ExperiencePlus! Blog


Italy

  • St. Clare’s Recipe for Paletta Di Mandorla: Almond Slices

    St. Francis’s Favorite Treat This Recipe hails from the Umbria region of Italy and is traditionally served on the feast day of St. Francis. Supposedly, this is one of the few foods St. Francis really let himself enjoy.  It is… Read full article

  • Personal “Pluses” Bicycling Verdant Umbria: Saint Francis’s Assisi

    Personal “Pluses” On Bicycling Verdant Umbria: Saint Francis of Assisi ExperiencePlus! Traveler Shares Her Tale From Tour ExperiencePlus! rider Viola Canales has been on a number of tours with ExperiencePlus! In this article she shares her story of finding unexpected… Read full article

  • Back and Better Than Ever: Cycling Italy’s Dolomites

    Italy’s Dolomites are Calling 6 Reasons You Should Answer Trying to decide where to ride next year? We have got a few reasons for you to consider fine-tuning your photography skills and gearing up your climbing legs to cycle Italy’s… Read full article

  • Nadine’s Top Hotel Picks

    She’s Not A Hotel Critic But she’s dreamed of being one. I have a confession to make. It has been somewhat of a secret dream of mine to be a hotel critic. There you have it, the cat’s out of… Read full article

  • Recipe: Insalata Di Farro (Cold Farro Salad)

    Umbria’s Great Grain A versatile and easy addition to summer meals. Walk through a farmers market in Italy and you’ll experience the country’s deeply rooted passion for fresh food. Noses plunge into bunches of basil and against melons as shoppers… Read full article

  • Giovanni Valetti and crew

    The Surprising Life of Tour Leader Gabriele Monaco

    Gabriele Monaco – Film Maker, Tour Leader, History Buff Q & A with Gabriele about his film Valetti – The Forgotten Hero When Gabriele Monaco isn’t leading ExperiencePlus! bicycle tours in Italy you’ll find him working on his latest film… Read full article

  • strozzapreti-easy

    15-Minute Pasta Recipe: Strozzapreti

    Strozzapreti “STRANGLE THE PRIEST” A PASTA STEEPED IN TRADITION Preparing and having lunch together is a long-held tradition for staff at the Farm, our headquarters in Italy. This simple, delicious pasta dish makes regular appearances because you can have it… Read full article

  • Cycling The Italian Lakes District

    Manzo All’Olio Di Rovato or Rovato Beef

    Manzo All’Olio Di Rovato Or “Beef In Oil” A tip of the “Priest’s Hat”  from the Franciacorta Region of Northern Italy An Italian alternative to a classic Sunday beef roast, try this long stewed beef dish from the Franciacorta Region Of… Read full article

  • Christo The Floating Piers

    Walk On The Water – Christo’s “Floating Piers”

     “Walk On The Water” Of Lake Iseo This Summer Visit Christo’s “Floating Piers” In The Italian Lakes District This summer, from June 18 to July 3, 2016, internationally-renowned environmental artist Christo will premier his latest monumental work, “The Floating Piers”, directly upon the… Read full article

  • Cappelletti - from Romagna

    Cappelletti in Brodo

    Thanks to my parents’ crazy idea that maybe – just maybe – people would want to travel the world by bike, I grew up spending May through September in Italy from when I was 9 months old until I was 23.  In… Read full article

  • My Italian Secret

    My Italian Secret: The Forgotten Heroes

    “My Italian Secret:  the Forgotten Heroes,” written, produced and directed by Oren Jacoby, 2014.  Now available on Netflix.com. It seems that we will never know the full story of the Holocaust. Every new book, movie, or eyewitness account sheds new… Read full article

  • ExperiencePlus! cyclist in the Dolomites

    South Tyrolean Apple Soup

    Don’t you love South Tyrol and its unique mix of Italian and Austrian culture, languages, tradition and cuisine? On top of its cultural fascination, to me South Tyrol is the embodiment of sophisticated Alpine food and drink, which manages to… Read full article

  • Melon with Black Pepper and Mint

    Melone Ghiacciato con Menta  or Melon with Black Pepper and Mint This refreshing dish comes to us from Bea Tassinari, our Country Coordinator in Italy, who also helps coordinate lunches at “the farm” our headquarters in Italy. Join us on… Read full article

  • Ravenna

    The Emperor and The Saint….

    The Emperor and The Saint Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, Francis of Assisi, and Journeys to Medieval Placesm by Richard F. Cassady As the Foreword states, this book is the biography of a “giant” who traveled, ruled and fought across most… Read full article

  • Riserva dello Zingaro Sicily

    A Sicilian Feast

    I just came back from an hiking trip on the eastern side of Sicily that included Catania, Siracusa, Val di Noto, Ragusa, to name just a few of the gorgeous places I visited. Inspired by my travels and the wonderful… Read full article

  • Creamy Chickpea Soup

    Zuppa di Ceci (Creamy Chickpea Soup)

    This tasty recipe is a typical “peasant” soup from the Umbria region of Italy. The perfect companion on a chilly night. Serves 6 Ingredients: 1 pound dried chickpeas 1 carrot, peeled and diced 1 medium onion peeled and diced 1… Read full article

  • Touring Club Italiano maps

    Touring Club Italiano (TCI) Maps and Books

    Paola and I just returned from two weeks in Puglia, the “heel” of Italy, where we explored small towns, villages and the regional capital of Bari relying mostly on guidebooks and maps published by the Touring Club Italiano (or TCI).… Read full article

  • Photo by ExperiencePlus! traveler Alan Razak

    Straccetti with Arugula and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

    This recipe comes to us from the Scuola di Cucina Bologna which we visit on our Whole Journey’s Culinary Delights bicycling tours in Italy. Ingredients: 1 pound of veal thinly sliced Arugula Parmigiano Reggiano to toss with veal and add… Read full article