travel

Italy Soon: Let’s Plan!

/ Mimi's Travel File / 8 Comments

As soon as it’s safe, let’s go to Italy.

I’m not talking Rome, Venice, Florence. I’m talking back roads, hilltop towns, ancient sites, and small, intriguing places without tour buses.

(photo by Zoom Team/Shutterstock.com)
La Foce (photo courtesy of La Foce)
Brolio Castle (photo courtesy of Brolio Castle)

I’m talking “slow travel,” the safe travel trend where you dig into one lovely region. You are based in a small, great hotel and fan out from there. Seeing the sites without the hordes.

Dream Now

Let’s dream up our trip to Italy now. Have the fun of planning it out, like taking a trip vicariously. Then, when Covid fades — and it will — we will be ready to hop on the next plane!

(photo courtesy of Shaiith/Shutterstock.com)

Where shall we go?

We’re in LUCK because I know someone who goes to Italy every year to scout out the best of the best.

Italy Expert with Great Taste

Meet Mary Ervolina! Mary knows more about upscale, authentic travel in Italy than anyone I know. She heads a travel advisory company called OnlyItaly Custom Italian Travel. Let’s use my interview with her to plan our trip.

Mimi’s Travel File: When you dream of your first post-Covid trip to Italy, where do you long to go?

Plan Now

Mary Ervolina: Chianti. I dream of its rolling hills, vineyards, fields of sunflowers and ancient hilltop towns. This article in TraveLife captures Chianti’s charm.

(photo by Maria Uspenskaya/Shutterstock.com)
Greve, Chianti (photo by Stefano Cellai/Shutterstock.com)
the 9th century village of Villa a Sesta (photo courtesy of Villa a Sesta website)

Travel without Fear, Post-Covid

Mimi’s Travel File: How will you see Chianti’s sights and still safeguard your health?

Mary Ervolina: I will stay at a wonderful, small, hotel with high standards for everything, including cleanliness. And I will rent a car or car w/guide and fan out from my hotel on day trips. No mass transportation. No big cities, teaming with people.

Great Hotel

Mimi’s Travel File: Which hotel would you choose?

Mary Ervolina: Borgo San Felice! It is an 8th century Tuscan village that was in ruins before the hotel company renovated the entire village in 1992. Now, the whole village is a five-star Relais & Chateaux hotel.

chapel at Borgo San Felice (photo courtesy of Borgo San Felice)

Mimi’s Travel File: What do you like best about Borgo San Felice?

Mary Ervolina: Location and luxury. Many of the upscale hotels in the Italian countryside are pretty isolated but this hotel has a couple of little towns nearby and a Michelin-starred restaurant only seven minutes away.

Mimi’s Travel File: And if I’d rather not drive to dinner after a long day of touring?

Mary Ervolina: No problem! Just walk down Borgo San Felice’s cobbled lanes to its two, excellent restaurants. Have an aperitif on the hotel’s patio or bring the bottle that you bought in a winery that day and they will serve it to you.

Cin-cin! (photo courtesy of Borgo San Felice)

Mary Ervolina: Be sure to get an olive oil massage in BSF’s spa located in the ancient village’s olive press. Not many hotels can boast this!

(photo courtesy of Borgo San Felice)

Mary Ervolina: BSF’s 40 rooms are spread out around the village, giving it the feel of a smaller hotel. There are even two villas that you can rent for a family group or bunch of friends.

(photo courtesy of Borgo San Felice)

Slow Travel’s the New Trend: Why?

Mimi’s Travel File: You mentioned “slow travel” earlier. What is it?

Mary Ervolina: It’s when you base yourself in one place and spend a chunk of time there, maybe a week, maybe more, and really get to know it, its people and their stories. You take the time to see the many less-visited-but-intriguing sights that most travelers don’t discover because they’re too busy moving from hotel to hotel.

