Cut 'n Paste

Bichi Borghesi - The perfect base for a Tuscan Holiday

Over the past weeks I have slowly been writing a review of our our family trip to Italy in May. Today, I continue sharing our adventure with you:

When planning our holidays, I spend the majority of my time researching our accommodation choices. I literally spend tens (if not hundreds) of hours pouring over maps, websites, travel reviews and guidebooks trying to make sure that we book a winner. Over the years, we have stayed at some truly spectacular places. So any new place has to be pretty special to find its way to the top of our list. Bichi Borghesi not only made its way to the top of our list, but may well be our favorite place that we've ever stayed. (Our favorite list is in constant flux depending on our mood and/or longing for a particular country!)

I first stumbled across Bichi Borghesi on Homelidays a UK-based holiday rental site. I was immediately intrigued and began my correspondence with one of the owners, Paola. Over the course of our emails, I ascertained that the rental was everything we were looking for (and more!).

Bichi Borghesi is a spectacular 1025 acre estate in Scorgiano. The owners can trace their family history to the land back over 4 centuries and they are proud to share their knowledge and story. It is currently an operating winery and has 3 apartments which they rent. While we were there, we toured all of the apartments, and can report that they are all well appointed and comfortable. It really just depends how much space, or how many conveniences you want (for instance, only one of the rentals has a dish washer).

Our group, which was Rick and I along with my parents, chose to rent the Fattoria apartment.

The rental was a 1184 square foot apartment on the upper floor of the building pictured above. It consisted of 3 bedrooms, a living room with large, wood-burning fire place, a kitchen and 2 bathrooms (one with bath, and the other with a shower). The beds, while on the firm side (which is normal/common in Italy), were comfortable and the bedding very luxurious. The kitchen was very, very well appointed. There were more than enough cups, plates, cutlery, pots and pans to make everything we wanted. We didn't need to ask for anything - it was all there.

I really can not recommend Bichi Borghesi enough. To say that they went above and beyond to make our stay a delight is an understatement. For example, when I was first started researching the possibility of booking with them, I had asked how far their bee hives were from the house as I knew that they produced honey from their website. This was a concern as my Dad is deathly allergic to bee stings. Paola replied that they were about 1 mile from the house, so we felt comfortable with booking the reservation. However, before we arrived the family decided to put screens on all the windows of the apartment because of my inquiry! Paola said that they had talked about doing it for a while, but that our inquiry made them take the leap to do it. In fact, our apartment was the only one on the estate that had them! Likewise, when I first inquired, the apartment did not have a wireless internet connection. But once again, by the time we arrived it was installed.

I have not posted any photos of the interior of the apartment here. They are available on the Bichi Borghesi website, and on the Homelidays link provided above. They are all very accurate and the rooms were lovely - rustic, yet comfortable. But it was the estate and gardens which really help this particular rental stand head and shoulders above the rest. It was charming, rustic and beautiful - and we weren't even there in high blooming season! Due to an unusually wet May, we didn't spend too much time outdoors and stuck pretty close to the house, but in addition to the things you can see in our photos here, there are acres of hiking trails and the vineyards themselves to see.

If the absolutely beautiful apartment and estate wasn't enough, the real highlight was how welcoming and helpful Paola was. She was truly a perfect representative to make our stay at Bichi Borghesi an exceptional experience.

A few closing notes:

• Upon check in, the fridge at the apartment was stocked with juices, fresh eggs, olives, yogurt, ham - that was in addition to the delicious yogurt cake, honey from their hives, tea, coffee, water, cookies and fresh loaf of bread which were also provided as a welcome gift.
  
• If you ever book with them, be sure to book a meal with Loretta, the cook for the estate. We ate wild boar, raised on the estate as the entree and it was spectacular. Unfortunately we booked our meal with her on our last night, which was a mistake. Had we tried her cooking earlier in our stay, we would have booked another meal as the cost was reasonable and the food savory.
• Paola has a huge packet of brochures and recommendations waiting in the apartment for guests to browse. Included in the packet is information about local restaurants, cooking classes, bike rentals, hiking, etc. We found Paola more than willing to help us plan your stay.
• There is a local COOP grocery store about a 5-10 minute drive from the estate. It is a fully stocked store and you will find everything you need there.
• The estate is a working farm. So if you don't like bugs or animals, this might not be the best place for you. Bring ear plugs if you are a light sleeper. On two of the nights the outdoor dog was barking up a storm as dawn approached.
• If you are a wine lover, they do offer tastings at the estate.
• There is a stunning chapel which belongs to the estate. Take our advice and BEG to see it - words can't describe how gorgeous it is.

