest festivity in the Orthodox Christian world, commemorating the Assumption of Theotokos (Mary the mother of Jesus). Around these days everything gets very busy with boats running full and extra flights being added and all types of accommodation running at full capacity. These period makes for some very tiresome vacation and I would definitely avoid it if I had the choice. Planning either before or after August is probably the smartest thing one can do when traveling to Greece. You do avoid the headaches and prices are a whole lot different.

Almost all destinations in Greece are connected through Athens, so this gives an opportunity to the traveler to explore the Athenian lifestyle and Acropolis if he/she so chooses. Some alternative routes include Italy which has daily direct boat connections to the Ionian islands and Turkey which has daily boat connectivity to the nearby islands of the Aegean.

Arranging your car rental before hand

Small places usually luck the public transportation of the big and famous cities. Buses usually run not very frequently and planning your excursions around them usually is not an easy chore. The more crowded places will probably have cars booked fully for the high season times. So if you are planning on using a car arranging it ahead of time is always good choice.

Alternative accommodations for rent

If you are not interested in the standard services of a hotel (food, everyday cleaning/towels/sheets pools and restaurants) you can rent villas or homes at cheaper prices. Usually the such places provide a high level of service compared to what you pay for them. Plenty of non Hotel accommodations are spread at all possible places and the go by the names of

Gabriel Adams asked:


As is apt for its multicultural heritage, Cyprus boasts cuisine to make your mouth water. From Armenians and Syrians to their Greek and Persian rulers, Cyprus has retained a part of each; even the Lebanese, French, Italian and British influences are not lost upon the Cypriot cuisine. The fact that they have integrated the influences into a culture of their own is fascinating to watch for tourists. The country has an excellent climate for fruits and vegetables, and the people know how to enjoy those as well, so whether it is a Moussaka or raw vegetables, the food is always delicious and always fresh.

Cyprus is a land of the plenty. Most households have learnt to produce most of their food requirements themselves. While the main dishes, or even styles of serving, remain the same, Cypriot foods are bound by seasonal availability and their seasonal, or religious, festivals. Visit the country in September and witness the wine tasting festival where there is free wine aplenty, or tour during the New Year festivities when the ‘Vasilopitta’, the special cake for the occasion, is served…perhaps you could be the one to find the coin in your slice of ‘Vasilopitta’, luck will be abound for you for a whole year, or so they say.

Perhaps the most fascinating style of serving in Cyprus is that of the ‘mezze’. The combination of up to thirty dishes served in small saucer-like plates deserves a worthy appetite. The locals are a hospitable people to the extent of being almost too hospitable. When they serve you a ‘mezze’ it is only fair that you taste everything, so even eating is an art; you don’t want to run out of space by eating too much of one thing.

Of course the Cypriots love their meats, when they are eating them. There are religious fasts that prohibit the use of meats in the food, so those fasting eat vegetables practically half the year with different reasons for the fasts. If you prefer vegetarian foods, asking for it is more than likely going to see the request being obliged in most restaurants and taverns. A few of the favorite meat dishes in Cyprus are Dolmades (minced meat and rice stuffed in vine leaves), Tava (meat, herbs and onion stew), Kebabs (spiced and skewered meat pieces roasted over charcoal fire), try those and there still will be plenty you missed!

The local national drink is, of course, coffee. The kafenes, or the coffee houses, in Cyprus continue to be a men only affair though. The farmers go there before and after work to enjoy a cup as they catch up on the village gossip. Women and children are only allowed on special occasions like when a puppet show or another for of entertainment is arranged there for the villagers. Otherwise, women have their ’sketo’, ‘metrio’ or ‘glyko’ - all forms of coffee with varying quantity of sugar- at home.

anonymous asked:


On one late summer’s day, my journey took me from Valdez to Seaward, Alaska. While traveling I could see the fire weed, bright red and in full bloom along the highway’s edge. According to the locals, winter would be coming soon, ending the short summer Alaska enjoys. My morning had begun in the Port of Valdez and I was preparing to meet Princess Cruise Line’s brand new ship, Island Princess.

As the Princess coach pulled into the Port of Seaward I could see the Island Princess standing tall and sleek. I couldn’t help but think about how incredible this ultra-modern cruise ship is. She is powered by a gas turbine and has a passenger capacity of 1,970. This ship stands tall at 204 feet and is 964 feet in length. She is the new sister of Princess Cruise Lines’ Coral Princess. This 92,000-ton sister is no follower as she has many traits of her very own. I would be onboard for a southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver, B.C.

