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A sweet adventure: Italian Tiramisu

By LocalWonders Travel No Comments

Hi everybody,

This is Ismael & Andrea, Tour Leaders at LocalWonders Travel. Today we would like to share a great recipe we learnt in a cooking class with our fellow travelers during one of our Small Group Tours to Italy.

Since then we can’t stop eating Tiramisu. We loving cooking it for ourselves and our friends.

In Italian TIRAMISU means “pick me up”, “cheer me up” or ”lift me up”. Indeed, eggs, coffee and cocoa are great energetic and tasty ingredients.

Ingredients for 4 people approx:

  • 2 cups strong black coffee
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup caster sugar
  • 250g mascarpone
  • 1 large packet of sponge finger biscuits (savoiardi)
  • cocoa, for dusting

Method

  1. Nota bene: Use room temperature ingredients.
  2. Separate egg white from yolk; whip the egg whites into stiff peaks.
  3. Add sugar to yolks and whip as good as you can (it is not easy whip yolk into stiff peaks).
  4. Add Mascarpone to whipped yolks, beat and whip until combined.
  5. To get the Tiramisu cream, little by little, pour the egg white into the yolk while constantly stirring.
  6. Mix the cold espresso with the coffee liquor and dip the lady fingers into the mixture just long enough to get them wet, do not soak them!
  7. Arrange the finger biscuits in the bottom of a 9 inch square baking dish (or container similarly sized).
  8. Spoon half the Tiramisu cream filling over the finger biscuits.
  9. Repeat process with another layer of finger biscuits.
  10. Add another layer of tiramisu cream and finally sprinkle on top with cocoa.
  11. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

 

Now it’s your turn! Then you can share the pictures of your Tiramisu on our Facebook Page.
And if you dream of an authentic and exciting Italian adventure, check our small group tours: Wonders of Norther Italy and Treasures of The Amalfi Coast and Puglia.

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Italy History and Fun Facts - LocalWonders Travel

Discover Italy! Cool Facts About Our Bel Paese

By LocalWonders Travel No Comments

Who doesn’t love the thrill of discovery when traveling? Italy is full of incredible destinations, hidden gems, wonderful stories, and opportunities to immerse yourself in history, art, and culture.

Our favorite part of our LocalWonders Travel group trips to Italy is getting to watch our guests experience a most authentic Italy as they visit the each of the exciting cities on our itineraries. Every single stop has something new and unexpected to offer, even if you’re returning for an encore visit.

Studying history, art and culture in books is great, but there’s nothing like diving in to the real thing! Here are some fun facts about Italy – our Bel Paese – that you might not yet know!

Rome

Ah, the Eternal City! A day or a week in Rome is like dipping your toe into the fountain of knowledge. Arguably one could spend a lifetime visiting the famous sites and museums and still learn something new each day. One popular destination (photo op!) for guests enjoying our Classic Italy Escapes is the Spanish Steps. But did you know that they’re not actually Spanish? They were built by Italian architects Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi and funded by a French diplomat – but at the time Spain had an embassy situated at the base of the stairs.

Pompeii

The ruins of Pompeii have captivated people around the world long after the fateful day Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. Seeing the famed “Two Maidens” locked in their dying embrace as the molten rock and ash decimated Pompeii is always a poignant moment for visitors on our Treasures of the Amalfi Coast and Puglia Small Group Italy Tour. Advances in scientific and archaeological techniques sometimes uncover new truths, however!

In the spring of 2017 experts announced that the two maidens were actually young men. Scientists used CAT scans and DNA tests to confirm the victims locked in an embrace were unrelated males probably aged about 20 and 18.

The Grand Pompeii Project opened six newly restored villas in 2015 and this past year the European Commission allocated almost €50 million from the European Regional Development Fund to fund continuing renovation and preservation work.

LocalWonders Travel Group Tours to Italy - Fun Facts Pompeii

Capri

Speaking of all-season travel destinations, Capri gets top marks for anyone looking to enjoy mild weather year round on our Classic Italy Escapes. Did you know that summer temperatures from June to September average about 27 – 31°C and winter temperatures drop to only 10 – 15°C? Small wonder it’s been a popular holiday destination since Ancient Roman times. (You can still see the remains of villas built by Roman emperors like Augustus and Tiberius!)