If you have any questions, feel free to let me know!

A shopping adventure at the Lucca Antique Market

Over the past weeks I have slowly been writing a review of our our family trip to Italy in May. Today, I continue sharing our adventure with you:


As I mentioned in my previous post, we added Lucca, which is in the north west of Tuscany, to our itinerary because of its well reviewed old town and large antique market. Here's a blurb about the market from the Summer in Italy website:

"Lucca hosts the region's second biggest antique market. Its strength (shared by many other Tuscan towns) lies in its setting among the town's lovely streets where bread chests, cupboards, bedside tables, armchairs and hundreds of other objects are on display, where even a new object looks like a valuable antique. The market takes place on the third weekend of the month: in addition to furniture, you can find XIX-century linens, vintage postcards, antique china and World War I memorabilia."

We arrived in Lucca on Thursday evening, giving us the full day on Friday to enjoy walking the city streets and walls before the market started Saturday.

We found that while Lucca certainly had a tourist population, it didn't feel like it was overrun (unlike some of the other towns we visited in Tuscany). The town center was a labyrinth with twisted streets and uneven blocks - I found myself turned around so many times. Rick found his bearings quicker than I did, but it was challenging.

On Thursday evening I ate my favorite meal from our entire trip at a restaurant in the city center. I had read some glowing reviews for Da Pasquale online and so I called to make a dinning reservation with them before we left home. The restaurant owner and the chef are proponents of the slow food movement, so we knew we were in for a treat. For my main course I ordered Filetto al aceto balsamico e fragole - A steak with a balsamic reduction garnished with strawberries. It was heavenly - I still dream of it! If you ever stop in Lucca, please eat here, and be prepared for some great food! (Reservations are recommended.)

As we wandered through the streets of Lucca we loved the plethora of churches and cathedrals. There were so many to see and photograph.

Saturday morning I woke up early, excited to attend my first antique market in Italy. The information I found online said that the market started at 8AM. However, this was not our experience. We left our apartment at 8 and walked over to one of the areas where the market was supposed to be set up only to discover that only about half of the vendors were set up. A quarter were still unpacking and the other quarter had not arrived yet. As we watched, several sellers drove their trucks into the set up area to begin getting ready. I felt rather awkward as I didn't know if it was OK for me to begin shopping yet. So for the first hour or so I ended up shopping only at the booths that looked setup and ready as I didn't want anyone who was still unpacking to yell at me ☺.

I was really excited to find the vendor whose booth is in the above photo. She had stacks and stacks of textiles - most is pristine condition. I ended up purchasing about 80 Euros worth of linens from her.

I had wondered how easy it would be to shop at the Italian markets as I don't speak Italian. However, it was actually pretty easy as I speak French and I found the numbers in French and Italian to be very similar. A large number of the vendors spoke English too. My parents, who were shopping separately from Rick and I and are not fluent in French, didn't have any issues communicating with any of the sellers.

Does anyone need buttons?

Rick battles his boredom when I shop at antique markets by snapping away as I shop. While I've got to admit that I would feel awkward if I actively noticed him doing it, he tends to kind of 'shadow' me from a distance and while I know that he's probably snapping away, I am so involved in the hunt for treasures that I don't really pay much attention to what he's doing. And I've got to admit, that I love what he has captured. It's so cool to have the experience documented in photos.

Oh, and in the image above, I bought the book I'm holding. If I recall correctly, I think it was 5 Euros.

These dolls were precious, but expensive.

I shared the photo of these clocks before, but I love it and thought it should be nestled in the post about the market.

All in all, I really enjoyed this market. It was not the best priced market I have shopped at in Europe, but it was hardly the worst either (that distinction goes to a market in Madrid). However, by and large, things were priced pretty reasonably. I even found a few things which I thought were under-priced. So that's always fun ☺

Here's a little snapshot of the linens I bought at the booth I showed you earlier in this post. I can't wait to use the rough linen bedspread (which is on the bottom of this stack) in our guest room. I think it will rock!