As I boarded the ship and began to explore, I was overwhelmed with this ship’s space and layout. In what’s been described as a “design twist”, the Island Princess features two full decks of public spaces, versus the traditional single Promenade Deck. I found the ship’s four-storey atrium to be alive with sophisticated colors and lighting. One visit you’d find a string quartet playing “Yesterday” by the Beatles, and next you’d be entertained by piano music coming from the Crooners Lounge.

If the space in the ship’s public spaces were not large enough, my cabin was in a class of its own as well. I had a mini-suite with a private balcony. This was a treat like none other. The mini-suites with private balcony come with twin beds that convert into a queen sized bed. The private balcony was so large you wanted to invite everyone from home over. It also has two TV’s incase you wanted to watch both the baseball and football game while cruising Glacier Bay. Let us not forget the refrigerator, bath with tub and shower, all wrapped up in 323 square feet including balcony. To say this was wonderful would be a huge understatement.

Our ship was scheduled to depart from the Port of Seward at 10 pm, much later than I had done before. However, I was getting used to the very long days of sunlight Alaska’s summer provided. While in Fairbanks days before, the sun would set around 11:30 pm and rise around 3:30 am. Now as we were farther south in Seward it would be dark for sailing, but still a much longer day than I was used to on the West coast of Florida.

It was dinnertime onboard and we had chosen Traditional Dining for our weeklong cruise. One thing I learned was Princess Cruises views dining as a form of entertainment. Food preparation and presentation is taken very serious. You will find only the best quality food items. Furthermore, the men and women who oversee the ballet of buffets, afternoon teas and formal dining, direct it like a Broadway show.

We chose Traditional Dining but Princess Cruises has what they call Personal Choice Dining. Only Princess offers this innovative approach to dining, enabling guests to dine how, when and with whom they want. Passengers may choose either a restaurant style option that allows them the same flexibility found in shore side establishments, or the traditional cruise dining experience with an assigned dining time, tablemates and wait staff - no other cruise line offers both of these options.

Personal Choice dining also means it is your choice to eat anytime you’d like. This means you have the option to eat in a 24-hour restaurant. This is no “Denny’s of the Sea”, this is great food choices cooked “A la’ Minuet” to provide only the freshest food to its guests onboard. You will also find freshly made pizza served by the slice served poolside at Princess Pizza pizzeria. Many cruise lines have added specialty restaurants onboard. Princess, keeping with their food-loving philosophy, offers more options than any other cruise line. The Island Princess offers two such specialty restaurants. The first being the Bayou Cafe’ where passengers can enjoy traditional Cajun and Creole influenced food and live jazz in the first New Orleans-themed restaurant at sea, with a look and feel straight out of the French Quarter. You’ll find a menu with dining choices such as peel-and-eat shrimp, alligator ribs, gumbos and jambalaya, not to mention the obligatory bevy of exotic cocktails. Cover charge ($8) includes complimentary Hurricane Cocktail. Next, you’ll find Sabatini’s, offering Italian dining and featuring seafood specialties and other traditional favorites served with flair in an authentic trattoria-like setting. Some cruisers feel that the specialty restaurants are not worth the additional fee, or do not want to pay anything “extra” while on a cruise. It’s been my experience that the price is well worth it and most of the fee goes directly to the staff in tips. So please do not pass up on these specialty restaurants, as they are indeed special.

As my first sea day came up, I was really impressed with all the activities to be experienced onboard. The Lotus Spa offered a vast array of treatments and massages at some great rates. The spa was very beautifully decorated, and had a caring staff. My companion, who has cruised many times said the staff was first class and the treatment wonderful. As I further explored the ship I found that the internet café, which is located off the atrium, was great. They even had a table setup with coffee and cream for you to enjoy nearby. I really enjoyed this touch very much. The café has wonderful leather chairs, and flat panel monitors that made reading email or surfing the net enjoyable. The only downside is connections do go down from time to time due to being in Alaska.