Chianti’s Sights

Mimi’s Travel File: Is there enough to see in Chianti to justify a week’s stay? Given its location between Florence and Siena, I imagine it’s rich in history and art.

Mary Ervolina: Yes. The beauty of Chianti is that there are many wonderful things in a small geographical area, including history (it was first inhabited over 2,000 years ago), art and archaeology.

Mimi’s Travel File: While our readers can click here to view the main museums of Chianti, which do you recommend?

Mary Ervolina: Most clients visit Tuscany as part of a larger trip, and they are over-saturated with museums at this point, and want to just relax, eat and drink. The history of the Barolo winery, the Sculpture Park or the Museum of Vino in Greve are cool places, with a bit of a different twist, not the traditional art galleries.

Mimi’s Travel File: You mentioned getting to know the locals and their stories.

Mary Ervolina: Yes, I love the stories attached to these pockets of sophistication.

Mimi’s Travel File: For example?

Michelin-Starred Restaurant & Love Story

Mary Ervolina: For example, La Bottega del Trenta a tiny Michelin-star restaurant surrounded by vineyards and olive groves.

La Bottega del Trenta (photo courtesy of Michelin)

Theirs is a love story…It’s website tells it best: “Franco, wine and countryside lover, Elena, his Parisian wife, who fell in love with the Villa a Sesta and its food, decided together to open the restaurant in 1987.”

Elena and Franco (photo courtesy of La Bottega del Trenta)

Mimi’s Travel File: So romantic!

Mary Ervolina: When Elena and Franco married and opened the restaurant, neither knew how to cook…BUT the women of the village taught Elena how to make their very best recipes. What a gift!

La Bottega Francesco

(photo courtesy of Francesco Giorni/La Bottega del Trenta)

Bottega Dario

(photo courtesy of Dario Garofalo/La Bottega del Trenta)

Mary Ervolina: Ten years later, in 1997, Michelin awarded their restaurant a star. While Franco has since departed this earth, Elena continues to cook  like an angel. Michelin has awarded her a star every year for the past 20 years. VERY hard to do!

Mimi’s Travel File: That’s quite a story!

Birthplace of Chianti Wine

Mary Ervolina: Castel Brolio, where Chianti wine was first made, is nearby. Theirs is a story of love and jealousy!

“The ancestral estate of the aristocratic Ricasoli family dates from the 11th century and is the oldest winery in Italy. The castle had largely been abandoned when Bettino Ricasoli decided to move into it in the late 1800’s after becoming jealous at a winter ball in Florence when his young bride danced too closely to a young admirer. To remove her from temptation, he rebuilt the castle, replanted the vineyards and came up with the recipe that forms the basis of what is known today as Chianti Classico.” (from Castel Brolio’s website)

(photo courtesy of Castel Brolio)

You can explore Castel Brolio’s vineyards, beautiful garden, family chapel, and small museum. And its restaurant is excellent!

Osteria di Brolio (photo courtesy of Castel Brolio)

Osteria di Brolio’s chef shared his recipe for Tuscan ragu with us. Cook it tonight to get in the mood for our trip to Chianti!

Tagliatelle with the Tuscan ragù: Try preparing it yourself and then come compare it to the original! (photo courtesy of Osteria di Brolio)

A Garden with a Past

Mary Ervolina: There’s a lovely garden in Chianti called La Foce, near our hotel…

(photo courtesy of La Foce)

A centuries-old estate that had long ago fallen into disrepair, until 1924, when this woman and her husband bought it, revived it and created a stunning garden open to the public. She was also a best-selling author! Her name was Iris Origo, coincidentally.

Iris Origo (photo courtesy of La Foce)
(photo courtesy of La Foce)

Wine and Olive Oil

Mary Ervolina: I like to get to know the local small producers who make superlative products in charming, out-of-the-way locations. The tiny towns that dot the Chianti Classico countryside are full of them. For example:

  • Olive oil producer, Frantoio Montecucco di Caglieri Sara: While its website isn’t impressive, its olive oil is wonderful!
    (photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com)
    (photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com)

    Fattoria La Lama is perhaps the smallest vineyard I have ever visited. Nestled in the hills of the tiny hamlet of San Gusme, La Lama is a true “Mom and Pop” winery, tended by members of the Campani family for the past 50 years.

