Cesare, the coppersmith of the Tuscan hill town of Montepulciano, is a proud old artisan with a spirit as strong as the oak-tree root upon which his grandfather’s anvil sits. For Cesare, every day is show-and-tell, as steady streams of travelers with my Florence & Tuscany guidebook drop by to see him work, stroke his beautiful ego, and say hi. It is people-to-people moments like this that distinguish a good trip.
Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick
Cooking in Florence on a Rick Steves Tour
With so many travelers into food these days, food tours and cooking classes have become a big deal all over Europe. And a cooking class is a perfect example of how we, as part of our bus tours, encourage our travelers to roll up their sleeves and dig into the local culture through real experiences. I love to bump into our tours while in Europe doing my research. And just the other day I met one of our Venice/Florence/Rome tour groups and joined them for lunch. The catch? We had to cook it ourselves. Fun and enthusiastic Fabrizio (of the In Tavola Cooking School) had five mini-kitchens set up for our group where he and his staff led us through a marvelous 90 minutes of cooking fun. And, I swear, the food was as good as anything you might expect in a fine restaurant. Plus, knowing that we had made the bruschetta, pasta, sauce, chicken, and even the tiramisu ourselves, made it taste even better. What favorite food-tour and cooking-class memories do you have from your European travels?
See photos from this cooking class on The Travelphile.
Eating in Florence
Bobo runs one of my favorite Florence restaurants, Antica Trattoria da Tito, with attitude. And sometimes that attitude puts off my readers. But once you embrace Bobo’s devil-may-care flair for fun and dining, you’ll enjoy an unforgettable meal.
This is Bobo and these are his rules. As you can see, don’t try to get your meat cooked well and forget about cappuccino after lunch or dinner.
With so many travelers into food these days, food tours and cooking classes have become a big deal all over Europe. And a cooking class is a perfect example of how we, as part of our bus tours, encourage our travelers to roll up their sleeves and dig into the local culture through real experiences. I love to bump into our tours while in Europe doing my research. And just the other day I met one of our Venice/Florence/Rome tour groups and joined them for lunch. But first, we had to cook the meal. Fun and enthusiastic Fabrizio (of the In Tavola cooking school) had five mini-kitchens set up for our group where he and his staff led us through a marvelous 90 minutes of cooking fun.
Of course, after cooking our meal, we got to eat it. And, I swear, the food was as good as anything you might expect in a fine restaurant. Plus, knowing that we had made the bruschetta, pasta, sauce, chicken, and even the tiramisu ourselves, made it taste even better.
See more photos from this cooking class on The Travelphile.
Video: White Night in Florence
With my work, I rarely plan to be anywhere for a local festival. But when one hits, I make it a point to enjoy it. In Florence, the night before May Day is a huge blowout called White Night. All the museums are free and open late, all the places to eat and drink are ready to serve, and it seems everyone is out in the streets.
Rather than stay in your hotel room and complain about the noise, your best response is to get out in the streets and make them even noisier. What big-city, after-dark blowout festivals have you stumbled onto?
Just When I Thought My Future Was Set…
This high school prom portrait shows a young man destined to become a tuxedo-rental model just months before enjoying his first trip to Europe without parents — a trip that derailed what promised to be an exciting modeling career.