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La Dolce Vita

In and around Italy

I've got that itch again...after three years of homesteading in New York City, I'm returning to Italy for three months of farming through the WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) program. My first foray into the pastoral life in 2003 lasted just about a month and a half and gave me a good introduction; this time around I'm ready for some serious tutelage in everything from the chestnut harvest to raising strawberries in greenhouses.

I'm hoping to stay on three to four different farms, in regions as diverse as Lombardy, Abruzzo, and Sicily. True to form, I'm leaving the detailed planning for when I arrive in Milan. North to Lake Como? West to Turin? I'll see how I'm feeling....

Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Shermo

  1. 1

    Southern Comfort

    Atlanta, United States | Sep 05 '06 | Reviews: 0
    Before I took off on a three-month backpacking and farming adventure, I needed a primer trip to get the travel juices flowing. More truthfully, I need... Continue reading »
  2. 2

    Languid by the Lakes

    Menaggio, Italy | Sep 20 '06 | Reviews: 1

    Those who know me well will not be shocked to hear that I missed my flight the day I was supposed to leave New York. Damn traffic jam! Why does thi... Continue reading »

     see 1 place visited »  
  3. 3

    Found a Farm!

    Como, Italy | Sep 29 '06 | Reviews: 0

    It's much too early to be heartbroken, but it is true--leaving Menaggio, which I do this afternoon, is harder than I thought it could be. Every day... Continue reading »

  4. 4

    From a fat hand to the Fat City

    Bologna, Italy | Sep 30 '06 | Reviews: 0

    As the epicenter of all things good to eat in Italy, Bologna has earned a reputation as THE city for food. Or so my guidebook says, noting it's cal... Continue reading »

  5. 5

    Chickens Will Eat Anything

    Zola Predosa, Italy | Oct 02 '06 | Reviews: 1
    Say you have some bread crusts that are too hard even to sop up olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Perhaps you also have vegetable peels and some day-old... Continue reading »
     see 1 place visited »  
  6. 6

    A Row on the Po

    Turin, Italy | Oct 25 '06 | Reviews: 1

    When in Turin, can you row? Why yes, said Bette, here you can row. Yes, oh yes...right on the Po! Your experience, though, I'd like to know. Ca... Continue reading »

     see 1 place visited »  
  7. 7

    Jenny Will Eat Anything

    Turin, Italy | Oct 25 '06 | Reviews: 2
    I have eaten Turkish grub and tasted at least seven types of honey; sampled musky and aromatic balsamic vinegars aged for half my lifetime in cherrywo... Continue reading »
     see 2 places visited »  
  8. 8

    Harvesting Olives in Umbria

    Citta della Pieve, Italy | Oct 31 '06 | Reviews: 1

    After gorging on Italian delicacies for days on end and getting in a few rows on the Po River, I departed Turin for my next farm: Cimbolello, a sma... Continue reading »

     see 1 place visited »  
  9. 9

    Roamin' in Roma

    Rome, Italy | Nov 28 '06 | Reviews: 0

    The Eternal City! I returned to Roma yesterday on a whim. Actually, it was on the way from Umbria to Sicilia, via the overnight train, wh... Continue reading »

  10. 10

    Jenn vs. the Volcano...the Volcano Won

    Mt. Etna, Italy | Dec 02 '06 | Reviews: 0

    There are scant few natural phenomenon that register on the mind of a Midwestern girl who grew up amid forested bluffs and Mississippi backwaters r... Continue reading »

  11. 11

    Kitchen Help

    Comiso, Italy | Dec 03 '06 | Reviews: 0

    Sicilia is not full of shady mafiosi. It is not derelict and populated by shifty, mistrustful locals. Folks here do, however, talk in a funny nasal... Continue reading »

  12. 12

    Far From the Madding Milanese Crowd

    Milan, Italy | Dec 16 '06 | Reviews: 1
    There are a few different ways one can travel from one end of Italy to another. I chose to take the overnight train once again, mostly because I love... Continue reading »
     see 1 place visited »  
Lakis avatar Lakis on Sep. 18, 2006 @ 03:47PM said
Hey J, Good to hear from you. Hope you're having fun. WWOOF is the kind of thing I always wish I had done before I got married and had kids etc. I hope you're planning to write about it -- I can only imagine that it would make some great pieces! And don't forget to learn some real agricultural skills -- never know when it might come in handy. Lakis
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craigsnyc avatar craigsnyc on Sep. 18, 2006 @ 03:47PM said
Hey baby! I just got back from Hamburg on Friday. I sent you email but your old address is no good. (now that i read your blog i know why.) Anyway, I decided I had to be responsible and come back home, especially after spending so much money in London!! Please send me your new email address. I hope everyone is treating you well!! XO, Craig
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Momma Sue avatar Momma Sue on Sep. 18, 2006 @ 03:47PM said
Jen - I can't wait to hear about all your adventures. I will be able to experience them thru your gift of words. Love, Momma Sue
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dave sheppard avatar dave sheppard on Sep. 18, 2006 @ 03:47PM said
jenny: it's beautiful there: it's a different sort of beautiful here; past peak, most leaves are stripped, and our first flurries show up tomorrow. It was 82 Saturday - I road 42 miles out toward Stillwater on a trail - tomorrow, it will be 37. Tonight there will be 6 to 11 inches falling up in Lake and Cook counties, on the north shore of Superior. With any luck, I'll be gliding through night woods soon. Teaching is a learning experience, and just now, I'm learning how. My students have a pinup tomorrow, and tonight are finishing their design drawings, models, and collective voodoo doll of me. You know how I feel about chestnuts: I raked up seven sackfuls of them off my yard a few weeks back, and you won't want to be wearing sandals for that task, dearheart. They're sharp and painful: dress defensively. best....... dave
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Gene Rebeck avatar Gene Rebeck on Sep. 18, 2006 @ 03:47PM said
La dolce Shermo! La mi amica! No wonder you haven't written me back. (You did get my letter to your NYC digs?) I still think you should be beekeeping in Slovenia on your itinerary. Your pic is très chic, by the way.
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Jasmine avatar Jasmine on Sep. 18, 2006 @ 03:47PM said
I am so jealous! Maybe I'll do this in a year or so too. It looks like it's going to be a ton of fun.
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