This panorama is just one of the breathtaking views in Val d’ Orcia a UNESCO World Heritage site in Sienna Tuscany. We were driving from Cortona to Montepulciano to meet a friend. The views were what you imagine when you think of Tuscany. In person the views are so classic and overwhelming it is hard …
You Ain’t Lived Till You’ve Been to The Pudding Club
While I was on a recent small group garden tour in England I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of The Pudding Club. This particular club meets every Friday evening at The Three Ways House in Mickleton Chipping Camden in the heart of the Cotswolds region. I got drafted to carry one of the …
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Scorpions & Cactus In Italy, Oh My!
Yes we met a scorpion here in Italy! We thought this one found under our door in Umbria was dead but then he disappeared... The next day as we entered Tuscany we stopped at the most amazing garden center that only sold cactus. I wondered did we go to sleep and awaken in the American …
Umbria-Un Po’ di Relax
The region of Umbria is referred to as “Italy’s Green Heart” and it truly is. We spent three days at Casale Mille Soli an agriturismo B&B in Mugnano Poggio a part of Perugia. It sits way back in the olive grove covered rolling hills. You drive along a winding, rocky dirt road past pastures and …
Cantine Caggiano – Where Wine and Art Combine
Welcome to Cantine Antonio Caggiano. Signor Caggiano was a world famous photographer. Today he expresses his creativity via a unique process of photography combined with acrylics on canvas and with the production of his many wines. Located in Taurasi di Avellino, Italy this winery is like nothing in the US. Why? Because when it was …
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Mangia! The Neverending Dinner
Il Rifugio del Barone is an agriturismo in Taurasi di Avellino Italy, my grandparents hometown. It is high up in the mountains about an hour from Naples. An agriturismo features food grown on their own farm or nearby farms. The meal I am about to share with you cost 25 euro per person and included …
A Little Bird Told Me “Take the Collesium Tour”
This is my seventh time in Italy and finally I took the tour inside the Collesium, also called the Flavian Ampitheater. How long it took to build varies depending on how you define it. Two years to prepare the site, 8 years to build all but the top round, a few more years to build …
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On the Cliffs of Kiftsgate
Kiftsgate sits high up overlooking the Cotswold town of Chipping Camden where we stayed for our tour. When we finished at Hidcote we walked about a mile over to Kiftsgate. Kiftsgate is built upon and down the side of a cliff and is more free spirited than Hidcote. This modernistic stark pond contrasted with the giant …
The Formality of Hidcote Manor Garden
Hidcote is praised as a classic example of compartmentalized garden style. It is clearly laid out in areas and has a more formal, structured feel. I tended to like the less formal areas along a stream that bubbles through it. The pink blooms are candleabra primroses and I just love all the lush boggy plants. …
A Bit of India – Sezingcote Garden
It won’t surprise you to know that this garden was built by a son of The East India Trading Company founder beginning in 1815. The architecture and the design of the garden were inspired by life in India. Photos were not allowed inside the house. For me the most interesting thing inside the house …
On the Road Again 