January

January

January

Winter is the time for brisk walks in the leafless woods for a full panoramic view of the majestic snow-covered peaks of the Apennines. Unexpectedly, potherbs for hearty winter soups are emerging in fields and walls; you can forage for them with an expert, learn to make zuppa and compare your results to those at a Slow Food zuppa challenge.

February

February

February

Carnival: celebrations and banquets to say farewell to meat (carne) before Lent. Viareggio is second only to Venice for its Carnival parade. A good time for an orgy of meat-eating and finding out how salami and sausages are made.

March

March

March

Spring is nearly here, trees are in bud and it's warm enough for outdoor festivals: a festival of camellias (green and black teas are camellia leaves) on the first three weekends and an olive oil festival at the end of the month.

April

April

April

Spring brings azaleas and wildflowers. The snow on the high peaks has melted and you can venture up to a mountain village and make Garfagnana potato bread with the village baker.

May

May

May

The best cheese is made in May using milk from animals on lush spring pastures. Visit a shepherd and see the process from rennet to curd and whey to ricotta.

June

June

June

White acacia blossom adorns the mountain slopes in May, and now we can visit beekeepers to help with the honey extraction and taste the intense single-flower honeys.

July

July

July

Farro or emmer is a primitive wheat that was cultivated by the first farmers more than 10,000 years ago and is grown still in the Garfagnana. Its harvest in July is accompanied by a festival and feasting with farro beer of course.

August

August

August

Now that the wheat harvest is finished, everyone is making bread. It seems every village celebrates in food and music its own special bread from flat bread like tortillas to yeasty focaccia-style breads and potato bread with a special preservation order on it from Slow Food.

September

September

September

Porcini are hiding in the woods (if the conditions are exactly right), but flaunt themselves on restaurant menus. Help with the grape harvest and learn about wine-making. Join pork butchers at their party in a castle.

October

October

October

The weather is cooler but still enjoyably warm. The month kicks off with a squash festival. Chestnut-drying huts are fired up. Black truffles appear on restaurant menus. The new wine is ready for tasting at a village festival.

November

November

November

Olives are ripe. Pick them, take them to the press and go home with your own olive oil. Hunt for white truffles and visit a truffle fair. Visit a chestnut-drying hut and eat chestnuts as pancakes, porridge, pasta, bread and roasted.

December

December

December

More chestnuts, a chocolate festival and Christmas. Visit a water mill where chestnuts are ground into flour. Villages reinvent themselves as living presepi (Nativity scenes) with inhabitants carrying out traditional crafts and, of course, serving traditional food and drink.

Here's how it works

• Decide when you want to take your vacation. 
• Fill in the Booking Enquiry Form or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to receive a full 'Menu' of what's going on in the month of your choice. The Monthly Menus include cultural and outdoor activities as well as culinary ones.
• We create an itinerary, suggest suitable restaurants and give you a costing (see below for charging basis).
• We fine-tune the itinerary to suit your requirements and adjust the costing if necessary.
• Once we've agreed the itinerary and the fee, we email you a booking form which you fill in and return to us with a deposit. The balance is due 8 weeks before the start of the tour or on the day of the tour in the case of one-day tours.

Fees

Basic

€150 per person, half price for children aged 6–12*

Wine tasting or silkworms: add €15 per person per activity

Includes: visits to up to two artisan food producers or crafts people (for example, cheesemaker and beekeeper), lunch with wine, sightseeing along the way, friendly Sapori e Saperi guide to translate and explain

Does not include: personal expenses, extra meals or snacks, transport (see below for prices)

Creative

€190 per person, half price for children aged 6–12*

Includes: visit to a farm, create something with artisan (for example, village baker or sausage maker), tour of farm, lunch on farm with wine, sightseeing along the way, friendly Sapori e Saperi guide to translate and explain

Does not include: personal expenses, extra meals or snacks, transport (see below for prices)

Deluxe

1 person: €370

2 people: €250 per person

3 or more people: €225 per person

Not suitable for children 12 and under

Includes: truffle hunt with truffle hunter and dog, demonstration of cooking with truffles at truffle hunter's home, lunch with wine, sightseeing along the way, friendly Sapori e Saperi guide to translate and explain

Does not include: personal expenses, extra meals or snacks, transport (see below for prices)

Forage and Cook

1 person: €320

2–3 people: €220 per person

4 or more people: €180 per person

Half price for children aged 6–12*

Includes: visit to food artisan or market followed by cooking lesson using these ingredients (for example, visit cheese and ricotta maker, pick wild nettles, learn to cook ravioli filled with ricotta and nettles), lunch eating what you cooked with wine, complimentary apron, recipe booklet, sightseeing along the way, friendly Sapori e Saperi guide to translate and explain

Does not include: personal expenses, extra meals or snacks, transport (see below for prices)

All fees are for a minimum of 2 people (except where specified)

1 person: add €125 or join group when possible

8 or more people: contact me for group price

Transport

1–3 people: €60 per day

4 people: €195 per day

5–7 people: €320 per day

*In general children under 6 don't have the attention span required for these day-long educational tours. Please contact me if you would like to discuss your child's suitability for a tour or plan a personalised shorter tour.