Review By Joseph M - Markham, Ontario - CA (July 2013)
Culture Discovery is the Gold Standard
In our opinion, Culture Discovery Vacations is the gold standard of culinary vacations. We will definitely be travelling with them again.
| Written By: | Joseph M |
| Rating: | |
| Location: | Markham - Ontario - CA |
| Review Source: | Trip Advisor |
| Type of Traveler: | Couple |
| Itinerary: | Norcia Umbria |
Full Review
"Fabulous" is the operative term for describing our hands-on, culinary experience in Norcia with Culture Discovery Vacations. Initially, when the company literature promised that we would "live like an Italian, among Italians" and that we would be treated as "visiting family", we wrote it off as just promotional literature. How wonderful to learn that this was the unequivocal truth!! Bonding with other guests was never made simpler around the preparation of food and dining at an Italian table. Our immersion in Italian culture was facilitated by our superlative hosts, Spartaco and Toni, each generous, spirited and well-versed in all things related to the Italian palate.
We arrived in Norcia, Umbria to experience a cuisine that relies on the region's abundant fields and forests to provide wholesome ingredients for its hearty dishes: "tartufo" and wild mushrooms; Castelluccio lentils and farro; suckling pig and wild Boar; "umbricelli" and "pence", Umbrian pastas. Under the tutelage of Chef Flavio Faedi, we worked with simple ingredients that were flavoured with local herbs and aromatics, delicious grass-scented olive oil and the perfumes of wild fennel, rosemary, sage, and juniper. We tasted "salumi", sausages and artfully cured pork cuts of the famous butchers of Norcia; and we enjoyed the pungent, fresh sheep's milk cheeses "pecorino", and those combined with cow's milk "caciotta", "ricotta", and "mascarpone". Every meal included Umbrian wine: whites from the Lungarotti and Antinori cellars, and the red Sagrantino of Montefalco.
We travelled the rich, Umbrian hillsides from Norcia to Assisi, Perugia, Spoleto, and to village markets and producers, a journey highlighted by tidbits of history, quotations, instruction in standard Italian phrases and hand language. The breathtaking landscape, the Umbrian table and the playful company provided much theatre.
In our opinion, Culture Discovery Vacations is the gold standard of culinary vacations. We will definitely be travelling with them again.
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| Sample Photo from this Itinerary |