July 2019 Newsletter from Elizabeth Minchilli
Elizabeth Minchilli
EATING MY WAY THOUGH ITALY
July 2019 Newsletter
I know some of you don’t like it when I get too ‘political’ here in my newsletter. So this is a spoiler alert for those of you who’d rather stick to the food stuff (and that’s ok!! I understand!) In that case just skip to the next section below, and there will be no judgement from me (and I hope there will be none from you in return.)
I just wanted to talk a bit about that disconnect. You know what I’m talking about. The seemingly total escapism that I write about in this newsletter, but also on the blog and through social media. And I totally get it that you look to me for a door to a different world where it’s all Negronis and pasta and perfect views. But sometimes even I need to feel that somehow what I’m doing has some sort of impact. I fully realize that one more recipe for cacio e pepe is not going to effect change, even if we do end up having a lively and fun conversation about it.
During my week long tours I do try to address some social issues. I try my best to offer a sustainable way of travel that not only avoids the over-crowding of the bigger cities, but also brings much needed tourism euros to the places - and people - that really need them. I seek to forge lasting relationships between our guests and the artisans that welcome us into their homes and businesses. And I do truly feel that that makes at least a small difference.
Yet sometimes the news I read every morning is just too heartbreaking and the frustration I feel at not being able to do something concrete is strong. But yesterday, at least for a minute, I was able to do at least a little bit.
Next week Sophie and I are heading down to Puglia with Elizabeth Gilbert, to host a creativity workshop. When Liz brought up the subject of doing a retreat/workshop I was of course thrilled. I love collaborating with my friends, and so started planning. One thing that surprised me though, was when we were discussing the ‘business’ side of things, was that Liz had one request. She didn’t want to be paid. At all. After insisting (because I’m that kind of person) she finally relented, up to a point.
Liz asked that I donate her fee to a good cause. She suggested a few,(including this and this) but she said that anything was ok. After her posts last week about Together Rising and the work they are doing to reunite immigrant children with their families, I decided this was the one.
I’m sure all of you have been seeing the same news coverage that I have. With the same feeling of dread and hopelessness. It’s difficult to know what to do (besides the usual letter to your congressman, etc.) In this case Liz told me exactly what I could do, here. And so I took Liz’s fee as well as a portion of the profits from our week together and donated them here. I realize it’s not the solution to the problem. But at least it’s step in the right direction.
And now back to our regularly scheduled programing…..
What's New
As promised, Sophie and I have been busy working on an upcoming Week in Sicily. So far I’ve made up the list of the far-too-many places we want to visit during the week, and am busy narrowing that down. I’ve also got my eye on a very nice hotel where we’ll be based. The temptation in Sicily is to try to drive from one end to the other, seeing as many things as possible. But Sicily is actually huge, and we decided rather than change hotels, that we would stick to one place, and dive deeply into that region. It’s more or less the way I travel when I’m on my own and why it drives me crazy when I hear people taking trains every day to check off yet another town from their bucket list. For me it’s as much about the down time you get to spend getting to know one place, rather than seeing one more castle or amphitheater.
The process of planning these trips is long. And I appreciate your patience. I should have the dates and details by September if all goes according to plan. In the meantime I’d love it if you joined us on one of our other weeks.
Our Week in Umbria with Evan was a blast. Whenever we collaborate with someone it gives us a chance to see our weeks from a different point of view, and change them in ways we never would have thought of. What we realized during our time with Evan was that it was great fun just hanging out at our villa in Umbria, spending one entire day cooking, eating, drinking and just being together. We also are trying to work in at least one more farm visit into our itinerary, since we always take away so much from time spent with the people growing the food we are eating. If you’d like to join us in Umbria we still have 2 spots left for our week in September (15-21, 2019) and plenty of spaces for 2020 (May 10-16 and October 18-24).
Remember that week in Rome we did with Melissa Clark? You know, the one that was full of innards? No, don’t worry, we’re not doing that again. But it did convince us that taking a day trip to Florence or Naples was a great addition to our Rome week. And so Sophie and I are trying to figure out how to work this element into our Week in Rome. We have 2 more spots on our Rome Week in November and plenty for our March Week in Rome.
And finally Puglia. We are SO excited for our Puglia Creativity Workshop next week with Elizabeth Gilbert. Although this is a totally one off event and very different from our normal weeks, we may do some sort of other similar trip next year, during the lower (and cooler!) season, with another friend. But in the meantime, rest assured, our regular Week in Puglia trips are just as fun and we still have 1 spot left for our week in October (6-12, 2019) as well as plenty of spots in April and October 2020.
You can read the general descriptions of the tours here and see the current schedule, but if you’d like more specific information just send me an email. And if you don't have time to spend an entire week with us, no worries, you can join Sophie for a day long trip in Rome or in Puglia. Just see her website or send her an email.
What I'm Reading
I always read more in summer. Of course that has to do with justifying beach and pool time. But I do manage to get through way more books this time of the year. So far I've read and loved:
City of Girls
Big Magic
Where the Crawdads Sing
Daisy Jones & The Six
Save Me The Plums
In case anyone is keeping track, that's 5 books in one month. And I have the rest of the summer to work my way through this list. I am currently half way through Kate Atkinsons Big Sky.
Loved both of these pieces by Eric Asimov. This one on wine criticism in general and this one gets more specific with talk about Chianti.
Olive oil is not the only item on your Italian shopping list you should be careful about. Know this about the next can of tomatoes you put in your cart.
Great opinion piece about the perils of the 'wellness' industry and its relationship with food.
Rome is getting electric scooters I predict they will last about a minute and a half.
Do you need a bar cabinet? Is that really a question? I think the fact that I feel my life is full is completely due to the fact that I own not one, but TWO bar cabinets.
Although I was no Jackie O, I also spent a very formative Junior year in Paris . This charming article by Ann Mah looks at Jackie's year, which includes some of the same things I did (Reid Hall, studying at Ecole du Louvre, Sciences Po, etc) but also some I never had access to (Horse back riding!)
We all had quite a lively discussion about bringing home cheese from Europe over on Facebook.
You know those instagram posts of Sophie''s that feature older people in Italy? The ones that everyone loves? Well, it turns out that some Italians have a problem with them. Sophie responds.
What I'm Listening To
Did you know that the Barefoot Contessa has playlists on Spotify? And they are just as perfect as you'd imagine.
Listen while I talk with Evan Kleiman about about The Italian Table. And it's NOT weird being interviewed by your best friend on the radio, it's AWESOME.
Loved chatting with radio icon Joan Hamburg!
And finally.....
Before our tour in Puglia next week I'm sneaking in a weekend of beach. Then we'll be up in Umbria for the rest of the summer with BOTH daughters!!! We haven't all spent this much time together since the girls were teenagers. I'm very excited about being in one place and not moving for 2 months. What do you have planned? Exotic travel? Or barbecues in the back yard like me?
x,elizabeth