One program I found onboard that was most surprising was Princess’ new Scholarship@Sea enrichment programs. The program was started in early 2003 and the Island Princess is only the second ship to offer the program. She follows her sister ship Coral Princess in offering classes in its state-the-art, multi-purpose Universe Lounge. During my cruise I went to a cooking demonstration given by the cruise line’s corporate executive chef Alfredo Marzi. It was just like watching ‘Emeril Live’ or other great cooking shows. This included smell-a-vision since you’re right there in the audience to smell the fresh garlic, wine and spices. I really enjoyed it and have never seen a cooking demonstration like it before. It was both educational and entertaining with a state-of- the- art presentation. Everyone had a perfect view, due to large screen TV’s and the great layout of the Universe Lounge. Later in the week I had the pleasure of attending a lecture given by Princess Cruise Lines’ Fleet Commodore Moulin (ret). I was able to learn about his life at sea, from how it began until his retirement. It was fascinating and I quickly was convinced that I really preferred these types of programs on a cruise. I’ve not been a big gambler, so did not attend Bingo or even the art auction onboard. So having these offerings is wonderful. I was even more surprised when I found out how much more was available. You can choose from approximately 20 courses per voyage (six per sea day) from four core subject areas - Culinary Arts, Visual/Creative Arts, Photography, and Computer Technology. Italian cooking, hand-built pottery, digital travel photography, web page design, estate planning and water color techniques are just a few of the courses offered. All courses are free of charge and passengers can enjoy as many as they wish. If you want to continue your onboard education you can take smaller classes onboard for a $10 fee.

As you may have guessed with all of this entertainment, enrichment and food onboard you might not want to get off the ship. Being onboard the Island Princess was like staying at a luxurious resort. I know many other cruise lines are striving for this but Princess cruises offers it today in the Island Princess. Your days are filled with food, entertainment, ports of call and personal choices.

As the Island Princess ship pulled into Vancouver and under the Lion’s Gate Bridge, I looked back and knew I had experienced something special. Since I had never been to Alaska, this trip was a journey like no other. I found Alaska to truly be a “Wilderness Wonderland” and having a ship like the Island Princess as your platform for discovery is a must do for this cruise addict.

Explore, Dream, Discover

laiyenbr asked:

A man fries fogazzas in Sao Paulo Brazil. It’s a type of celabration of a Saint called Santo Antonio. Brazilian food is good.I made it with my Samsung L73 Camera.

Philippe De Tiege asked:


To prepare campsite meals and feed yourself or family during your camping trip, at least some camping cook ware will be needed. Camping cook ware that is small in size and portable will make your camp cooking and packing for your trip less complicated. Backpackers who are camping will especially appreciate compact, portable camping cook ware. Camping cook ware can range from a simple single pot to a number of skillets and pots in different sizes that nest into each other for easy storage and transportation.

A main choice you will have when shopping for camping cook ware is the type of cook ware material. Aluminum, cast iron, titanium, and stainless steel are all available and each has their own merits. Aluminum, titanium and stainless steel cook ware sets will be lighter and easier to tote around. Aluminum camping cook ware sets may come in non-stick varieties, which will be slightly more expensive. Metal cook ware sets will all be prone to rusting, so be careful that your cooking pans are dry before you store them. Cast iron cook ware sets are especially durable, and can last you a lifetime with proper care. Because they are so sturdy, cast iron cook ware sets will be much heavier and harder to transport than cook ware sets made out of other materials.

Besides pots and pans, utensils and cutlery are other essential pieces of camping cook ware. Depending on what type of campfire foods you want to prepare, you may be able to get away with just a simple knife and spoon, or you may need a more elaborate utensil set including a spatula, measuring cups, tongs and forks. Folding utensil sets are available that allow for easy storage. If you are worried about storage space, a simple and cost effective solution is to purchase an all-purpose wooden spoon and saw off most of its handle, being careful of splinters from the sawed off end. Also, look for plastic cutlery sets including forks, spoons, and knives, for another cost saving way to find camping cook ware.

To minimize the need for lots of camping cook ware, there are a few camp cooking strategies you can follow. For example, much cooking preparation can be done ahead of time in your own kitchen. Vegetables can be chopped up and sauces can be prepared and stored in small containers or plastic bags. This allows you to leave behind the knives, cutting boards, stirring spoons, and other equipment that will take up room and need to be cleaned. Also, sticking to simple camp cooking recipes will allow you to reduce the number of camping cook ware pieces needed for your meal preparation. Aluminum foil cooking is a simple and easy method that creates hot, delicious dishes and the only cook ware needed is a roll of foil.

muneron asked:

Best Brazilian food in NJ…

Harwood E Woodpecker asked:


Food is everything in Italy, it’s what brings the family together to sit a round a table after a long day working or at the beach. Meal times are where extended families will sit for hours discussing life, family matters, Italian politics (always popular) and the world as a whole.

Whenever I go to Italy I love sitting down with my immediate family to eat, the whole process is different to what we do at home in England. There may still be five of us sat around a table but it’s not the same. Meal times are a relaxed affair in Italy, you don’t feel the urge to eat your meal down as quickly as possible so you can rush off to do something else.