L'altana Bed and Breakfast Review | Lucca

Over the past weeks I have slowly been writing a review of our our family trip to Italy in May. Here, I continue sharing our adventure:

After our family's time in Turin, Italy we picked up a rental car and drove south to Lucca. Surrounded by an ancient wall, Lucca is a wonderfully preserved old town which we decided to visit in large part because of its popularity on the slow travel website and because it hosts the second largest antique market in the region.

After doing a lot of research, we decided to book L'altana Bed & Breakfast. It is a little unique in that while it is a bed and breakfast, it is actually a separate apartment - the owner does not live on site. The accommodation has 2 suites. One, with an en-suite bathroom, living area and small kitchenette. And one with a bathroom down the hall and a minuscule sitting area. Because it was just Rick and I and my parents, we had the entire structure to ourselves, so the minor lack of privacy for the room without the en-suite bathroom was not an issue.


L'altana bed and breakfast is located inside the walls of the old town, which is a restricted driving zone for residents and permit holders. As we had previously arranged, we called our host once we arrived in Lucca so that they could direct us to a free parking lot where we could leave our car and they would meet us with their car to take our luggage to the rental. This was a much appreciated service as I shudder to think how long it would have taken us to schlep everything in from the parking lot ourselves. Another super kind thing our host did was to grant us a late check out on Saturday as I wanted to visit the antique market, but did not want to leave our luggage/camera gear in the car unattended while we shopped. She didn't have to agree, so I appreciate so much that she did.

One final note, the apartment is on the fourth or fifth floor of a building with no lift. Once again, not a huge issue for Rick and I, but not so great for my Dad who has very bad legs due to a motorcycle accident when he was young. However, we knew this in advance and just made sure that we did not plan too many stops where Dad would have to do a ton of stairs.

All in all, we found L'altana to be a really nice base to see the city and I would recommend it as a solid, though not spectacular, accommodation choice.

What a beautiful world

Do you ever stop and think about what a beautiful world we live in?

Every time I look through the photos from a trip we've taken I realize anew what a gift travel is. While I like to think that I live an observant life, new vistas illuminate to me the truth that our planet is a wondrous place.

Over the weekend, as I was looking through some photos from an '07 trip Rick and I took to Italy, this photo stood out to me and I thought I'd share it with you here. Aren't you just itching to discover what's behind the gate?

I hope that each of you has a great day.

We ❤ Turin

Since we first visited Turin in Spring of 2010, it has captured our hearts as an 'off the beaten path' slice of Italy. While it seems highly hypocritical for this tourist to say that she prefers to visit places that don't have a ton of tourists in them, it's true. There is so often a direct correlation between the amount of tourists and the preponderance of souvenir junk and lack of accessibility to authentic local culture.

There is so much to love about Turin. It is the founding city of the slow food movement, which results in a myriad of great restaurant choices and some fascinating gourmet food shops. It also has a good transportation system and is a very walkable city, with many of the 'must-see' attractions in the old city center.





If people watching is your thing, there are many piazzas where you can take your gelato, find a bench or a set of stairs and while away the hours watching locals go about their daily lives.



If, like Rick and I you love to visit churches, Turin is nirvana. There are so, so many of them. All beautiful and almost all empty of visitors. If Catholic religious pilgrimage sites interests you, the Shroud of Turin Museum is located in the city. (The shroud itself is not scheduled to be on display again until 2025.)

Here, is a quick reference to our recommendations for Turin:

TO SLEEP:

• Antica Villa del Nobile - Our home away from home in Turin.

TO EAT:

• Dai Saletta - Listed in the Slow Food Italy guide, this restaurant serves traditional Piedmonte cuisine and is reasonably priced.
• Ristorante La Via del Sale - Recommended to us by a friend, this restaurant served one of our favorite meals on our trip. Their Pork medallions with apple main course was scrumptious, and don't even get me started on the chocolate lava cake - I think I died and went to heaven.
• Grom - With many locations throughout Italy, this shop sells consistently good gelato.
• + Di Un Gelato - This gelato store (which has a location across the street from the antique store listed below - how convenient) makes a superb, artisanal gelato. Yummy.

TO SHOP:

• Eataly - with a flagship store in the Lingotto district, and a satellite store in the old town, this store is heaven for foodies. They also serve meals in the store. When we were there in 2010, our entire party ate at the Lingotto location and had good meals. My parents ate there again on this trip, and their opinion was that both the meal and service were sub-par in comparison to the previous visit. This time Rick and I did not eat there, however we did shop at the satalite location and were pleased.
• Piccolo Mondo Antico. It is where I bought my Italian chandelier last year and this year, both my parents and I found more treasures. (Poor Rick patiently hung around the store, had a gelato (see above), and shot me lots of forlorn looks while he endured the four hours it took the rest of us to visit with the shop owner and shop in the store - he must really love me!) While the owner does not speak English and I do not speak Italian, we both speak French, so we found a way to make it work!

