Rigan
5/5
Executive Summary:
This Tour was epic. Do it.
Bring your eating pants.
Suzanne and Vincenzo are really lovely people and Antonio, our tour guide, was outstanding.
The tour is full on - be prepared to sleep on the bus - but definably an experience that will leave memories, and it was fantastic that they were able to tweak it to visit a local traditional pottery once they discovered that Wifey has a background in ceramics.
The Details:
So, 1 year on and we're finally getting around to writing this review.
Apologies, Suzanne and Vincenzo.
We were lucky to get the last 2 spaces on the July 2022 tour at somewhat short notice.
As it turned out we managed 2 firsts on the tour:
1) The first non-USA and non-Australian guests (we're Irish, please excuse the accent).
2) The first vegetarian (her, not me! ?)
In general being a vegetarian in Italy sucks, and we have to say thank you to everyone for the effort that went into supporting this baffling life choice - Mrs. Veg was extremely happy (and as full as a banana) going home.
This is not just a Food Tour of the Abruzzo region, that's only part of it.
Oh, there's food, OK. Lots of food. Really, really, nice food. And wine. I'd swear we drank more wine in that week than the whole of the year before. Probably the 2 years before!
This is also a showcase of the history and culture of the region - A Cultural Tasting Menu if you will.
Sure you could book a trip to Abruzzo by yourself, but even if you did, you would never get to see all amazing places included on the tour, simply because you would never know they even existed! And one of the best parts: for some reason nobody goes to Abruzzo, so there's no tourists: It's all authentic residential Italians, with a smattering of Italians on holidays.
Day 0: Get yourself to Rome, stay at the nominated collection point hotel.
Day 1: Collection from Hotel and bus transfer to Abruzzo. Check in at the base of operation for the next few days. Dinner at Nonna's. This is actually Vincenzo's grandmother, so a real proper Italian Nonna, in her own kitchen. Yes, it was as good as you're imagining.
Day whatever it was, I forget: Food, Wine, UNESCO Heritage sites, Food, Wine, Local towns and markets, Food, Wine, More Food, More Wine. Ogle at the breath-taking scenery. A visit to the Zaccagnini winery with dinner after occurred somewhere in there. A bit more wine, possibly with more food. A dash of wine, just for good measure.
One of the days was a cruise out to the Tremiti Islands. The boat is a 15m yacht. Anchor down, diving platform out, Pool Noodles and Wine O'Clock in the crystal clear, 26°C Adriatic waters while the crew prepare lunch.
The last few nights of the tour were spent hotel hopping, staying in the magnificent Sextantio located in the fortified medieval mountain top village of Santo Stefano di Sessanio before heading back to a normal hotel for the final night, where we were treated to a pool-side operatic recital by local musicians. (Insider Tip: Vincenzo can sing).
Did I mention the food and the wine?
Day 8: Dinner with Vincenzo's family before drop-off back to Rome where you're back on your own merry way.
Credit to Vincenzo's Dad who cooks a mean Arrosticini and Porchetta.
Top Tip: You may want to hide the bathroom scale for a week or too afterwards!
Would we do it again? Yes - Provided a formal accord can be reached with the bathroom scales. It's lying. Don't let it tell you otherwise.
Would we recommend this: Absolutely Yes!
In the era of cheap Ryanair city breaks this may look expensive, but believe me, it's not. Ignoring the cost of accommodation, transport, food, etc. - which is on-par with what you could do yourself - this tour brings you to places unheard of with a group of people that excel in sharing their local culture, knowledge and experience. And Food and Wine.
