Tag: travel in italy

Grazie Morcone for the International Tourism Award!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Nonna's Trips & Events
Annarita Mancini, my cultural adventures partner, and I were invited to talk about
Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo

Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo started in 2016. Rossella Mancini and I gathered up a group of exciting and creative cooks to share their skills with culinary adventurers from all over the United States. How did this idea come about? Was I a tourism creative genius? Like most good ideas there was a catalyst that kicked my ass into creative action. Two women with roots in Pontelandolfo were the absolute catalyst for this initiative. Mary and Leona, while visiting the village of their heritage and saying hi to my next door neighbors, literally recognized me.

“Are you Midge from Nonna’s Mulberry Tree?”

After looking around to see if she was talking to someone else, I grinned like I just won a blog Emmy and said, “gulp, yes.” (I also realized I was in a very old and ugly house dress.)

“We love your blog and are so jealous. I wish I could live here like you and meet everyone.”

“Even for a week,” said her friend.

“But you can I said!” Not knowing what I was committing too, my theatre brain started improvising.

“How?”

Out of my mouth came – “Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo – a new program. Give me your email addresses and I’ll send you the information.”

I tossed on better clothes and dashed to Rossella’s house. Five coffees later, our brain cells were whirling and twirling in the Sannio Hills. 1. Idea was solidified. 2. Organized an army of – hate to be sexist but – women. 3. Meet with those women who would be the first home chefs, hook Annarita Mancini our ace multi lingua person as our primary translator, set a cultural track and bammmmmmm – Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo was born and off!!!! It took a village and still does. Thank you to every cook, translator, historian, cultural group and more. Thank you to all.

From Saturday, May 21 to Saturday May 28, 2016 culinary and cultural adventurers participated in the first ever Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo program. Four of the eight participants had direct Pontelandolfo roots. The other women discovered our village for the first time.

OUR FIRST WONDERFUL GROUP OF 2016 ADVENTURERS – Mary, Leona, Nancy, Dana, Charleen, Eloise, Flora and Lynn! GRAZIE A TUTTI!

This tourism initiative may have its roots in Pontelandolfo but introduces people to the Sannio Hills. Since 2016, the majority of men and women who have used this program to explore our region have been foreigners, without any family history in the area. After one week, those strangers feel not only like family but like proud Pontelandolfese. The international program has grown because those strangers have told other strangers, have told other strangers – and the beat goes on.

At that August 9th jam packed presentation, Annarita and I were stunned when Morcone’s Assessore of Tourism, Giulia Ocone, came up to the microphone with this –

Holey Moley! I actually CRIED!

Grazie al Comune de Morcone, Luigino Ciarlo sindaco, Giulia Ocone Assessore alla cultura, Daria Lepore di il giornali – La Cittadella, e Carlo Perugini per aver creduto in quello che faccio.

Un ringraziamento speciale ai donatori – finanziato dall’ Unione euorpea – Next Generation EU, Ministero degli affari esterni e della cooperativa internazionale, ministero della cultura.

Thank you to Comune de Morcone, Luigino Ciarlo mayor, Giulia Ocone council member for culture, Daria Lepore of the newspaper – La Cittadella, and Carlo Perugini for believing in what I do.

A special thanks to the donors –  finanziato dall’ Unione euorpea – Next Generation EU, Ministero degli affair esterni e della cooperative internazionale, and the  ministero della cultura.

WOW Midge, I hope you remembered everyone! If you don’t know what Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo is watch this –

Interested in being part of the 2025 adventure? Send me an email at info@nonnasmulberrytree.com.

Now we have expanded beyond cooking and are doing writer’s retreats! There are two spots left for the 2024 Write Where You Are October retreat.

Since, I have the attention span of a gnat and keep whirling like a mad dervish, I wrote two books that touted the area. Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos is a collection of short stories that revolve around my Fiat, Fernando. Annarita and I finished a guide book to Pontelandolfo called, An italian Treasure Hunt: The Quest for the Crests of Pontelandolfo.

