Cooking with Michele in Italy | Cooking With Michele®

Join me for an experience of a lifetime in Italy! Next trip – May 2013

Traveling to Italy to attend a cooking school is an incredible experience. I love Rome and the Puglia region and the people so much I take groups on culinary adventures each year. I do all the planning and preparation for these trips, and help you organize everything from how to pack and what to wear to how to book your flights and how to manage jet lag. You’ll receive monthly newsletters from me beginning 6-8 months prior to our travel full of information to help you learn about the trip and to whet your appetite, both literally and figuratively!

Rome

We begin our adventures with three days in Rome, my favorite city in the world, adjusting to the time change, sipping our espresso macchiatos, seeing the sights with a culinary slant, dining in a local home of a Cesarina in Rome, and practicing our Italian. I lead the group to all of the Centro Storico highlights in Rome, including the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navonna, the Pantheon and Il Vittoriano.We share a guided tour through the Jewish ghetto in Rome, essential to understanding much of the culinary history of Rome. Optional guided tours are available for St. Peter’s and the Vatican, the Borghese Art Gallery, and Ancient Rome. Our hotel is the Albergo Santa Chiara, perfectly located smack in the middle of the historic center of Rome, within walking distance to everything you’d want to visit.

The Awaiting Table at the Castle

After our short visit in Rome, we travel south by train to the region of Puglia, located in the very southernmost heel of Italy, where a lovingly restored – and impressively large – castle in Spongano serves as the kitchen for The Awaiting Table cookery school run by Silvestro Silvestori.The week-long program provides the perfect mix of cooking, food and wine, sightseeing, relaxing, and generally becoming one with the place. You’ll be awed by the beauty of the castle and warmed by the friends you will make during the week.

Lecce

After our time at the cooking school, we return to the Baroque town of Lecce for the weekend. We’ll stay at a lovely B&B right in the center of the preserved historic city, just steps away from Antonio’s wonderful bar where he’ll make us cappuccino in the morning and his wife will serve us little snacks. You’ll grow so fond of him you’ll hate to even think of returning home and making your own coffee each morning!We’ll have the opportunity to tour this gorgeous baroque city with a guide who specializes in the history and architecture of the region and you’ll have plenty of time to shop, wander, and take in the town.

2013 Schedule

Wednesday, May 1st – depart for Italy to arrive on Thursday (or you may arrive earlier)

Thursday, May 2nd – casual touring as a group through Centro Storico to adjust to time change with lunch along the way; casual dinner for those feeling up to it

Friday, May 3rd – guided group tour of the Jewish ghetto followed by a group lunch; optional guided tours of the Borghese Art Gallery, Ancient Rome, or Vatican in the afternoon; group dinner

Saturday, May 4th – optional guided tours of the Borghese Art Gallery, Ancient Rome, or Vatican; free time for shopping and sightseeing; group dinner in a private home in Rome

Sunday, May 5th – morning train to Lecce, transfer to the Castle in Spongano; welcome dinner at The Awaiting Table

Sunday through Friday – The Awaiting Table Cookery School; day trip to Otranto

Saturday, May 11th – farewells at the Castle and return to Lecce for the weekend
(optionally you may continue directly to Rome on Saturday to prepare for a Sunday departure to the US)

Monday, May 13th – return to Rome via train; farewell group dinner in Rome

Tuesday, May 14th – departure (for home or other travels)

Estimated* Trip Cost – $4,500 – $5000

The Awaiting Table – $2800 (double) / $3100 (single) all inclusive for cooking school, hotel, meals, wine, tours
Hotel in Rome – $200-$300 per night (double occupancy versus single occupancy)
Meals, Taxis, Tours in Rome – $500 (charged according to what you participate in)
Train to Lecce – $300
Booking Fee – $250 (non-refundable)
Optional weekend in Lecce – $300

*Costs may vary based on rates at the time of booking and exchange rates. Airfare not included – many past participants used miles for free flights. I am happy to provide assistance booking flights or advising how to use miles. Charges are invoiced in four segments – booking fee, school, hotel/train/tours, final expenses.