San Gusme (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
La Lama’s tasting room: Wish I could go now! (photo courtesy of Michele Bindi Fotografo)
dinner at La Lama: Looks like heaven to me! (photo courtesy of La Lama)

Ciao, Ciao 

Mary Ervolina: Between now and your actual trip to Chianti, have fun planning it, order great food from Italy (link to our previous post), and dream by watching the best movies set in Italy.

💋💋

(photo courtesy of Sensa a Sesta)

Elvis, Resilience & the Garden Club

/ Mimi's Travel File / 4 Comments

This is the story of resilience, of making something out of nothing, of rising out of the bad times.

Little Elvis, age 4 (photo courtesy of the Elvis Birthplace Museum)
Elvis, age 12

From Nothing

Elvis Presley was born

  • in the poorest state (Mississippi)
  • during the poorest time (the Great Depression),
  • on the wrong side of the tracks.

How did he rise from the depths to mega-success?

elvis houses

Elvis’ birthplace, left (courtesy of the Elvis Birthplace Museum)

His Father had Gumption

In 1934, Elvis’ mother was expecting the future King. So her husband built a tiny home for them (above) — with his own hands!

  • Time was running out, so he asked for help from his father and brother to build the shack.
  • He didn’t have the $180 for building materials so he borrowed it from the farmer for whom he was a sharecropper. Elvis was born in the shack in 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Elvis’ father had can-do, will-do attitude!

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Elvis and his parents (photo courtesy of Elvis Birthplace Museum)

When Elvis was three, his parents defaulted on the $180 loan. They were evicted. Elvis’ father lost his job. For the next 10 years, they worked odd jobs in Tupelo.

The Kid’s Got Talent!

At age 10, shy, be-speckled Elvis entered the talent contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show at the Tupelo Fairgrounds. He sang “Old Shep” in a WELO Radio broadcast of the show, and won $5 in fair ride tickets.

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Elvis, far right, wearing glasses. Note that he is the only boy wearing a tie & suspenders. Even then, Elvis was a snappy dresser! (photo courtesy of Lee County Courier)

And Generosity

By age 21, he was famous. He had moved to Memphis but came back to Tupelo to perform at the same fairgrounds where he had won the prize at age 10. Click here to see the 1956 concert. The next year, he gave a concert in Tupelo and donated all proceeds to the city to build a park on the land surrounding the shack.

Elvis-performs-a-concert-in-Tupelo-in-1956-and-1957

(photo courtesy of the Elvis Birthplace Museum)

But It Almost Didn’t Happen

One day in Tupelo, long before Elvis was famous, his mother wanted to buy a present for his 10th birthday.  So she and E walked to the hardware store (pictured below).  Because Elvis had always been fascinated by music, his mother wanted to buy a guitar for him. But when they walked into the store, Elvis saw a rifle and wanted that instead! After the store clerk allowed him to test it, Elvis decided on the guitar. Click here to read a letter from the very same store clerk.

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(photos courtesy of Tupelo Hardware)

His Church Pastor taught Elvis to Play the Guitar

A-Look-Around-the-Elvis-Presley-Birthplace-Photo-and-Video-Gallery

Elvis’ childhood church (photo courtesy of Elvis Birthplace Museum)

Elvis first heard gospel music, which influenced his singing, at the little church he and his parents attended regularly.

Elvis and the Garden Club: Really?

