Who would have thought a gastronomic trip in Italy would end up being iced so sweetly.
This is a featured article by Flavours Holidays, a specialist tour operator offering quality cooking, painting and pilates vacations with -no single supplements for solo travelers- in Italy since 1998.
What do we want from a vacation? The answer to this question continues to metamorphose over the years. Gone are the 14 days of ‘sun, sea and sangria’ of the 60s and 70s now we expect to gain insights, experience different cultures and come home enriched by authenticity, not the tourist version of a country. That’s why many people are in search of something local, different, and above all unique, like a cooking vacation for example. In addition, more travelers are taking the plunge and going alone. After all, it can be an opportunity to indulge in what excites you, with no compromises.
In general we live longer and mostly do not work so hard physically as we did say 50 years ago so it’s not a case of down tools for a vacation. We are, more often than not, looking for a change of scene, a new stimulus, a change of routine. People find themselves alone for all kinds of reasons and vacation companies are beginning to cotton on to this trend.
In addition, travel broadens the mind and is a form of education in itself. But what happens when you book a vacation which promises to educate as part of its raison d’etre? Is it an easy thing for a single person to undertake? I decided to do such a thing when I traveled all over Italy last year, stopping off in the northern most region, having flown into Milan and making my way somewhat leisurely down the country until I reached Sicily where I stopped and put all my experience into practice by following a one week cookery holidays that rounded off my expedition neatly.
My girlfriends were stunned when I announced my decision but I know they were glued to my blog posts as I made my way from the north to the south of Italy. Personally, I couldn’t think of a better decision than to combine a visit to a country with cooking classes in Italy. You could be a little more ad hoc and just add a theme to your travels or maybe book in for an intensive language course; salsa lessons, a two week immersion in a new skill like Pilates for example. Certainly, by devoting quality time, away from day to day responsibilities and having the freedom to concentrate solely on an interest much progress can be made. By adding an activity to your singles holidays you have the perfect ice breaker; but more of that later.
Television series, countless recipes, books, memoirs and travelogues had really piqued my interest in what made Italy the food mecca it undoubtedly is. Just the very name of the ingredients has a twang of romance that is so alluring. Redundancy aged 39 if you please, stopped me in my tracks and I decided I would take this natural pause as an opportunity to explore and become more intimate with Italian gastronomy and not be in a particular hurry over my proposed education.
It was like nothing I had ever undertaken and I made the decision to go alone and armed with my notes and vague itinerary I flew out of London’s Gatwick airport and touched down in.
I think I wanted to wander the markets, watch pasta hanging out to dry, feel and smell the aroma of food cooked from seasonal, local ingredients and steep myself in a food culture which Italians have held on to with such passion and integrity. I went to artisanal producers of olive oil, soft cheese and pasta; to bars only locals frequented, an ice cream museum, visited celebrity butchers and ate my way through everything an Italian menu could provide.
At the end of my three week sojourn, I wound up in Tuscany in a renovated villa where I met up with international travelers all hungry for a foodie education and their long awaited Italian cooking classes. For a week, we cooked, ate, chatted and sat beneath Bougainvillea sharing our culinary experiences.
It was an extraordinary end to a culinary adventure. My travels gave me fascinating insights into the language, the heritage and the importance and pride Italians carry with them regarding their food. I felt the combination of cookery courses in Italy and my own independent investigations has changed me as a person. Do I admit that my vacation came with one added extra? Well, yes, I move out to live Italian chef, Paulo when my UK house sale is complete in a couple of months and I cannot wait.
Never let anyone convince you that a vacation is about trivia, it may well be the very stuff of life and I am convinced the Italians know this better than anyone. My culinary journey has taken me to a destination I never expected but never has life tasted so sweet.
If you want to investigate traveling solo and undertaking an Italian cooking course contact flavoursholidays.co.uk for further details.
