The Palio di Siena is one of Italy’s most famous sporting events. It is a horse race with unique rules and centuries-old history. My guess is that you may have never heard of it either! About ten years ago our close friends Nick and Victoria, who are world travelers (67 countries), shared their story of the Palio in Siena. Craig and I were captivated and totally hooked. We vowed one day we would see this special event as well!
So I decided to do a quick year in review, not to boast about how many places I have been, but to unpack, pause and appreciate what can be accomplished through thoughtful planning, careful research, great relationships, accumulated miles and points and the best dog sitter in the world!
I started the year with knee surgery on Jan 6th, so the pace of the travel was slow in the beginning, but it quickly picked up in early March. I may not have been fully recovered but we had adventures to take, people to see and places to go. There was no sitting around.
The title of this post is a bit misleading. It should read “every day is a perfect day in Siena and Tuscan Women Cook”! Ask any traveler fortunate enough to have visited this remarkable city and they will tell you it is their favorite.
When I sat down to write about my experience attending an Italian cooking school called Tuscan Women Cook, I honestly struggled with where to begin. There were so many incredible experiences, new friends, Italian hospitality and food and wine so good it could make you cry, which makes describing it all a challenge! We visited historic churches and cathedrals, family wineries, cheese and wine shops, local restaurants, walled medieval cities and managed to take a shopping trip or two!
Hi Friends!
Tomorrow I take off for my adventure in Europe. If you recall, I was invited to attend Tuscan Women Cook, an Italian cooking school in the hills of Tuscany. Yes, it is a pinch me moment.
Really, they do. Dreams do come true. In just a few weeks, I will be traveling to Italy to attend the Tuscan Women Cook culinary program in the Tuscan hill town of Montefollonico. I am so grateful for the invitation from Rhonda and Coleen, the two Southern California entrepreneurs who purchased this unique, established cooking school about one year ago.
Coleen and I connected through an article that I had written and have been fast friends ever since. I plan to share my experience in Italy through video, right here on the blog and through other midlife travel bloggers. So please check here and on Instagram, as well as Facebook for some fun photos and juicy details. For this trip I will be traveling without my empty nester partner Craig, but will try to enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity. (LOL) Are you kidding? I can hardly sleep!
I have loved to cook since I was a young girl and having the opportunity to learn from real Italian nonni (grandmothers in Italian) and cooking their personal recipes is immeasurable.
Do you have days when the stars are aligned and you find yourself connecting with a special individual you have never met before? This happened to me when Coleen Kirnan of Tuscan Women Cook, an Italian cooking school, contacted me to introduce herself and tell me about her magical place in Italy.
She came across a post of mine mentioned by LA Times columnist Chris Erskine on his Facebook page and she felt we would make great collaborators. First of all, who does that any more? Who reaches out actively to another person to see if there is a solid possibility of a connection? – Oh Coleen does! She is amazing, inspiring and a real go-getter. I look forward to meeting her equally tenacious entrepreneurial partner Rhonda Vilardo, very soon!
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