Jack and I are blessed to be part of the fabric of life here in the Sannio Hills. Thank you to all who have embraced us and embrace my crazy ideas. Thank you for the town of Morcone for recognizing what we have done. Ancora, grazie a tutti.

Ci Vediamo.

Midge

Culinary, Cultural and Cursing Adventures

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Three Cs for the discerning tourist. Culinary treats, Cultural experiences and Cursing in a new language – complete with gestures. Vafan#@$%!

Did she say cursing adventures? Our sweet American lady in her third act would never suggest one come to Pontelandolfo to learn to flip the bird in another language. Midge would never ever simply curse in another language!

Dear readers, I might curse in multi languages at the same time, but is that really the same as cursing in another language which implies one language? 🤣

Sigh… The title for this concept was not my idea. For this new tourism initiative, I must give credit where credit is due. It was the idea of the witty, wise and wee bit snarky women from Baltimore who were here for our last Cooking in the Kitchen of Pontelandolfo experience. One of them suggested that the name for our activity should be the three cs culinary, cultural and cursing adventures. Cursing in another language is the true mark of an educated person.

For the sake of decorum, I will not reveal which of these howling ladies came up with the idea.

I thought about this idea, it really does make sense. What follows is X rated and not for those folks who have never cursed and will never curse.

When we’re happy we curse. When we’re angry we curse. When we’re sad we curse. But what language do we curse in? When I was a kid, I cursed. OK the only curse I really knew was the F bomb. Both my parents used the F bomb. After a while, the F bomb became simply a yawn bomb.

Now in Italy, I’m hearing curse words light. Simple ones like caspita which means damn or merde which means poop and the list goes on. What our guests were referring to were the words dashed out by the men playing scopa in the piazza or arguing over bocci points. Words like stronzo, che cazzo, or bastardo. You can look them up, I am too embarrassed to define them.

Susan at age one was whispering “eat shit.”
I replied the family password, “and die.”

Sadly, I must admit my sweet sister Susan and I would often say something horrific to each other. Usually, after my mother blamed the wrong one for some egregious error. Imagine my delight to discover that we could share the love in Italian with – mangia merde e morte! Sounds so much better in the language of Dante.

But seriously, our tourism inattive has gone beyond cooking. Speaking of cursing, we have a fabulous group of playwrights coming in October. THERE IS ONE SPOT LEFT MESSAGE ME FOR DETAILS. I am a playwright and I curse. Does that imply all playwrights curse? No, but I a betting a few F bombs dash out on pages just to add a bit of reality.

If you would like an experience that goes beyond the backpack carrying mass tour and experience literally Italy, including a smattering of bad words. Send me a message. We are setting up experiences for 2025 now. Together we create something unique and real. I cannot guarantee you will hear cursing. I can guarantee it will be an experience you won’t forget.

Ci Vediamo

Midge

Check out our new updated website for Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolo!

Can’t get to Italy this year? Read my book Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos and live the life with me.

Where is Fernando Fiat today? Read Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos.

Playwrights Come to Pontelandolfo

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Write Where You Are, a non profit committed to providing playwrights with a variety of opportunities, is sponsoring its first Playwright’s Retreat! Administrative Director, Jonathan Samarro, has been working with a group of Pontelandolfese – gulp, that includes me – on creating the perfect October 14th to the 23rd, 2025 experience.

Write Where You Are 2024: Pontelandolfo offers playwrights the space, time, and community needed to move forward in their work.  The Italian landscape and village life are a great catalyst for creativity.  In addition to providing time for ones own daily writing, they’ll offer activities to inspire you, from master classes in playwriting, to a stimulating array of cultural events and opportunities to socialize with fellow writers as well as local people.   This is your time to nurture your work.

Write Where You Are – Pontelandolfo participants will share large double rooms in La Locanda della Presuntuosa, a large villa on acres of land.

Pontelandolfo’s cobblestone streets take you to a castle tower, cafés, ancient Roman churches and miniature works of art hidden within an area steeped in history and culture where the main plaza is still the center of town life and lore.