Matera

The famous cave houses and churches carved from stone were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 – the first in southern Italy. Did you know that inhabitants of the unforgettably beautiful Sassi of Matera had no electricity until the 1930s? But they innovated by carving angled windows into the roofs to augment candle and lantern light with slivers of daylight.

LocalWonders Travel Group Tours to Italy - Fun Facts Matera

Alberobello

You can come explore this charming small town – another World Heritage Site – with our Treasures of the Amalfi Coast and Puglia Tour. Visitors always marvel at the many trulli, which are small turret-shaped dwellings with white-washed walls and cone-shaped roofs.

You may be surprised to learn that each charming little trullo was actually part of a feudal lord’s tax evasion strategy! Since permanent inhabited settlements were taxed, he had his peasants live in trulli, which were cleverly constructed without the use of cement and were therefore considered temporary. Sneaky!

Lecce

Down at the heel of Italy’s boot you’ll find Lecce, in the region of Puglia. It’s known as the Baroque masterpiece, with extravagant architecture and swarms of cherubs (putto in Italian) decorating facades and artwork. But know what we find heavenly? This southern city boasts a southern pace of life where the locals rest during midday. The streets are bustling and busy from eight to midnight, taking advantage of the cooler evening air.

Bari

On our Treasures of the Amalfi Coast and Puglia Tour, visitors love the chance to visit Bari. It’s the capital city of Puglia and celebrated worldwide for its exquisite architecture, like the 12th Century Castello Svevo and the Romanesque Cathedral of San Sabino. But did you know that locals and travelers also fall in love with Bari for its exceptional local cuisine? You can stroll the Bari Vecchia and watch as local women make pasta by hand, just as in generations past. We recommend you try some fresh pasta in local eateries, but also watch for tiella (baked rice, potatoes and mussels) or mouthwatering burrata (essentially a ball of mozzarella stuffed with soft stracciatella and cream). Delizioso needs no translation!

Venice

It goes without saying that enchanting Venice is often requested for our Tailor-Made Italy Group Tours. Small wonder with its 118 islands, countless bridges, nearly 200 canals, and fascinating inner city to explore. But did you know that locals here host a celebration before Lent that predates and rivals that of Mardi Gras in New Orleans? Revellers at Venice Carnival celebrate in fancy dress. The long beak-like Medico della Peste masks date back to the time of the Plague, when physicians thought the perfumes and pungent oils in the beaks could protect the wearers from contracting the black death.

Group Tours to Italy - Fun Facts about Venice - LocalWonders Travel

Portovenere

Another stop on the Wonders of Northern Italy Group Tour is the picturesque coastal town of Portovenere. The strip of tall, narrow, colorful homes all crammed along the shoreline are definitely a favorite photo op for visitors. But that’s not all! Way up, perched overlooking the rocky coast, are the ruins of Doria Castle. An important fixture in the politics of the 12th to 16th Century, the ruins provide a simply stunning panoramic view of the area.

Cinque Terre

Protected as a World Heritage Site with a history that dates back to the 11th century, the five incredible seaside villages of the Cinque Terre are an otherworldly experience for travelers enjoying our Wonders of Northern Italy Tour. (It’s also a national park.) The area is known for rich marine life, hillside vineyards and groves of lemons or olives (cars are banned here!).

Cinque Terre History - LocalWonders Travel Group Tours to Italy

Certainly Cinque Terre is most famous for its breathtakingly beautiful colorful hillside villages, but it has an important winemaking culture too. Imagine, though, how hard vineyard work is on such hilly terrain!

In the 1980s, local winemakers imported a Swiss monorail system in an effort to make the work more bearable. It carried a single person and some crates with tools and grapes up the hillside.

And “today, while most of the work is still done by hand, wine cooperatives have installed some miniature cog-wheel monorails that wind through the vineyards to facilitate the collection process. Because of the backbreaking labor and [maintenance] involved in cultivating and harvesting grapes here, Italians call it heroic winemaking” (www.tourissimo.travel).

This great shot (below) care of L’Italo-Americano shows one of the monorails in use. A beautiful view to be sure, but a part of winemaking not for the faint of heart!

LocalWonders Travel Group Tours to Italy - Fun Facts Cinque Terre Winemaking

Florence

According to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, Florence is home to a third of the world’s art treasures (including Michelangelo’s famous David)! The best thing is that with our Small Group Trips to Italy, you can determine which highlights mean most to your group. Did you know that Florence is also a trendsetter for fashion? It’s even home to the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, which boasts more than 10,000 designer shoes on display in a gothic castle. (Can you ever have too many Italian shoes?! We think not!)