Elvis shack GC

Elvis’ birthplace (photo courtesy of the Elvis Birthplace Museum)

“In 1971, the East Heights Garden Club [in Tupelo] began to improve the birthplace as a club project. Over the years the club purchased furniture and other pieces to duplicate the house’s contents from when the Presleys lived there in the 30s,” according to the Elvis Birthplace Museum.

garden club ladies

Garden club ladies (photo courtesy of activerain)

Faith, Hope and Love

Elvis had all three. Maybe that’s why he was able to catapult his talent out of the ashes.

Visit Tupelo’s Elvis Birthplace Museum to see the shack and the family church. Drive to the nearby hardware store. While Graceland is fun, the EBM is touching and inspirational.

 

 

Georgia Fan

/ Mimi's Travel File / 2 Comments

I’m a Georgia fan! You’ve seen my posts on wild, undeveloped Cumberland Island and the lovely, languorous Savannah…

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Cumberland Island

Savannahstreet

Savannah

But here are five Georgia gems that may not be on your radar… and should!

Thomasville

Come see the gorgeous houses built by the rich “Yankees” (e.g., Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Mrs. B. F. Goodrich, Alexander Graham Bell) when they came down from cities in the Northeast and Midwest in the late 1800’s.

thomasville house

Col. Oliver Hazard Payne,  an organizer of the American Tobacco trust, who also assisted with the formation of U.S. Steel, and was affiliated with Standard Oil, bought Greenwood Plantation in Thomasville for a shooting plantation. (photo, circa 1899. courtesy of the Pebble Hill Plantation)

“As the terminus for the railroad, Thomasville was accessible from the north and, during the late 1800’s, became known as the ‘Winter Resort of the South.’ In the beginning of this era, Northerners and other visitors came to Thomasville for their health, breathing the pine-scented air as a curative for pulmonary ailments. They were soon joined by friends to enjoy hunting, fishing, and an active social life, including golf, horse racing and bicycling. Thomasville came to represent the best of Southern hospitality with the lavishness of the resort lifestyle…

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random gorgeous house in Thomasville

Once they discovered that it cost less to purchase land than rent hotel rooms, these wealthy families bought property and built grand Victorian mansions and plantation homes. Many of these plantations are still owned by the families who built them and…have been lovingly restored,” according to Thomasville’s website.

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I desperately wanted to buy this pre-Civil War house!

Thomasville is definitely worthy of an overnight. Stay at The Paxton and request the first floor room, as they don’t have an elevator and who wants to lug heavy suitcases upstairs?! The Paxton is in Thomasville proper, so you can walk to restaurants around this small town. Dine at the Sweet Grass Dairy, a cheese shop (123 S. Broad Street) and restaurant with cheese-centric dishes. Shop at Kevin’s Fine Outdoor Gear & Apparel (111 S. Broad Street). In addition to hunting and fishing gear, Kevin’s sells beautiful tableware, splashy coffee table books, and even offers travel services

kevins

(photo courtesy of Kevin’s)

If you would rather experience staying on a plantation, book a cottage at nearby Pebble Hill Plantation…or just visit for an afternoon. “Hard times during the Civil War and afterwards during Reconstruction created rundown, disheveled property all across the South. Pebble Hill was no exception. The beautiful Main House, designed by architect John Wind in 1851, was in desperate need of repair when Mel purchased the property in 1896,” according to the Pebble Hill Plantation’s website. “Mel” was one of the rich “Yankees” who came from the Midwest to escape the snow.

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Pebble Hill Plantation garden in winter

For an excellent list of more things to do in the Thomasville area, click here. BTW, did you know that Joanne Woodward was born in Thomasville? You just know she brought Paul Newman (swoon) home to visit!

