EAT, STRAY, LOVE: Italy, Tuscany, and the Maremma

by Gadling Staff on

With the release of another popular film set in Italy, people worldwide know of the country’s most luscious region: Tuscany. But few realize the Mediterranean Sea skims along the classic wine and olive region, and combines sensational flavors with unforgettable views.

Here, find three ways to enhance the Italian culinary adventure and traveler’s delight, in the unforgettable Maremma region, nestled into the southern coastline of renowned Tuscany.

EAT
In Italy, it is impossible to miss the food and drink. Even the least-interested traveler can find a meal to please. But for the food-lover, Tuscany’s southwestern Maremma region borders the Mediterranean Sea and offers wine and olives with an additional alluring treat: fresh seafood.

What to do: Seek out a local olive oil producer (in Canino) and wine producer (Montepulciano and Chianti among others), and venture along the Mediterranean coast, where the blue Sea washes up to greet the Tuscan hills. Stop at one of the coastal restaurants to enjoy the unspoiled coast and its culinary treasures.

What to try: the excellent local Maremma wine, Morellino di Scansano, a local seafood and pasta specialty, spaghetti allo scoglio, accompanied by the local sheep cheese called pecorino.

STRAY
With cities like Siena, and Florence, and Pisa, Tuscany has its legs rooted in the artistic Renaissance. But venture off the worn path a bit, and you’ll discover the colors of the countryside, the irresistible wandering landscape striped with vineyards, checkered with olive groves, and punctuated with ruins dipped in history.

What to do: Visit the ancient Etruscan ruins in Etruria or Pecorino, or stop at one of the many castle ruins or fortress towns located high on the hills.

What to try: If in Sovano, touring Città del Tufo, plan to eat at nearby La Taverna Etrusca, for its romance and excellent food. The smiles and dialogue in Italian as the owner brings out each savory dish is most memorable.

LOVE
In Tuscany, every road leads through vast fields of grazing sheep or cattle, or cultivated with olive groves and vineyards. The colors and lines as they play across the landscape mesmerize with unsurpassed beauty. This richness of experience, the slower pace of life found in enjoying the simple pleasures, like a glass of wine or a good coffee … this is the Italy that does not leave even after the traveling is over. Long after the bottles of wine and olive oil have run dry, the irresistible flavors of Tuscany linger, and lure the traveler back again.

What to do: Stay in an Agriturismo villa, for an authentic stay in Tuscany.

This traveler will be returning to Tuscany’s Maremma in autumn, for the olive harvest. My family and I can’t wait to venture back into Italy for another refreshing week savoring the flavors and walking the coast and countryside.

Jennifer Lyn King, a native Texan, lives in the Czech Republic, where she writes from her home near Prague. She is the author of The One Year Mini for Busy Women. Read her blog on Red Room. All the photos above are copyright Jennifer Lyn King.

Hidden Treasures: The Tiger Food Mart in Northeast Georgia

by Gadling Staff on

For the best hamburgers anywhere around Rabun County, in Northeast Georgia, you’ll need to go where the locals go! Tiger Food Mart, on old highway 441, is located at the four way stop in the middle of Tiger, across from the Post Office.

Looking at the Tiger Food Mart, you probably wouldn’t expect them to serve food. From the outside, Tiger Food Mart looks like a “run of the mill” combination grocery store/gas station, complete with gas pumps out front. However, inside on the left there is a menu board and window for placing orders. If you walk all the way to the back of the store, you’ll find a room with booths, where people are sitting and eating from early morning breakfast through late lunchtime.

Tiger Food Mart’s hamburgers are homemade, just like Mama used to make. Tiger Food Mart’s sweet tea is delicious, and comes with free refills when you dine in. If you want some of Tiger Food Mart’s famous chocolate poundcake with chocolate icing, you have to get there early, or it will be gone! One of those cakes brought close to $50.00 at a charity auction recently! There are always collection jars for spare change on the counter to help neighbors in need. Everyone is friendly at the Tiger Food Mart, and “regulars” quickly become “locals.” Y’all come!

Jamie White Wyatt is a Seed.com contributor.

Bring a travel corkscrew – Packing tip

by Gadling Staff on

While you’re on vacation abroad, few things compare to an impromptu picnic in the open air. It is the perfect opportunity for sampling the local foodstuffs, wine, and scenery.

Depending on where you are in the world, tracking down a corkscrew can often turn an uncomplicated experience into a bit of an ordeal. On your next trip, save yourself some time and always pack a handy travel corkscrew.

[Photo: Flickr | YannGar Photography]

Don’t take sleep aids until you’re in the air – Airplane tip

by Gadling Staff on

Though it may seem appealing to sleep through those long waits on the tarmac, avoid the temptation to take a sleep aid until you’re up in the air.

You may miss important announcements, or, worse yet, you may be asked to disembark and wait for a later plane.

If you plan to take a sleep aid, be sure to take a seat where you are less likely to block in other passengers, like a window seat or a middle seat. Your fellow passengers don’t want to climb over your dead weight in the middle of the night.

[Photo: Flickr | mirjoran]

Carry a door stop – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

Ever worry that you might have an unwelcome visitor during the night in your hotel room? While most hotels have a deadbolt or a chain lock which can be engaged only from the interior of a hotel room, many cheap accommodations — especially some found overseas — offer less protection for their guests.

To deal with this, I carry a small rubber wedge that is normally used to hold doors open with me. Before I go to bed, I wedge it between the door and the floor. It’s inexpensive, easy to pack, and gives me a little peace of mind when patronizing less-than-glamorous lodgings.

[Photo: Flickr | General Wesc]