The food is brought to the table at a more leisurely pace, eaten slower and after the meal we all hang around and talk.

Similarly in an restaurant in Italy it’s not uncommon to see people sat at there table for hours after they’ve finished eating and holding court with the family or as most restaurants in Italy will have a television on it’s not un common to see finished diners still sat their table watching and discussing the latest Italian quiz show. When we have a big family gathering we start the preparation hours in advance of the first guest arriving and when the first person does arrive they’re usually armed with more food that needs preparing.

It’s not until everyone arrives that the event gets underway, it’s an un-written rule that until all the guests have arrived and all food prepared that anyone can get in the mood to enjoy themselves. This is of course except for the children who run around getting under everyone’s feet and pinching salami and cheese from the table when the adults aren’t looking. When you finally sit down for the meal it’s usually a very long, relaxed and drawn out process. Italians think nothing of sitting down to a meal of in excess of 10 courses eaten over 3 hours, the bigger the family gathering the more courses there will be as everyone usually brings something with them to add to the table.

This will always be good traditional home-made Italian food. Granted the courses are generally rather small and are usually served on large platters in the centre of the table for everyone to dig into. If you’ve never experienced this before the trick is not too get too over confident on the fist few courses as there will always be another course further down the line that you’ll regret not having space for.

The courses usually consist of cheese and salami, pickles, vegetables, one or two fish dishes, a couple of meat courses, cheese again and dessert. All of these are washed down with lots of wine or beer over the course of an afternoon or evening. There is always something going on at an Italian dinner table and I’ve never known a quiet Italian dinner table. The females of the family are usually rushing back and to from the kitchen with more trays of food, the older men are sat at the head of the table discussing the old days, the younger generation, competing to be heard sit around the centre of the table discussing the state of the world and the children do what children do.

As the meal reaches it’s finale a few people may saunter off to relax but generally everyone stays around the table with conversations going on for hours or maybe a game or two of scopa, a traditional Italian card game. At the end of the meal you are generally exhausted and unable to eat a single thing, but at night you’ll sleep well and be as relaxed as you’ve ever been before.

Harwood E Woodpecker asked:


Italian architecture is timeless, the soft colours and pleasing structures to very little to offend and always leave an impression on you.

Modena is a city situated in the mid north west of the Italian peninsula and is most famous for being the home town of the Ferrari but it’s also right in the middle of the Italian food corridor which runs from Bologna, the father of Italian food to Parma, the home of ham and down to Modena. As well as these claims to fame Modena is also the home to one of the most beautiful Italian cathedrals and some wonderful architecture.

Modena has numerous claims to fame, not only is it the hometown of Ferrari (the Italians other great passion), it was also the hometown of the late and great world famous Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti and it’s also one of the Emilia-Romagna region’s great gastronomic cities, producer of the most beautiful vinegar in the world, balsamic among other things. If you are into your food Emilia-Romagna has to be the Italian region to visit. But what is the real Modena like? Having visited Bologna many years ago and been overcome by its beauty I’d always promised myself I’d get to Modena one day.

Other than the obvious things about Modena I knew very little about it so was looking forward immensely to finding out more about the cities Italian architecture.

As soon as I arrived I headed for the main square, when ever you arrive in an Italian city for the first time the main Piazza is always a good starting point.

Piazza Grande is the main Piazza in Modena, and a very grand Italian Piazza it is too, being home to the beautiful cathedral. It has to be one of the most beautiful churches anywhere in and one of the most beautiful I’ve seen any where in the world. Building started on the cathedral in 1099. At the time Modena was without a bishop as the one chosen by the Pope was not approved by the locals, hence the citizens of Modena managed and paid for the cathedral to be completed, some achievement.

The beautiful white stones covering the outside of the cathedral were discovered, during renovation work to be Roman tombstones, this was a surprise to the restoration workers and historians who even found inscriptions on the stones. The doorways are adorned with life-like sculptures and these really set the cathedral apart from older cathedrals that generally have flatter one dimensional sculpture’s. The sculptures look magnificent in their white stone but they have a somewhat eerie appearance to them due to the use of lead as eyes, the black eyes staring down at you from the beautiful white figures is strange.

Standing proudly at either side of the main entrance to the cathedral are two magnificent Roman lions, the doorway to the Piazza Grande is also guarded by two magnificent lions, this time made from an Italian pink marble. I could spend hours inside cathedrals just looking at the reliefs and carvings, I always feel slightly disappointed when leaving a magnificent looking cathedral that isn’t regaled with historical reliefs that tell a story.