Milledgeville

  • is on the Southern Literary Trail, connecting places in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi that influenced great novelists and playwrights of the 20th Century. Writers Flannery O’Connor (“Wise Blood,” etc.) and Alice Walker (“The Color Purple,” etc.) grew up near Milledgeville. Visit peaceful and evocative  Andalusia Farm, where Miz Flannery completed the bulk of her literary work when she lived there from 1951-1964.
  • is a thriving, small college town, thanks to Georgia College & State University, founded in 1889.
  • has a dramatic Governor’s Mansion with an interesting history.
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Governor’s Mansion in Milledgeville

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Alex Hitz

Alex Hitz, who The Wall Street Journal called “the very best host in the world,” grew up in Atlanta. This summer, I have been cooking my way through his beautiful and sophisticated cookbook, “My Beverly Hills Kitchen.” His recipes are classic Southern cooking with a French twist. Three traits make his cookbook a stand-out:

  • The recipes are consistently good.
  • The intro paragraph to each recipe is always interesting.  For example, did you know that Vichyssoise was invented in the U.S.?
  • Most of his recipes include recommendations for accompanying dishes.

You might want to make some of Alex’s pimento cheese for a snack on your road trip around Georgia. When my friend, Mary Ann, took me on a trip to a small town in Georgia, I was offered glorious pimento cheese sandwiches from three different hosts within 24 hours…and that’s what I like about the South!

Plains

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Jimmy Carter’s former presidential campaign HQ in Plains’ old train station

  • President Jimmy and First Lady Rosalynn Carter are from Plains, a small, unpretentious, rural town, where the Carters were prosperous peanut farmers. Jimmy and Rosalynn were high school sweethearts, whose families were good friends. This couple has come a long way, baby!
  • Visit the Old Schoolhouse Museum for the story of President Carter’s life from boyhood to the presidency.
  • I have heard from a reliable source that the Buffalo Café (118 Main Street) is wonderful!
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random street scene in Plains

  • Visit Maranatha Baptist Church where President Carter still teaches Sunday school, attracting people from all over the world. So impressive, especially given that he is 94 years old! Click here to read an article about this in The Washington Post.
  • Check out nearby Andersonville Civil War cemetery, former site of a prisoner of war camp.

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Between Plains and Macon is beautiful Massee Lane Gardens in Marshallville, home of the American Camellia Society. Best in winter for blooms.

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Farmer Brown’s (photo courtesy of my friend from Georgia)

Also en route from Plains to Macon, stop at Farmer Brown’s Produce Market in Montezuma, GA.  Summer or fall for peaches, produce, peach blossom dessert and ice cream, and zinnia picking. Sounds like a little slice of heaven to me!

Macon

Check out its…

  • eye-popping architecture
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Macon’s Cowles-Bond House, circa 1836

  • Southern throwback comfort food at
    • S&S Cafeteria
    • H&H Restaurant located downtown, with the same wonderful food as S&S, but almost a shrine to the Allman Bros. along with other musicians who dined there in the heyday of Capricorn Records, per my Georgia friend, who took this scrumptious photo…IMG_8496.jpg
    • Dovetail – “divine new Southern cuisine downtown,” according to my Georgia friend, Mary Ann, who knows good food!
    • Rookery – “downtown institution with great bar food,” says Mary Ann.
  • Wesleyan College, the first woman’s college in U.S.. Ever heard of the Soong sisters? I bet you’ve heard of Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Well, before she was Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, she was one of the Soong sisters, from far away China. They attended Wesleyan College. Click here, for their intriguing story.
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We stayed at Macon’s 1842 Inn (pictured here), which was okay and in a great neighborhood.

Musical Travelling Companions

Pack your CDs, hop in your car, crank up the volume and get your groove on with Southern rock and soul bands produced by yet another Georgia gem, Capricorn Records!

Otis-Redding

Sing to me, Otis!  (photo courtesy of performingsongwriter.com)

We’re talking the incomparable Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers, the Marshall Tucker Band, Delbert McClinton (that man’s got soul) and many more.

Literary Travelling Companions

Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell, The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, and An Hour Before Daylight, by Jimmy Carter

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peaches from Farmer Brown’s

A hearty thanks to my Georgia friend, Miz Mary Ann, and her wonderful parents, without whom I would not have known about most of these gems. It sure pays to know interesting and interested people!