ItaliaOutdoors introduces ski adventures for wine and food enthusiasts

by Jessica Festa on

Beginning in December, 2011, ItaliaOutdoors will host snow and ski tours that also include activities for food and wine enthusiasts. These small group excursions will give participants insight into the culinary culture of the Trentino Alto-Adige region of Northeastern Italy.

Each tour can be customized to fit any fitness level and budget, from shorter trails to advanced mountain climbs. Groups will be limited to twelve participants and trips are all-inclusive (aside for airfare). And the best part is, no matter which package you choose, daily wine tastings are included.

The guides for these tours are Vernon McClure and Kathy Bechtel, two extremely qualified individuals to give participants a top-notch trip. McClure has more than fifteen years of experience designing, leading, and teaching ski excursions in Italy and throughout Europe, while Bechtel is a trained ski instructor as well as a chef with formal wine training. In fact, she hosts her own food and wine television show in Sugarloaf, Maine, where she shares travel-inspired tips and recipes.

For more information or to sign up for a tour, click here.

Eurochocolate: Italy’s biggest chocolate festival

by Melanie Renzulli on



Italy may not be synonymous with chocolate in the way that Switzerland is, but it does produce one of the world’s most recognizable brands: Perugina Baci. Wrapped in silver foil dotted with blue stars and lined with a love note, the chocolate and hazelnut morsels known as Baci are the fortune cookies of the chocolate world.

Perugina, the company that manufactures Baci and a handful of other chocolate brands, is named after and based in Perugia, capital of the Italian region of Umbria and the home of Italy’s biggest chocolate festival: Eurochocolate. Each October, more than 100 artisan chocolatiers and European chocolate companies, such as Lindt, Milka, and Toblerone, set up shop along Corso Vannucci, Perugia’s main street, for nine days of chocolate tasting, cooking demonstrations, and clever exhibitions and activities centered around chocolate. For example, with each edition Eurochocolate features sculptures carved from blocks of cacao, ranging from medieval statues to chocolate representations of Italy’s major landmarks. During Eurochocolate, visitors can sign up for all-chocolate spa days or visit participating local restaurants to indulge in entire meals made from chocolate.

Eurochocolate 2011 begins on October 14 and runs through October 23. If you’re unable to catch Eurochocolate in Perugia, both Rome and Turin present their own Eurochocolate festivals at other times of the year.

Photo © Eurochocolate Perugia

Gucci Museum opens in Florence

by McLean Robbins on

One of the world’s most well-known luxury fashion labels, Gucci, this week opened a museum in Florence. While we need very little reason to travel to Italy or to write about anything luxury, this museum seems worth a stop. The opening marks the brand’s 90th anniversary and incorporates both the leather goods and clothing that have made the brand so successful.

The three-level museum, opened to the public Wednesday, is housed inside the luxe 14th century Palazzo della Mercanzia.

Viewers will find handbags owned by Jackie Onassis and Sofia Loren in the basement Gucci Archivea permanent exhibit that houses clothing, accessories and photos from the brand’s history. Other notable items include a custom Cadillac Seville and gowns made for Hilary Swank and Naomi Watts.

Gucci’s parent company PPR also has similar museums for luxury brands Balenciaga and Salvatore Ferragamo.

[Image via Pursuitist]

Video of the Day – Through the Alps

by Stephen Greenwood on

The Alps. Stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany and France in the west, it is one of the greatest mountain ranges in Europe and arguably the greatest range to navigate by car (or motorcycle) in the world.

Today’s Video of the Day captures one man’s motorcycle trip through Austria, Italy, Switzerland, & France along routes such as the Stelvio, the Silvretta, and the Grossglockner; all of which are extremely impressive feats of construction & maintenance. While there isn’t any description or storytelling, it’s a great way to experience the sights and sounds of the Alps.

Have you captured an amazing road adventure? We want to see it too! Share your videos with us in the comments below, or upload photos to our Flickr pool and it could be the next Photo/Video of the Day.

Support blogger David Farley’s documentary film

by Grant Martin on

We’re blessed and proud to have David Farley on our team, a seasoned New York Times writer, contributor to AFAR Magazine, travel blogger, teacher and all around good guy. Among his myriad talents, one of David’s claims to fame his most recent book, An Irreverent Curiosity: In search of the Church’s Strangest Relic in Italy’s Oddest Town, a tale of searching through one of Italy‘s most scenic, vivacious towns in search for Christ’s holy foreskin. It’s a great book if you haven’t picked it up, and one that will surely inspire the traveler in anyone.

Perusing the internets last week I was surprised to learn that there’s a small indie effort collecting together in an effort to turn the book into a documentary film. Directed by Bram Mengelers and following the path of Mr. Farley himself, the project is just starting to build funding over at indiegogo, and if they can raise $8,000 by the middle of October the project will officially launch.

David never mentioned this to me, which I think is pretty great, so I think that the least that we can do is mention it at Gadling.

Take a look at the indiegogo fundraising page. If you’re compelled by the effort or story, take some time to donate. As a perk, you can get anything from postcards from Mr. Farley’s journey to an all expenses paid 5 day trip to Rome and Calcata. Either way, you’re supporting a great cause and a great writer.