Chianti

This world-renowned wine-growing area in the Tuscany region of Italy is a featured stop on our Wonders of Northern Italy Tour. Do you know what symbol appears on a bottle of Chianti Classico or Chianti Classico Riserva? A black rooster!

This feathery fellow hearkens back to a time about 800 years ago when Florence and Siena were fighting over the Chianti region. The cities decided to settle the boundary dispute by each sending a rider on horseback into the wine territory; wherever they met would be the new boundary. The canny Florentines decided to wake their rider with a black rooster, ensuring he’d crow good and early by not feeding him. Sure enough their rider left much earlier than the one from Siena, whose bird was a well-fed and late-rising white rooster.

This breathtaking shot of Chianti is care of Weddings and Weddings,  a Tuscany-based wedding planning company:

Weddings and Weddings Tuscany Photography

Inspired to come discover more about Italy?

Autumn is beautiful in the countryside and in the cities of Italy!
Contact us today to learn more or to book your own small group Italy tour now!

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Small Group Trips to Italy | LocalWonders

HEAR FROM OUR GUESTS! What LocalWonders Travel clients say about our small group trips to Italy

By LocalWonders Travel No Comments

For many people, September means “back-to-school”. As the warm weather of Summer is replaced with that familiar brisk Fall air, schedules begin to focus on learning rather than that wonderful vacation-style lounging some of us get to do in July and August.

Thinking about “back-to-school” made the LocalWonders Travel team think of report cards, and – though we don’t get those anymore – we do get rated! So we thought we’d check in with our clients to see how we’ve been measuring up.

(Spoiler Alert: It looks like our commitment for providing great tours combined with clients who are passionate about exciting and authentic travel is resulting in A+ grades across the board!)

Report Card: Our Small Group Trips to Italy get an A+!

Italy’s Hidden Gems

The LocalWonders Italy tour leaders are locals who know all the best places to experience Italy’s famous vistas, attractions, food and wine – the true hidden gems of our beautiful country. LocalWonders client, Jennifer, who says she had a wonderful time with us, noted in her review that “It felt that we got to see the heart of each place that we visited and we got a real feel for the true Italian culture.” (Thank you, Jennifer!)

Above is a shot c/o Il Boscareto Resort & Spa, one of our favorite places to visit on our Food, Wine and Spa Italy Tour.

La Dolce Vita

From our Classic Italy Escapes to our Italy Food Wine and Spa Experience and our Tailor-Made Italy Tours, we’re always looking to create the most memorable holidays for our guests. What’s it like to discover “La Dolce Vita” with us? Patrice Maloney declared on the LocalWonders Travel Facebook Page that her 10 day tour of Northern Italywas an absolute pleasure” and credits her “amazing local leader” for taking them to “all of the beautiful local places as well as giving us extra insight into Italy’s culture and history.

Like A Local!

Because we all live where we work, we get to share our favourite restaurants, wineries, shops, and special destinations with the guests we welcome. Saurabh Joshi and his wife spent a day with us in Florence. You might not think a day is much time, but this couple said we gave them, “the best possible experience”. (We had fun too, Saurabh!) Highlights for them included not only the monuments, but the places locals enjoy for food, drink and that famous Italy ambiance. Their verdict? “After the tour we felt like we were exposed to the real Italy.

Below is a photo c/o Ca Du Ferra, an exciting “agriturismo” opportunity for our Tailor-Made Tour guests:

We take pride in taking care of all the details and logistics of our tours, whether it’s one day or 10 or more. But we also try to be friendly and down-to-earth, like your old friends showing you around the country we love.

Annie and Kathy were part of a group of eight friends who spent a week with our expert local leader on one of our guided tours of Italy. They described how their local leader “became one of our ‘family’ and made sure we were seeing and doing absolutely everything we had hoped to do…He is professional, patient, kind and funny, which made our trip fantastic!” Thanks Ladies!

We Love What We Do

We work really hard in planning our tours to strike the right balance between scheduled tour time and free time, and are always trying to ensure the comfort of our guests. How do they rate our care and concern? Robyn says: “Nothing was ever too much trouble for Andrea. I can’t wait for my next trip to Italy and would gladly travel with Andrea again. Andiamo!!

