Archive for 'Food and Wine'

When travelling on holidays to Tuscany, it would be well advised to learn a bit more about their famous coffee that fuels Italian life! The art of coffee making has been a subject of heated discussions between passionate enthusiasts ever since it first arrived through the city of Venice in the 17th century and became an almost instant success. It was originally discovered much earlier by a goat shepherd in Ethiopia who noticed his goats got became quite hyper after eating a certain type of seed which came from the berries of the coffea plant!

Tourists will rarely enter any restaurant, bar, holiday accommodation or public place in Italy without spotting somewhere to enjoy a selection of delicious coffee brews. Here are some of the most popular coffee variations to learn more about them.

This might help you decide which ones you’d like to try before you order from one of the numerous coffee making professionals in Italy!

The favourite of all Italian coffees is of course the espresso. Espresso is made using 25ml of boiling water that is brewed using a pressurised system that forces it quickly through seven grams of a ground Italian coffee blend into a cup. It’s strong in flavour and delivers an almost instant caffeine boost to liven you up for the day’s activities! If you wish to order this you simply need to ask the waiter for ‘un caffè’.

If you’re thinking of whisking your partner away on a romantic holiday to Tuscany then why not browse through our wonderful selection of romantic articles of things to do and see during your stay!

All of the mentioned locations in these articles including Livorno on the Tuscan coast, Lucca and Florence city have a superb collection of luxury villas and other tuscan vacation rentals available to rent and relax in during your romantic break away.

Take to the skies in a breath taking hot air balloon trip together and see the beauty of Tuscany as you’ve never seen it before. Located only a few kilometres outside of Florence city, you both can enjoy a lavish breakfast after your exciting experience accompanied by a crisp cold bottle of sparkling prosecco!

Why not learn how to cook a romantic Italian meal with your partner during your vacation in Tuscany to experience an exciting endeavour that could prove to be an aphrodisiac!

Tourist couples wishing to engage in this fun learning experience can really go anywhere in Tuscany, the home of plentiful rustic cooks, but this link (no longer available) could be perfect to both stay in and enjoy a cookery lesson. It’s called Casal Gheriglio and is one of many properties in Tuscany that can accommodate visitors and provide them with a cookery lesson in one ideal package!

Many similar properties have an owner that are accomplished chefs who provide demonstrations which can include a week long, full or half day cookery course, as well as wine, honey and olive oil tasting courses. These can be enjoyed as part of a specialised price that includes your accommodation.

If you wish to treat your partner to a whole new level of romance, book a lavish meal for you both in what is considered to be the smallest and most romantic restaurant in Tuscany, and possibly even the world! Designed to host only two people at any one time, this cosy little venue is called ‘Peperino’ and is an ideal place to spend a lovely evening together.

It’s situated in San Minato town in the province of Pisa where there is a fantastic range of luxury villas and other holiday rentals in the area for couples to book an enjoyable stay for a few days and bask in an area of glorious scenery.

How to describe this remote restaurant in the Tuscan countryside, Murlo is one of the many hamlets that you can find off from the ancient Cassia road that leads from Siena to Rome …? SURREAL? This is probably the appropriate term to describe this place.

Perhaps because you’ll see and hear colors, sounds and smells that you thought no longer existed, immersed in a place unchanged by time and make you feel so far away from your world, but more than ever with our feet on the ground; or maybe because the place has always been managed by the legendary Brunello, with his beautiful Nigerian wife Stella.

It’s a mix between a bar, a typical Tuscan inn and a country house, where you’ll probably have lunch in the veranda among the spices planted in the garden and washed table cloths spread out in the sun to dry which Stella will collect while singing songs from her homeland ; or maybe because here you can still savor the delicious traditional homemade food served in large bowls and without too many choices (you eat what they cook for you), among which dominates the wild boar: in the ragù, roasted and in sauce – hunted and cooked by the man Brunello himself.

This is the philosophy that I’ve seen here: the concepts of “kindness, service, family atmosphere” are not contemplated, Brunello and Stella come as they are, as God made ​them. The place is, as mentioned, very special and not everyone will like it but if you’re in the area and want to feel the “Tuscan soul” you shouldn’t miss this experience.
I have to take my kids there soon.