I certainly wasn’t disappointed in Modena. On one side of the church, beneath an arch linking it to a tower there are some wonderful carvings believed to be King Arthur and his knights as well as scenes from Aesop’s fables. My favourite of all was a calendar showing the months of the year complete with an agricultural task for the Italian farmers that would be carried out in the given month. This reminded me of a similar carving I saw at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice.

A later section was added to the cathedral in the 13-14th centuries, this was made out of a beautiful Italian pink marble and is of a more Gothic appearance than the earlier parts of the cathedral but it still links nicely with the older section, rather than looking like a bolt-on.

As with all Italian cities the main Piazza is the focal point of the city and Piazza Grande is no different. Up until 1931 the Piazza held the city market but this was moved to a purpose built covered site where it is still held today. Although not the site for the market any longer the Piazza is still very much the place to meet people, take a stroll or just sit and enjoy an espresso.

Modena’s buildings are a wonderful terra cotta colour, the sort of colour that lends itself wonderfully to Italian architecture, so warming and gentle on the eye. The good thing about Italy is that is still so in touch with its heritage, the citizens of Modena have to respect their heritage to the degree that the colour of all buildings must fall within local council guidelines to keep the aesthetics of the city.

Walking through the narrow atmospheric cobbled streets into the sleepy piazzas you can really get lost in the sense of Italian history that Modena exudes through its architecture. Modena has had an up and down history. Modena flourished under Roman rule but then went into steady decline as a power hub until the end of the 16th century when the ruling d’Este family made it their home. The family saw how Modena had fallen into declined and realised that it had potential and set about modernising the city to make it one of the Italian greats.

The d’Este family built their home, the Palazzo Ducale (not to be confused with the Venetian palace of the same name) on top of Modena’s existing castle. The spectacular Palazzo still stands today; still in all its original glory, the unfortunate thing is that it is now an impregnable Italian military academy with no access for to the public.

After a couple of days spent walking around the beautiful city of Modena sampling the wonderful architecture it dawned on me that I hadn’t even taken the time out to look deeper into Modena’s gastronomic heritage. Now that is something to look forward to.

Harwood E Woodpecker asked:


The world is getting smaller by the year. Nowhere is out of reach nowadays. Every one loves telling holiday stories to friends and family about food they’ve eaten and what they’ve seen whilst exploring the far reaches of the planet.

But to many of us it isn’t enough to just go on holiday and experience lovely food and sights, we want to be able to take the food home with us and share it with our families and friends. So why not take an Italian cookery school holiday? Cookery holidays are available all over the world but it’s no surprise to find out that Italy is the number one destination for travelling gourmets. What with the stunning scenery, fabulous history, wonderful people and amazing food it has rightly earned its place at the top of the tree.

Italian cookery school holidays are generally situated in rural, unspoilt areas of Italy. One of the beauties of Italy is that although you might be deep into the countryside you’re also never too far away from a bustling, vibrant city such as Milan, Turin, Rome, Bergamo, Florence or Bologna. Italian cookery holidays cover most ability level so suit those who want a holiday but would love to cook as well as those who want to cook but would also like a holiday and are run by families or chef’s who want to pass on the authentic way of cooking real Italian food.

Whatever your level you’ll be guaranteed an experience like no other. These chefs have a first hand knowledge of the local ingredients and the regional culinary traditions, as well as a noticeable passion for Italian cookery. The beauty of Italian food, just like the countryside, it varies so much from region to region as well as from season to season. Pasta is cooked differently in Sicily than it is in Sardinia, bread is baked differently in Piedmont than it is in Sienna. A pizza is totally different in Milan to one eaten in Naples

If you wanted to, and why wouldn’t you, you could have a totally different cooking holiday experience every year just by visiting Italy time and time again. Don’t be too daunted by a cookery holiday if you’re not the greatest chef, generally classes are made up of around eight to ten people therefore each participant enjoys personal attention and gets the most out of every cooking session and excursion.

The growing demand for cooking holidays and cookery courses has been fueled by the popularity of the celebrity chef. Italian cookery school holidays offer plenty of opportunity for both wonderful cooking education as well as fantastic excursions and activities to the local area which could include wine tasting, dancing, painting, sculpting, writing, guided walking, herbal tours and olive picking which all give you more opportunity to soak up the tastes and smells of the local area.

So if you love cooking or would like to experience the many wonderful micro worlds of Italy maybe you could roll both passions into one holiday.