The retreat is only open to eight people. ONE SPOT REMAINS! Playwrights who participate in other Write Where You Are experiences signed up quickly. Interested in that one last spot? Contact Jonathan for more information – jonathanjsamarro@gmail.com.

INCLUDED HIGHLIGHTS: October 14 – 23, 2024

  • Transportation from the Benevento Train Station to Pontelandolfo
  • 10 nights a villa near the historic center of Pontelandolfo. 
  • Most meals are included, either out or cooked by our host/cook. Vegetarians can be accommodated.
  • Arrival Day Bar Crawl will help you know the town and for them to meet you.
  • Local Sourced Food Lunch at Agriturismo Borgo Cerquelle
  • Master Classes with Rosemary McLaughlin, director of the Playwriting Program at Drew University.
  • English Speaking Translator for all Italian centered events.
  • Daily opportunity for participants to share work.
  • Opportunity to meet and talk to Italian theater professionals. (https://solot.it/chi-siamo/)
  • Wine and artesian food tasting at a local vintner.
  • Excursion to Altilia Roman Ruins
  • Traditions of Historical Pontelandolfo – hunt for family crests and learn to roll cheese, la ruzzola. Cheese rolling is a sport that is now recognized and goes back centuries.
  • Excursion to Benevento – museum, Teatro Romano, Hortus Conclusus and explore historic center.
  • Optional Excursion to Reggio Caserta. Tickets are currently €15.
  • Wood-fired pizza made high in the Sannio hills in a centuries old oven.
  • Transportation to all workshops and events.

Ci vediam a presto!

Midge

Longing for a trip to Italy but are doing a staycation? Sip a Prosecco and read my humorous travel memoir, Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos. Published by Read Furiously.

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Culinary Adventurers take Over Local Bars

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Nonna's Trips & Events

Bar Crawl! One can’t possibly appreciate Pontelandolfo’s culinary delights without experiencing the cultural delight of the Southern Italian bar. Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo, the program we started i 2016, offers more than tasty cooking. Participants also have unique tasty experiences.

Pour yourself a glass of something sparkling and join me for a Pontelandolfo Bar Crawl.

2024 Group One
Group 2 – Did Jack sneak into the Crawl???

First stop – Cafè Style. Run by the Nardone sibling, Antonio and Asia, the bar is nestled above the village and morning coffee there includes a glorious view. For our bar crawl, the participants – many for the first time – try a “spritz.” Often advertised in the USA, Aperol is the go to ingredient for a spritz. This orange aperitif, along with ice, Prosecco and a dash of fizzy water makes a colorful sparkling drink. Aperol is produced by the Campari Group. Speaking of Campari – Campari is my go to ingredient for a spritz that is a bit bitter and has a higher alcohol content. Just switch out the Campari for Aperol in the recipe and sip a great end of a long day adult beverage. The other happening spritz option is Limoncello, Yumm it tastes like a cool summer lemonade. My famous Los Angeles niece, Alexandra, turned me on to those. I hadn’t seen them in Pontelandolfo. The minute she told me to try one – zoom – I saw fashionable people sipping them in Piazza Roma. How did I miss this perfect summer trend??

Now, a spritz can’t be had without a little nosh. An aperitivo and a big nosh is called apericena – who needs a dinner. Frankly, I don’t want to waste my third act worrying about dinner and often grab Jack and head out for that 8:00 PM adult beverage and apericena. Ahhhhhhh.

Since this is the season of cucumbers, tomatoes and other early garden crops, Group 2 enjoyed an amazing cucumber salad, bruschetta of fresh chopped tomatoes, local cheese and sausage. Culinary plus cultural adventure number one!

Notice Pontelandolfo’s iconic tower in the background.

Onward! No weary partiers in our groups! Next stop Bar 2000! Down the hill, around the curves and into the center of town we go! Bar 2000 is owned by Ghaleb, a Tunisian expat, and his wife Rosaria. Calcio may be booming on the large screen but the late night snacks are middle eastern. The scent of the large skewer of meat slowly turning on the electric spit wafts down the street. Think of all those places you have visited serving Gyros. Here a handheld version is made with the addition of lettuce, tomatoes and more. These palate pleasing “piadine” are wrapped in foil and scarfed down by all. I suggested Italian beer as the cultural experience but, hey, I’m not their mom and one could drink what one wanted.