LocalWonders Travel guest Héctor said: “Ismael is such a warm and educated person, who made the whole trip a wonderful experience. Thank you very much!

In his review on our Facebook page, our client Alberto said of his LocalWonders local leader, “His job it’s his passion, that’s why he is the perfect tour leader. Always caring, he has a lot of experience and knows how to suit the trip on your desires.

We’re so glad that this comes across for our guests, because this is so true:
When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life!

Don’t we have the best job in the world? We consider all of our clients new friends and are so happy they love their time with us.

Ready to make your own memories? Fall is wonderful time to immerse yourself in the beauty of everything Italy offers! Contact us today to learn more or to book your own small group Italy tour now!

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Truffles, Wine and the Langhe Hills Getaway Tour

By Langhe Hills No Comments

The rolling countryside of the Langhe Hills in Northern Italy is incredible, with its hilltops boasting medieval towns, magnificent castles, and world famous vineyards. This stunning landscape isn’t just picturesque and historic, it also produces some of the world’s best wine, hazelnuts, cheese, and truffles. Especially when you know where to look.

Different varieties of grapes have been lovingly cultivated here for centuries, and many of the vineyards here are still family-owned. We know that Etruscans and Celts traded for wine with locals here at least as early as the fifth century BC and that Ancient Romans took note of the quality. Good news! These rich landscapes and important cultural elements should be around for generations to come because in 2014 the Langhe-Roero and nearby Monferrato were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There are wonderful hikes to enjoy through the vineyards of the Langhe Hills and many glasses of exceptional wines to taste along the way. Agri-tourism (called agriturismo in Italy) thrives here. Many of the stately country homes at local vineyards have been converted into guest houses that boast spa services and curated menus. Imagine enjoying restorative treatments at a spa that’s surrounded by the richness of Northern Italy’s wine regions.

There are many wonderful wines produced here, and perhaps the best known are Barbaresco and Barolo. Both of these are made from Nebbiolo grapes, but their distinctly different soil conditions create very different tastes. The Barolo “King of Wines” has more tannin than the Barbaresco.

Perhaps the most famous crop foraged from these hills is the legendary Piedmont truffle.

And by truffles we don’t mean chocolate truffles. We’re talking about the aromatic fungus that is found growing wild underground, somewhat like a potato or other tuber. Chefs around the world pay top dollar for this Italian culinary delicacy. In 2016 a white truffle weighing just over four pounds sold at a Sotheby’s auction for more than $60,000.

Attempts to cultivate crops of truffles in Australia and North America simply don’t match the flavor of those found in the wild in Italy so demand for these naturally occurring truffles stays high. Delicate white truffles are in season in October and November, when the annual autumn truffle festivals are in full swing all over the region, but there are delicious black truffles available year round.

For an authentic Northern Italian experience, you can stroll through the enchanting local forests as you enjoy a truffle hunt with an experienced truffle hunter called a “trifulau.” At one time truffle hunters worked with female pigs to find truffles, which apparently smell like a male pig to an amorous sow! Unfortunately, female pigs are rather greedy when they find truffles and their trampling enthusiasm destroys truffle beds. So today’s truffle hunters don’t rely on swine; they work with trained scent dogs.

There is quite a bit of skill and knowledge required to find good quality truffles, which typically grow in small amounts. It’s not unusual for a truffle hunter to find a few ounces of truffle, perhaps just under a pound, at a time. You’ll notice that truffle hunters are careful to ensure there’s some truffle left behind so that spores ensure future crops.

You can eat fresh truffles raw and they’re usually paired with a full-flavoured white wine or with a local red low in tannin. They’re also delicious cooked and often served in canapés or shaved over freshly made pasta or risotto. You’ll find them on the menu at local restaurants, which also boast long lists of delicious local wines to accompany their rich, exotic taste.

We should mention that many ancient civilizations – including the Egyptians, Romans and Greeks – used truffles as an aphrodisiac when they were looking to spark a little romance and fire up the libido. We’ll let you decide if that’s because of the truffle or the accompanying wine.

There’s no better place to experience Italian truffles and wine than in the Langhe Hills. Our small group Langhe Hills Getaway offers a four-day excursion into the Piedmont region that includes a truffle hunt led by a professional trifulau, a visit to a winery, a cooking class led by a local chef, and a time to relax and rejuvenate in a spa surrounded by vineyards. Contact our friendly, knowledgeable staff at Local Wonders Travel to book your small group Italian holiday now.

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