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Culture, Food and Learn Italian in Abruzzo

Highlights

  • Interact with local in markets and cooking classes
  • Learn some Italian in a unique and fun way
  • Be joined by a local expert guide throughout
From £1829 pp
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What you'll do

Overview

Enjoy learning about Italian culture, food and the language itself on this immersive tour in one of the most beautiful regions in Italy.

2023 Dates

15 – 21 October SOLD OUT

2024 Dates

28 April – 4 May

For anyone eager to live an immersive adventure in the Italian culture and traditions, where you really learn about food, region and people this is the tour for you.

Your host and local guide Fabrizio, together with his family, friends and the local Italian Language School in Lingua will organise amazing experiences that combine passion, beautiful places and locals to show you the best of the region’s off-the-beaten-track secrets. This is a fully escorted tour that will give you the insights to daily life, Italian language, food & wine, culture and production in Abruzzo.

Everyday you’ll have a couple of hours of fun Italian language class all in different locations, not in a school. You will be talking and learning about the experiences and visits that you’ll do that day or the following so that you could be fully able to interact. You will be able to practice with the local community during our guided tours and visits in Italian.

But don’t worry they will speak slowly and our teacher will help you with translation so you don’t need to be able to speak Italian before you come.

 

Arrival

Upon arrival you will be picked up at the airport and drive to the ancient roman town of Vasto on the Adriatic Coast. On the ride over admire the beautiful Abruzzo mountains and National Parks.

You will check in at the charming and family run Hotel in the historical center of Vasto where you will meet your Italian teacher and tour leader and learn some more about the 7-day Italian language, cultural and culinary vacation.

Enjoy the evening at a traditional restaurant to with welcome group dinner in the heart of Vasto.

Accommodation:

Hotel San Marco

Rooms at the San Marco are spacious, with modern furnishings and tiled floors. Each includes a private bathroom complete with a toiletry set and hairdryer.

An Italian breakfast is served daily, with croissants and cappuccino coffee. Staff are on hand to recommend a variety of restaurants, all a short walk from the hotel.

Vasto di Marina’s long sandy beaches are 1.9 miles from the hotel and can be reached by bus from the town centre. Boats to Ortona and the Tremiti Islands leave from Porto di Vasto, a 15-minute drive away.

 

Italian Class in a Winery, Wine Tasting and Exploring Vasto

Start off each day of the tour with a traditional breakfast made of freshly baked bread, whole fruit country-style preserves, cake, pastries, coffee, tea cheeses and salami.

After breakfast, we visit an award winning winery that lies between a marine park and the mountains in Vasto. We will have our first  Italian language class where we will talk about food, olive oil, and Italian wines. After this, you will have learnt how to ask for your favourite vinos in Italian.

Then we tour the vineyard and cellars with winemakers Emanuele and Nicola and enjoy some wine tasting and lunch with pairings from local cheeses and salami

In the afternoon we will explore Vasto historical center Loggia Amblingh, overlooking the  crescent-shaped coastline. As well as the old town with its medieval castle the cathedral and Piazza Rossetti, dedicated to a poet from the town.

In the evening enjoy exploring the town by yourself and finding a restaurant for dinner.

Visit a Market, Make Homemade Pasta and Visit an Oil Mill

Following breakfast, we visit Vasto’s colourful market to get seasonal products. Here you will have the possibility to practice a little bit of that Italian you learnt yesterday with help from your guide.

Next, we drive to the beautiful countryside of Vasto where we will meet Fabrizio’s family to have an exclusive cooking class with them and learn how easy it is to make fresh pasta. But that will be your lunch so better not mess it up!

After a hearty lunch, We  visit an Olive Grove that has been farmed by a local family for three generations to produce olive oil. He will teach us about the secrets to great olive oil and we will get to taste it for ourselves.

In the evening you will get to have some free time for dinner.

Italian Language Class in a Seaside Natural Reserve, Trabocchi Coast and Lunch on a Trabucco

After breakfast we will explore the famous Trabocchi coastline. We will start with a walk inside the “Punta Aderci” Nature Reserve, from where you can also admire snow-capped mountains. Which is where you will be having an Italian class if its a nice day, where you will learn about the region.

We will visit a trabucco which is an Italian fishing dock. Learn how to fish and learn about the history of the dock. And enjoy a traditional lunch on the dock.

Enjoy some free time in the afternoon, maybe visit the beach or go biking along the coast its up to you!