Since no one except me was tired. We ambled down the cobblestones to our final stop – Bar Cafè Elimar.

Bar Elimar is also a tavola calda and has a neat interior dining space. Since it was a Saturday night, the outside was jammed packed. Saying we’re not hungry but eagle looking forward to our crepes.

After a long day filled with conversation, tasty morsels and alcohol, what could be better than a Nutella filled crepe accompanied by a digestivo! Some adventurers tried Strega, the aperitif made locally. The Strega recipe of secret herbs has been guarded for centuries. Others, myself included, sipped dark colored digestives like Amaro di Capo, Cynar, Vecchio Romagna, or- gulp- sweet Limoncello.

Huzzah! We made it through another bar crawl. What culinary and cultural adventure waits around the corner? Everyday, life in a Southern Italian village like Pontelandolfo reminds me that we truly are lucky to live “la dolce vita.”

Ci Vediamo

Midge

Time to organize our 2025 Culinary and Cultural Adventures.

Playwrights Write in Pontelandolfo!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Nonna's Trips & Events

Write Where You Are –

Pontelandolfo 2024 🇮🇹

SponsoreD by

Other Rooms founding artistic director, Jonathan Samarro, understands playwrights. Not only is he a produced and published playwright himself, but the organization he leads has been providing playwright support through a variety of initiatives. How do I know? Hey gang, you know I’m a playwright. (Check out my work on Next Stage Press and YouthPLAYS.) I’ve participated in and gained a lot from the resources Jonathan has created.

Accountable Sundays encourages writers – like sometimes lazy me – to commit to writing every Sunday. Write Where Your Are, a workshop that provides feedback during the creation of a new work, has been incredibly helpful. Other Voices is a reading series that features new completed plays. Retro Reads gives playwrights insights into the work of master playwrights through readings and discussions of classic plays. Seriously, we can all learn from the masters.

Jonathan’s latest initiative, Write Where You Are – Pontelandolfo 2024, offers playwrights the space, time, and community needed to move forward in their work. Those of you who follow this blog have already guessed why Pontelandolfo was chosen. It is my home town and where I do most of my writing. For those of you that are new – Pontelandolfo, nestled in the southern Italy Sannio hills, is a small village off the beaten tourist track. The Italian landscape and village life are a great catalyst for creativity.

Pontelandolfo – our favorite place.

Only eight playwrights were selected to participate in Other Rooms’ first retreat. Between October 14 – 23, 2024, the participants will be staying in La Locanda della Presuntuosa, an interesting villa built into a mountain and on acres of land. The villa provides an escape from the trodden tourist track of Italy’s big cities yet is minutes from Piazza Roma, the main piazza, and the center of Pontelandolfo life and lore. Cobblestone streets lead one to a medieval castle tower and cafés, ancient Roman churches and miniature works of art are hidden within an area steeped in history and culture.

Video is a wee bit too long but…

The week begins with a bar crawl to introduce everyone to village life. Hey, they are playwrights did you expect high tea? In addition to time for one’s own daily writing, the retreat offers master classes in playwriting, a stimulating array of traditional cultural activities, introduction to the province’s theatre community, opportunities to socialize with fellow writers and local people. They can even choose to eat lunch with a local family! YUMMMM!

Jonathan and his local team – gulp – which includes both Annarita Mancini and I, wanted to create a writer’s retreat that was different than the usual – meet around a table for a workshop. Chatting with Playwright and Professor Rosemary McLaughlin we decided to hold a master class, Writing Site Specific Work, at a site. The workshop will be held at Altilia, an excavation of a Roman Village in the town of Sepino – Area Archeologica di Saepinum.  How cool is that!

