I spent the better part of yesterday popping in on the wonderful agriturismos we recommend in my Italy guidebook. An agriturismo is a rural B&B run by small farmers who are trying to survive in a modern economy. Here in Italy, you can’t call yourself an “agriturismo” unless you are actually a working farm. This place (Casanova Agriturismo near Asciano, in the province of Siena) certainly is. But, as you’ll see, you can go in less than a minute from the sweet smell of cows to the sweetness of doing nothing poolside with a vast Tuscan view. (BTW, the trendy thing these days is what’s termed a “Zero Kilometer Meal” — serving food that is virtually all grown on the farm from zero kilometers away. And it’s a meal you’ll never forget.)
Peace and Quiet at My Tuscan B&B
While filming in Tuscany, our TV crew enjoyed the company of a great guide, Roberto Bechi. And we also enjoyed staying at Roberto’s farmhouse B&B, Podere Casalciccia, perched on a bluff in the middle of pristine Tuscany (20 minutes south of Siena).
Roberto’s place has basically the same old fireplace that I have at my cabin back in the Cascades. This brought me unexpected joy as I spent each evening fireside, catching up on my writing late into the night. Something I never dreamed I’d take home from Tuscany: an appreciation for how beautifully oak burns. And each morning as the fire crackled, I’d watch the lifting fog slowly reveal the surrounding valleys.
Do you have a favorite B&B memory?
Children Bring a Little Easter-Lilly Joy to a Siena Retirement Home
Siena is filled with sightseeing tourists oblivious to everyday (yet delightful) realities of life just down the street. For our Easter television special, we dropped by a retirement home where little kids just learning about the meaning of Easter were entertaining people who had celebrated it eighty times. This is what I love about travel: Experiencing something that feels familiar, but in a different hemisphere — reminding me how touchingly similar people are, all around the globe.
Rick Steves’ European Easter — Coming to Public Television in 2016
In 2007, we produced the Rick Steves’ European Christmas public television special, which has become a mainstay on the public airwaves during the holiday season. This year, we’re filming a bookend to that special: Rick Steves’ European Easter, which will air across the USA next year. Click the images below to learn more about our shoot in Italy this Holy Week.
We’re learning that Europe celebrates Easter in ways both familiar and delightfully exotic. For example, a charming tradition in Rome is that a man will bring a small treasure for his loved one (like this necklace) to the local chocolate shop, where it will be encased in a big, decorative chocolate egg. Later, he’ll pick up his completed gift, which is certain to add cheer to someone’s Easter morning.
The thought of preschoolers brightening the day of seniors in a retirement home with music, dance, and homemade gifts touches my heart. And to experience that in a different hemisphere reminds me of how much we all have in common. For our Easter special, we dropped by a senior center in Siena just in time to witness an ambush of eight-year-olds-meet-eighty-year-olds fun.
Many of my friends are at the same stage of life as I am, with a surviving parent in assisted living. Seeing such joy on faces that have lived through so much history added an extra dimension to my Easter.
My favorite Tuscan guide, Roberto Becchi, is our “fixer” for this Easter-in-Tuscany shoot. After a long day of blessing olive branches, filming sumptuous art telling the story of Christ’s Passion, making Easter pasta, and watching kids chop open big eggs, we drove home with dinner. I never considered “pizza to go” in Italy — from a small-town pizza chain based in Romania.
One of My Favorite Squares in Europe
Sitting on a balcony overlooking Siena’s Il Campo, which hosts Europe’s wildest horse race twice a year, my tour-guide friend Roberto Bechi tells me about his city’s Palio pandemonium.
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.