After heading back to Vasto you can enjoy some alone time at dinner at one of the traditional restaurants in town.

Italian Class in a Farmhouse, Farm-to-Table Lunch and a Medieval Castle

We start the day off by having an Italian lesson in a farmhouse where we learn about rural life and medieval castles and history. Then you can relax in the countryside or participate in some Italian farming and collect some Italian wine for a little snack with some cheese and biscuits. We then learn how to make ricotta cheese and collect some vegetables for lunch, with pasta, eggs, meats and breads all from the farm.

In the afternoon, explore the enchanting Abruzzo’s castle in the sky in the charming village of Roccascalegna.

After this, we head back to Vasto where you will be able to go to a wine bar for wine and cheese or walk around the town and get an ice cream as you you wont need a big dinner!

Italian class in an art studio, art experience and Lunch

After breakfast we will drive to the little hilltop village of Lentella at Ettore’s “Fattoria d’Arte” (Art farm) Surrounded by an amazing landscape with a stunning view and we  will have our last Italian language class about Italian art, flowers and plants.

Next you can enjoy creating your own postcard made with natural colours produced at the moment mixing leaves and flowers that you can pick at Ettore’s property

We will have an aperitif and a traditional lunch with Ettore and his wife Barbara before we say our goodbyes and head to town for some last minute shopping or some time to relax.

Departure

After breakfast we will leave at around 9 am  for Rome Fiumicino Airport which is about 3.5 hours driving from Vasto so we will be in time for the afternoon flight.

What's included

Included

  • 6 Nights accommodation
  • Daily buffet breakfast
  • 4 Italian lessons
  • 6 meals
  • 2 hands on cooking classes
  • All transport and entrance fees
  • Local expert guide
  • Transfers to and from Rome airport
Your local host

Fabrizio and friends

Fabrizio is your tour guide and host extraordinaire on his Italian gastronomy holidays. Native to the region of Abruzzo in central Italy, he is immensely proud of its history and heritage. Fabrizio’s passion for keeping everything local also means that guests on his holidays will be joining his family for cooking lessons, meeting local producers and using only locally sourced products.

This is not your typical cooking school or indeed cookery holiday. All cooking activities and gastronomic experiences take place in the local’s homes, on local farms, or in the hills on the lands of local suppliers and families. There is no “professional chef” on this holiday – you are learning from housewives, mothers, fat... Read All

Fabrizio is your tour guide and host extraordinaire on his Italian gastronomy holidays. Native to the region of Abruzzo in central Italy, he is immensely proud of its history and heritage. Fabrizio’s passion for keeping everything local also means that guests on his holidays will be joining his family for cooking lessons, meeting local producers and using only locally sourced products.

This is not your typical cooking school or indeed cookery holiday. All cooking activities and gastronomic experiences take place in the local’s homes, on local farms, or in the hills on the lands of local suppliers and families. There is no “professional chef” on this holiday – you are learning from housewives, mothers, fathers, brothers, farmers and fisherman, as well as wine makers, olive producers. Pretty much everyone in the community and what you’ll learn, see and experience are not taught it in schools but refined and passed down through the generations.

Fabrizio and friends image
Sustainability Efforts

What Sustainability Efforts are we Taking?

At Not in the Guidebooks we’re committed to empowering the local communities in Costa Rica. We work closely with the local people and their businesses to make sure that they receive a fair percentage of the money you spend on your holiday there. By partnering with local guides and suppliers, we’re able to create meaningful, authentic experiences that directly benefit the people who call this incredible country home.

Learn More

Location

Set in the central region of Abruzzo, which boasts the Adriatic sea to the east and a lush mountainous landscape to the west, this unique Italian cooking holiday will prove to be a culinary adventure through your host Fabrizio’s home region. Based in his hometown of Vasto, a charming seafront town, you are perfectly placed to experience the tastes, culture and people of the area, where you will learn to cook in local kitchens or farms during the day, and have the nights to explore the city.

Nearest airports:
Roma Fiumicino Airport (around 3.5 hours away)

Return airport transfers:
Free airport transfers to and from Roma Fiumicino are included in the price.

FAQs

Is this your suitable for vegetarians?

Yes of course! You just need to let us know before you come so we can make the necessary arrangements.

Do I need to know Italian before I come?

No, you could have never spoken a work of Italian before and still love this tour. Your guide will be there to help with translation.

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