Rosemary is the head of the Playwriting Program at Drew University. She received her MFA in Theater Arts from Rutgers’ Mason Gross School and several writing fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Recent plays include Paterson Falls, commissioned by Writers Theatre of New Jersey, about the 1913 silk strike; A More Opportune Time, a contemporary adaptation of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus; Pushing the River, a comedy about aging, memory and eminent domain; Seven Fishermen, about the deadly consequences of a Westerner’s determination to “save” uncontacted people; and D.O.H. (Dykes of Hoboken), set in the 1980’s, a comedy in spite of being about gentrification and AIDS. Rosemary is also a director, a member of the Dramatists Guild and a board member of the International Centre for Women Playwrights.

Sidney Rushing will be introducing the group to the VOTE method to viable and practical story telling. (Victory, Obstacles Tactics and Emotions) It is method to attack a sagging second act, an inactive protagonist  and mine for a more meaningful story. (I really can’t wait to participate in this workshop.)This user friendly process is something you can apply to any story telling medium without angst or trepidation. You will learn how this technique applies to other stories and do the work for your own narrative. We haven’t decided yet where Sidney will be conducting this workshop but know it won’t be in a classroom like setting.

Syd has penned various stage productions in both Chicago, Texas and Los Angeles. He also wrote and performed his one man show Brother’s Tellin’  in Los Angeles earning a NAACP Best Play nomination. It opened up for Lily Tomlin’s show, The Search for Signs for Intelligent Life in the Universe. Syd was then selected for the Mark Taper Playwright’s Program. He went on to a string of produced plays including Aberdeen and Netarine, Akashic Permutations, Zu’s Earth, Unsung Heroes and more. Rushing was honored to be a recipient of the Lorraine Hansberry Distinguished Achievement Award, The 21st Century Voices winner, The Inaugural August Wilson Fellow and a top ten finalist in the Screen Craft Pilot Screenplay Competition 2023. He has taught every grade level from K-12, Prep for College and at Texas State University — named teacher of the year three times in succession within public schools. 

Write Where You Are – Pontelandolfo 2024 will be an exciting program for both the participants and the citizens of Pontelandolfo. This year’s participants have been selected but Other Rooms has set up a waiting list. If you would like to be considered for the waiting list or are interested in any of the programs sponsored by Other Rooms, contact Jonathan Samarro –   jonathanjsamarro@gmail.com.
 

Ci vediamo prossima volta!

Midge Guerrera

Books and plays make great gifts!

consider gifting a work of mine. Thanks!

Magical Night at Sognadoro Ristorante

by midgeguerrera, posted in Food - Eating In and Out!, Travel Comments

The summer season is almost over and the shore towns on the Adriatic Sea are slowing down. Jack and I thought that this would be a great time to explore, Termoli, a small city that we have flashed through once or twice before. I booked a hotel that was right on the sea and adjacent to the sea wall of Termoli’s historic center. In the province of Molise, this shore point is less than an hour and a half from our home in Pontelandolfo.

After checking in, sipping aperitivi by the sea, we climbed what felt like a million steps up to centro storico. The ancient city reminded us architecturally of one of our favorite places in Italy, Alghero Sardegna. (Shout out to the best language school ever – Alghero’s Pintadera.) We wandered the cobblestone streets, stared at the sea, and then I froze – there was a wee alley festooned with white lights, tables classically set and with an artsy vibe that took us back to Venice. (Read the blog Searching for Goldoni and you’ll understand.)

I decided that we absolutely had to eat there. Since it was only 7:30 PM, and way too early to eat, I needed to make a reservation for the yet unnamed space. Around the corner from the alley, we saw a handsome, curly haired man sitting by the restaurant’s front door. He smiled. I smiled and asked if there was a table for two available tonight in the alley.

“Si, signora – quale il sua nome?”

“Midge.”

“Midge?” He looked at me quizzically and probably thought, “Her mother named her after a small annoying fly?”

I shrugged and speaking the barely uttered truth said, “Margherita.”

He scrawlled “Margherita” on a scrap of paper, handed it to me and told me to choose a table, put my name under the water glass and come back whenever we wanted dinner. Then –

“Tu sei inglese?”