I hope these tips help, and feel free to drop me a note if you have any questions about Turin.

Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi - Turin

Rick and I were looking forward to our daytrip to visit the Stupinigi Hunting Lodge which is on the outskirts of Turin. The lodge was not super difficult to get to, with bus transfers it took about an hour to get there from our Bed and Breakfast.

It was only as we began to approach the castle that we began to get the feeling that something wasn't right. Now granted, it was only the very beginning of the tourist season, but we knew that something was up when we were the only two people in the entire block! Sure enough, even though our guide books said that the castle was open, it was closed. So, for anyone considering a visit to Stupinigi, I would recommend giving them a quick call before making the treck out there to make sure that they're open.


The outside of the castle was pretty magical though - and photos I've seen of the inside indicate that it is pretty spectacular as well. I guess we've got something to see next time!

Basilica of Superga | Turin, Italy

Perched high above the city, the Superga is a must-see stop in Turin. Our first full day in the city gave us sunny skies, so we decided to head up the mountain to take advantage of the clear day. After a 20 min funicular ride we had a treat waiting for us. The view was spectacular:

After drinking it in, we headed into the Basilica. Like so many of the Catholic churches, it was beautiful.



While admission into the church was free, Rick and I paid an extra 2 or 3 Euros to climb to the top of the dome and walk around the outside of the Basilica.


After viewing the church, our family also did a tour of the Royal Apartments in the cloister. Each visitor must be a part of a tour group with a guide and unfortunately, while we were there, the tour was only in Italian. The English information sheet that they hand out to English speaking guests gave only a brief outline for each room so while the Italian guests heard a ton of information from the guide, we were left a little on our own. It was interesting, but I wouldn't call it super memorable.

After our tour, we had sandwiches from the gift shop then headed down the funicular to head into the city center.


If your travels ever take you to Turin, the Superga is a must-see site!

Antica villa del Nobile, Turin Italy

The front of the Villa

Last month Rick, my parents and I set off for a 3 week trip to Italy. We were planning to hit two major destinations for longer visits, and make  2 brief stop-overs as well. I thought that in addition to posting our favorite highlights from each location, my blog would be a great place post some reviews for the accommodations we booked in order to hopefully help other travellers. I spent months and months researching where we would stay, so our decisions were not made lightly, and with only one exception, we were beyond pleased with our choices.

Our first stop, after about 24 hours of travelling from North America, was Turin, Italy. Although it is not a popular tourist hot-spot (indeed, most Italians we encountered outside of Turin were perplexed as to why we wanted to visit it), we had been to Turin in 2010 and wanted to return.

I found Antica villa del Nobile through the website Bed and Breakfast Italy. In all of our correspondence Clara, our host, was prompt and helpful. She had 2 bedrooms - each with private bath on the top floor of the house. There is also a private seating area and a kitchen for both rooms to share. Given that we were travelling with Mom and Dad and our party was taking up both rooms, it was like we had a private apartment. Both bedrooms had queen sized beds which were comfortable and one had a washroom with a shower while the other had a jacuzzi tub.

Kitchen area

Living Room area

Rick and Carolyn's Room

Clara and her daughter Lucy were very accommodating; they picked us up from the airport, had pre-purchased groceries for our first night and recommended activities to us during our stay. They also provided breakfast each morning in the main dining room on a lower floor of the house. The house has been in the family for generations, and in itself is a work of art - the mosaics in the hallway are extraordinary!

It was a five minute walk from the house to the local bus stop where you could easily get to the heart of the city to see the sights. I would caution those with bad legs however that the walk back to the house from the bus stop is all uphill and so may be challenging. (The plus is that it helps work off all the Grom gelatos eaten during the day!) If you prefer to be driven back to the Villa each night, taxis from the city center back to the house are only 9-13 Euros depending on how quickly the car can get through traffic.

We loved our time at Antica villa del Nobile and are hoping to return soon as Turin is an Italian favorite!

Dad, Mom, Clara, Lucy, me and Rick in the backyard of the Villa.