Tuscan Sun Festival 2011

June 19, 2011 By 1 Comment


Combine amazing food, artistic genius, awe inspiring scenery and a plethora of celebrities…then add a dash of wellness and a large splash of wine and you have the Tuscan Sun Festival.
We happened to move to Toscana at the beginning of last year’s festival, which also coincided with my better half’s birthday. The lucky boy enjoyed an intimate and moving performance by Trudie Styler and Sting, while I enjoyed a nice lunch at Corys with Frances Mayes and co. It was one of the best experiences of my life, with some of the best food and conversation. And of course the wine helped…

This year, Sharon Stone and Jeremy Irons join the festival, amongst other performers and culinary artists. You can take tango lessons, Tai Chi, or sip wine with James Suckling, Senior Editor of the Wine Spectator. The list goes on and on.

My suggestions:

If you are going to be renting a car and have a family ( or if you don’t mind taking a taxi), stay slightly outside of Cortona in Hotel Oasi Neumann, which is a former monastery with incredible views and lots of room ( inside and out). The hotel is relatively cheap as well. Call them ahead of time and make sure the restaurant will be open; it was closed for several nights when we stayed, due to there not being many guests.

Here are some pics:

My second choice of lodging, especially if you are going alone, with your spouse or a friend, or with a group is Corys. You will be near the action, and yet will have tremendous views and spectacular food. You’ll also love the family who owns it. Cortona gets very crowded during the summer, so being slightly outside of the town will give you some breathing room, and again the views are worth it.

The festival begins July 30 and goes until August 2011. You can get your tickets at http://www.tuscansunfestival.com

Filed Under: Cortona, Italy, Travel, Tuscany, Unschooling, Worldschooling Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

>Osteria del Teatro, Cortona

January 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

So, I went out to lunch today; since we are leaving, my husband has kicked me out of the house ( bless the angel) to get some mom time for me to write, photograph, and eat. We are both BADLY craving spicy Asian food, but I love truffles ( all mushrooms really) and Osteria has some wonderful truffle delights.
I don’t get out much, period, but I now don’t like going out alone. I get stared at alot ( no matter where I am) and am plagued with the eternal question ‘Where is the Baby?’, as though I left her on a street corner by accident. It always irritates me as the tone with which people say it is to guilt trip me for having a moment alone. It irritates the hell out of my husband as well. Fortunately, I never get it at Osteria. The staff is just so lovely!

I’m pseudo French, so even though I normally eat a vegan diet, I had myself some truffle fondue; funny enough, despite living in France 18 years, I never have had fondue, so this was the first time for me. It was fun and of course enjoyable. I had some tortelloni with a creamy black truffle sauce as well ( that I didn’t photograph for some reason) and some rabe.

As more and more people arrived, I decided to continue my ‘I’m a gonzo journalist/ professional photographer’ guise and ambition and took a walk around, photographing the incredible, cozy restaurant. From the famous actors headshots ( and sigs) on the wall to the ornate ceiling fixtures, Osteria feels comfortable, and embodies what Cortona feels like in winter: quiet, basking in solitude.

In the summer, Osteria is mobbed. It has the ‘it’ throne in town, although there are other fantastic restaurants, Osteria has the cozy chic atmosphere, even when it is packed. When my mom was in town in October, she went basically everynight, and it was always busy, forcing one to take any table available, or wait until another night. When my mother in law and aunt/uncle came in November, they were closed, so we had the opportunity to explore other, lesser known restaurants in town.

 

 

No matter which restaurant is your favorite in town, or if you have never been and are looking for some delicious delights, you must dine in Osteria del Teatro.

Filed Under: Cortona, Italy, Travel, Tuscany Tagged With: , , , ,

Living In Tuscany

October 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

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SO…we have moved and are living in Tuscany. We left Asia ( though we miss it dearly) and are now in Cortona.

Italia!!!

You may wonder why, and I can’t really answer that clearly. No, we did not find a job here, as our intention is to work from home, and at the moment we are not working but enjoying time together as a family. The nebulous answer I can give you as to why Cortona is that I wanted us to be near my hometown ( Antibes) and I knew we could rent a large house in Tuscany. At the moment, we are in a 3 bedroom apartment with two huge terraces and perhaps one of the best views in the city ( no joke); on one side we face the Saint Francis church, founded by brother Elias.

From the other terrace, we have a stunning view of the countryside and Camucia, as well as far beyond. In the morning, we see the mist and clouds. It is what heaven would look like, in my mind. To have a coffee or tea and look out is a pleasure I wish everyone could have. Here are some pics.








Our apartment is fantastic, but if we plan on getting pregnant in the next 6 months, we will absolutely move to a house, probably near Corys Ristoarte, where my mother stayed for a month. We are big fans of the hotel/restaurant ( thanks to Francis Mayes’ luncheon during the Tuscan Sun festival, which introduced us to the restaurant and its owners).
I am not sure how long we will stay. We crave the diversity of a big city, and long for spicy Asian delights, and we are an unconventional family doing things very differently then some parents ( unschooling, still nursing, cosleeping, veg,Vedantists,gamers etc.). Despite this, the slow groove of Cortona and Tuscany has grown on us. We are nomads by default, and this is a great home base for us, as we are near the UK ( where my family is from and where most of my schoolmates now reside) and the rest of the EU.
If we can work from home, and thus keep our family together, things will be perfect. In Korea, my husband was working nonstop, and wouldn’t get home until 6pm. We were not used to this, as in LA he only worked 3 days a week; this change took a huge toll on our marriage and his health. We adore Korea, and some of our closest friends are their ( who are like family to us) but Koreans are severely overworked, much more so then the Western ESL teachers who go there. Nonetheless, the world is overworked, and the family pays. This obsession with material gain is getting us nowhere, and quickly, and is causing what Mathew kelly describes as the war between society and the family. Yes, people are overworked here as well, but many businesses are family owned and not monopolies.
Things are quieting down here as well, which we are greatful for. The summer was overwhelming, with tourists swarming the place ( great for business, bad if you have a baby and people are bumping into you nonstop). As I mentioned, my mother stayed for a month and the cool whether was nice for her, since she now lives in LA. We had a nice time and went to a number of fantastic local restaurants, although we were at Corys the most.

mom at Corys

My mom at Osteria.

We are so very, very grateful to have Papa home with us now.

Working at nine to five ( and more) destroys so much of our lives, and yet it is the norm nowadays. It’s time to be creative, and dedicated to happiness and not following society’s guidelines of how to be mediocre and ‘fit in’. I don’t want my daughter to be in the little box called normal, I want her to be her unique self, I want her to explore the world and help others. We all deserve to be happy and to be our authentic selves.

Living in Tuscany is affordable. One can have a large farm style house or a ‘rustico’ here with some land. Maybe a vineyard! It is a dream come true and very doable. If you are a fellow Brit or an Eu citizen it is especially easy, but even if you aren’t there are still ways to get a visa and citizenship.
I have not yet read Eat Pray Love but I downloaded it off of audible and I look forward to hearing how the author found her authentic self through travel. I was listening to a Rick Steves podcast and he had her on to discuss her new book about marriage, and I found her to be incredibly articulate. Now I want to see the movie as well. I still have not been to Bali!
Let’s all explore the world more, give more, love more. I am always down with eating more as well…

Filed Under: Cortona, Holistic Living, Homeschooling, Italy, Travel, Tuscany, Unschooling, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,