“No, sono americana.”

“Da dove?”

“New Jersey – ma vicino Philadelphia.”

“La mia moglie parle “Americano. Lei da Rochester – vicino New Jersey?”

Then and there it was decided that I should meet his wife! I mean, maybe somewhere between Rochester and New York/Jersey we might have run into each other during our decadent youths in some bar or another.

Jack and I continued our pre-dinner passeggiata and tried to keep our tourist faces at bay. The stillness of the old town, the colors of the buildings, the scent of the sea and the warm breeze made it a beautiful evening. Eventually, we made our way back to –

“Jack, what was the name of the restaurant?”

“I don’t know. You were talking to the owner. Don’t you remember how to get back there?”

“Of course I do.”

(I mean we only meandered up and down a few narrow vicoli, posed for a selfie near the sea wall and entered three different piazza since we made the reservation. )

“I will swiftly guide us back,” I lied.

Yes, I lied. But since the centro storico is enclosed by a wall, I managed to guide us back to Sognadoro, Via Rocco Mugnano,3 in Termoli! (For purposes of the blog, Midge, the smart-ass, looked up the address.)

We got back, found our reserved table waiting, looked at each other and smiled. What a cool environment. A young gregarious waiter appeared, brought our local white wine and asked if we knew what we wanted. What happened next couldn’t have been played out better by Netflix. Just as Jack started to say “tonno,” the owner, Francesco Sciscillo, came over, took away the menus and told us to wait.

We waited, he returned with a fish that was so fresh it was still jumping. You are all wondering what kind of fish it was. I am too. We are calling it the former alive fish called X. X had been very recently caught, right here in the Adriatic Sea.

Rats – I took the video in the wrong direction but you’ll get the point.

The thinly sliced fresh X was drizzled in olive oil from Francesco’s trees and spritzed with a dash of fresh lemon. Who knew that something so simple and swiftly prepared would be absolutely incredible.

Next appeared calamari fritti. Jack tries calamari everywhere we go. When I saw it, my fork of its own volition dashed into the plate. Tender, tender, tender. I immediately noticed that the calamari had not been cut into rings but had been sliced into rectangles. In the future, I too will prepare them this way. Each bite was full of flavor. They had been be very lightly coated in flower and flash fried. Yummmm.

Enjoyed more than you can imagine.

I don’t remember what else we ate, I do remember an enjoyable night spent in conversation and laughter. A young woman approached the table, introduced herself as Anna and said that her mother would be getting out of work soon and was anxious to meet us. The effervescent mom, Patrizia, regaled us with tales of making the transition between life in Rochester, New York and Termoli. The building that housed the restaurant had been in her husband’s family for generations. There was such pride in her voice as she spoke of his family and her family. A photo of Francesco’s mother is prominently placed inside the restaurant. Obviously, the sea and what it provides plays a preeminent role in their lives. She is climbing onto the fishing pier.

We were so enamored with the food, setting and family that the next day we returned for lunch. The entire family was seated at the “family table” and greeted us warmly. As the only customers, I suggested we simply eat what Francesco was serving the others. What a smart move! Polpette, ground fish and spices formed into but not to be confused with packaged fish sticks, were served in a rich red sauce. Next was a simple but tasty dish of chicory, red pepper and sepia. Great conversation, perfect lunch and then I saw something I didn’t like. Obvious tourists stopped outside the restaurant, pulled out their phones and stood there reading. Then they smirked a little and left. Smack me in the head – they were looking at reviews. Why would they leave? I quickly scanned the obvious sites. WHAT??? The place only had a few reviews on each site but there was a theme – rude owner, bad food, lousy atmosphere. TOTAL BULLSHIT! All we could think of was that the scant reviews were posted by someone who was jealous or opening their own place. Lesson learned – DON’T TRUST REVIEWS. I never look at reviews. That is a lie – wow two lies in one blog. That same night I asked at the hotel what place they would recommend for dinner. Then I looked the restaurant up – 5 stars everywhere. We ate there. 0 stars from us – boring tourist fare. The learned lesson was reinforced. In our quest for meals, we will continue to wander back lanes of towns until we find a place that just calls to us.

