Italian Vacation
Summertime in Borganmale, Italy! Well, let me just say that if you wanted to travel Europe this summer…
August 2023
Summertime in Borganmale, Italy! Well, let me just say that if you wanted to travel Europe this summer… the airports were packed with wanna be COVID travelers, thrilled to finally get out of the US.
And so we with our plans to visit Alba, Italy with our friend and American / Italian Dr. Tedd. His lovely villa home in Borgonmale is just outside of Alba, up in the lush hills full of apple and fruit orchards and wine vineyards.
What a lovely lush green beauty these rolling hills gave us. Seeing the distant castles and churches that accented the misty countryside, was the most magnificent view on any day or evening. A countryside like this is where real Italians live. It is not crowded like the beautifully historic tourist destinations like Rome, Venice or Florence.
But, a sense of the people who live here and run these vineyards for many decades, and some past the century year mark. Considering the fact that there are no preservatives in their food or wines, it was a delicious vacation from our typical American diet with all its GMO and preservative ridden food and wines.
You might wonder how did I get there ? Well, let me tell you.. a Tucson art collector Dr. Tedd sauntered into my gallery last spring extolling the virtues of his “true Italy”. I listened for awhile, until he mentioned his villa. “Villa ?” Stop right there; you had me at villa. So I said, can I come there this summer and bring a couple of artists to paint for a week ?
“Yes” he said. And so our future November art show, “From Italy With Love “ was conceived!
Artists Sean Wallis and Alexandria Winslow agreed to accompany me on this exotic art adventure into the heart of Italy.
We were introduced to the area surrounding Tedd’s “villa” where an adventure of great photo shots, and plein air opts for early morning painting, began a week of art, history, food, and wine. Visiting wineries was a special education in itself, as we learned about the grapes in their abundance by sun, shade and water. The water came from God alone, no irrigation here.
The delicious foods including fantastic cheeses are produced organically. We visited the mill that grinds the flour that is unprocessed. They make a lovely presentation of even on their pizza!
Dr Tedd’s favorites for espresso and gelato were also explored, along with favorite restaurants for lunch and dinners. At the marketplace on Saturday morning I found beautiful lace, among the many well dressed people ( no decorated t-shirts or pot stores here! ). And some fun food items for gifts to take home using my Euros.
A great 8 day sojourn was completed in the very hot weather of high humidity and bright sunny days. I spent some time at a private club in Alba that had a pool and clay tennis courts. I even met a few Americans swimming amid the bikinis. No opera, but heard American pop music instead. An outside cafe offered a typical Italian lunch with wine. They served white or Rose’, which I never really liked before but was refreshingly fresh and crisp. But they refused to serve red wine, declaring it way too hot for red! Tell that to Tucson!
A wonderful non touristy time gave me a new view of the Italians, as we watched and admired their relaxed life. I look forward to seeing the art work that will be created from our time this August, in and around Alba
Italy.
And grateful were we with our very own Italian tour guide, Dr. Tedd.
Summertime in Borganmale, Italy! Well, let me just say that if you wanted to travel Europe this summer… the airports were packed with wanna be COVID travelers, thrilled to finally get out of the US.
And so we with our plans to visit Alba, Italy with our friend and American / Italian Dr. Tedd. His lovely villa home in Borgonmale is just outside of Alba, up in the lush hills full of apple and fruit orchards and wine vineyards.
What a lovely lush green beauty these rolling hills gave us. Seeing the distant castles and churches that accented the misty countryside, was the most magnificent view on any day or evening. A countryside like this is where real Italians live. It is not crowded like the beautifully historic tourist destinations like Rome, Venice or Florence.
But, a sense of the people who live here and run these vineyards for many decades, and some past the century year mark. Considering the fact that there are no preservatives in their food or wines, it was a delicious vacation from our typical American diet with all its GMO and preservative ridden food and wines.
You might wonder how did I get there ? Well, let me tell you.. a Tucson art collector Dr. Tedd sauntered into my gallery last spring extolling the virtues of his “true Italy”. I listened for awhile, until he mentioned his villa. “Villa ?” Stop right there; you had me at villa. So I said, can I come there this summer and bring a couple of artists to paint for a week ?
“Yes” he said. And so our future November art show, “From Italy With Love “ was conceived!
Artists Sean Wallis and Alexandria Winslow agreed to accompany me on this exotic art adventure into the heart of Italy.
We were introduced to the area surrounding Tedd’s “villa” where an adventure of great photo shots, and plein air opts for early morning painting, began a week of art, history, food, and wine. Visiting wineries was a special education in itself, as we learned about the grapes in their abundance by sun, shade and water. The water came from God alone, no irrigation here.
The delicious foods including fantastic cheeses are produced organically. We visited the mill that grinds the flour that is unprocessed. They make a lovely presentation of even on their pizza!
Dr Tedd’s favorites for espresso and gelato were also explored, along with favorite restaurants for lunch and dinners. At the marketplace on Saturday morning I found beautiful lace, among the many well dressed people ( no decorated t-shirts or pot stores here! ). And some fun food items for gifts to take home using my Euros.
A great 8 day sojourn was completed in the very hot weather of high humidity and bright sunny days. I spent some time at a private club in Alba that had a pool and clay tennis courts. I even met a few Americans swimming amid the bikinis. No opera, but heard American pop music instead. An outside cafe offered a typical Italian lunch with wine. They served white or Rose’, which I never really liked before but was refreshingly fresh and crisp. But they refused to serve red wine, declaring it way too hot for red! Tell that to Tucson!
A wonderful non touristy time gave me a new view of the Italians, as we watched and admired their relaxed life. I look forward to seeing the art work that will be created from our time this August, in and around Alba
Italy.
And grateful were we with our very own Italian tour guide, Dr. Tedd.