As we walked out the door that day, we looked at each other and both knew that Sognadoro would be on the top of our “lets go for a ride and eat something wonderful” short list.

Ci vediamo –

Midge Guerrera

Pontelandolfese and lovers of Italy wherever you are – check out my tourist guide to Pontelandolfo’s historic center – written in English and Italian. Or simply enjoy the life we lead in Italy by reading my humorous travel memoir.

An Italian Treasure Hunt – The Quest for the Crests of Pontelandolfo!: Una Caccia al Tesoro Italiana – Alla Ricerca Degli Stemmi di Pontelandolfo!

Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos is available wherever books are sold.

Tenuta Vannulo and a Perfect Day!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Stops Along the Journey - Sites Off the Tourist Track, Travel Comments

My weather app tells me it is still raining in Pontelandolfo, but here in Paestum, Cilento the sun is shining and we are cozily ensconced in glamorous lounge chairs facing a luscious garden and silent pool. (More about this place in a separate blog.) A perfect afternoon after the perfect morning. We set off from Pontelandolfo at 8:00 AM with our friends Mariann and Jeff. (Well getting up at 6:00 AM to be packed and out the door by 8:00 AM was not toooo perfect.). Our goal was to drive down hill to the Province of Salerno and visit a magical organic farm, Tenuta Vannulo.

Buffalo milk cappuccino was a great start to our day.

When I think of organic farms yielding great produce, I immediately think of my favorite family farmers Andrea and Tony at New Jersey’s Martenette Farm. I need them to come and check out this place. Tenuta Vannulo is a different type of farm – a much bigger operation. This farm, raising hundreds of water buffalo and lots of produce, is something to behold. For over three generations, beginning in the early 1900s, It has been in the Palmieri family. Even though it is a huge operation, the family is still involved. We spotted the 70 something Senore Palmieri out in the kitchen garden with a hoe. I would encourage all members of Organic Farming Associations who want to experience something that creates yummy products and attracts bus loads of locals and tourists alike to head to Southern Italy.

Tenuta Vannulo is not only an incredibly efficient modern working buffalo farm but also operates a number of buffalo driven shops and a restaurant. Of course there is a caseificio. Locals stop in for the freshest of cheeses – mozzarella, bocconcini, aversana, treccia, scamorza, burro and more – all made with the milk of bufalo indiano. No industrial production here! Everything is hand made with a limited production. The farm’s goal is to make enough to sell just to their local market.

If you are a kid getting off one of the ten buses filled with school groups that we saw, you began whining for the Yogurteria e Cioccolateria the moment you stepped off the bus. Actually, the whines were delightful, in multiple part harmonies and all the kids were sporting the same color cap. I figure it is easier for teachers to track their class if they sport the same color. Yup, these kids didn’t care about the mozzarella they wanted buffalo gelato! The gelato is just the beginning. One can get un caffè, cappuccino, fresh baked products, amazing puddings, candies – I can’t go on. My strictly enforced diet made me miss tasting but not drooling. (Don’t tell my diet buddies but I did have a cappucino made with buffalo milk. I wish I could buy this milk! So creamy, yet light – it has more fat than cow milk.)

The farm has more to look at than fields of produce, water buffalos, and wonderful outdoor spaces, they make and sell designer purses! The designer bags and goods, made on the premises by leather workers are fabulous. I controlled my self and went home without one but I may go back. Imagine saying – “oh this old thing – it’s made of buffalo hide from a wee artigianal shop near Salerno.” 🤣😂

Me thinks I talk too much. My effusive voice driven by what a cool place this is. I will stop typing. Video tells it best –

Now that you’ve seen the majestic creatures, let me tell you what our great guide, Rosaria, told us about the water buffalos. (Midge I thought you were done talking?) Back to the buffalo – they are smart! Three hundred of the milk producers reside in the ginormous stable – unfettered! They only ever take homeopathic medicines. They wake up in the morning to classical music. Buffalos like ritual – they have habits. Once they have chosen their bed – yes a foam mattress – they sleep in the same spot daily. If a buffalo feels the need to be milked, she strolls over to the self milking machine. Each buffalo has a micro chip so the farmers know who has been milked and how much they produced – it averages nine liters a day. Feeling hot a sticky? Mosey over to the shower for a cool down spray. Need a back rub? Head over to the car wash style rubdown machine. Space dirty? The cleaning crew comes by multiple times a day. Mariann laughingly said, ” in my next life I wouldn’t mind coming back as one of these girls.”

This is a cool place to visit. It is a wee bit off the tourist path and even with ten buses of kids I, with no patiences, didn’t feel stamped upon or smacked with a backpack. Hmm, I didn’t see any backpacks – thank the goddesses. The tours are organized so that we didn’t seem to overlap with another one. Each group was relatively small. The place is huge, so it is even possible to find a quiet place to sit and stare. The restaurant is worth the trip and the prices are not tourist outrageous. There were a lot of locals just there for lunch. Midge stop talking, just go back again! Enjoy!

Ci vediamo a presto!

Midge

Teachers and Community Theater folks – are you looking for family friendly plays that may even teach a lesson?
Please check out my work –

Published Plays by Midge

Hitting the Road!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Stops Along the Journey - Sites Off the Tourist Track

“Hit the road Midge and don’t ya come back no more, no more.” I have been persecuting Jack and my PR pal George by bellowing out those lyrics whenever I talk about setting up an East Coast USA reading tour for my book about life in Italy, Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos. George lives in the Netherlands and has been pimping me off to bookstores, Italian Clubs, women’s clubs and just about anyone he can think of. Jack, just raised an eyebrow at “pimping.” Hey, that is a PR vocabulary word – isn’t it? I will be in New Jersey for six months beginning in November and George has me hitting the road. I love the theatre of it all. At first, I wanted to do a November reading tour – a gig a day for 30 days. Jack explained that I might need to spend the whole day after a reading, sipping wine and being social sleeping.

What! I cried. I’ve done two shows a day for six days. Reading for an hour and schmoozing is a piece of cake.

How old were you when you did two shows a day?

Well – oh – ugggg.

One show, I mean reading, a day with a minimum of one day off in-between is now the plan. Except for the first week. Jack hadn’t made up the well thought out though yucky rule yet and we have bookings.

Janet Cantore Watson, the books illustrator, has already started taking her artistic show on the road. During the spring she did a signing at Commonplace Reader Bookstore in Yardly, PA. Before that, together we did a reading at Cafe Brio in Hillsborough and Rossi’s Restuarant and Bar in Hamilton. (We love all types of venues.) This past week Janet did one show a day for three days at the Somerset County 4-H Fair. (I did tell Jack that if Janet could do it so could I. He pointed out the age difference. The creep.) She came up with a great concept. She reads a story from Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos and then has the audience create illustrations for that tale. Clever, creative and encourages listening. Check out the video –

Janet is an amazing woman and puts fun into everything she does. We have gotten lots of positive feedback from her workshops. Sadly, I can’t draw a stick figure so I need to stick to entertaining. Here are the gigs I have so far. If you want more information email me at info@nonnasmulberrytree.com

November 9 –  Newtown Bookshop in Newtown, PA. 6:30PM

November 10 – Frenchtown Bookstore in Frenchtown, NJ. 7:00 PM

November 11 – Unico District X Kenilworth in Kenilworth, NJ 2:00 PM (Reservations please)

November 16 – Women’s Group of the Pontelandolfo Club. Waterbury, CT 6:30 PM

November 29 – Verve Restaurant 2nd Floor. Somerville, NJ. 6:30 PM

December 4 – Booked on Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA. 4:00 PM

December 13 – Horizons at Woodland Second Tuesday Book Club Lakewood, NJ

Let Me Entertain You! If I am not doing something creative and fun, I will be bored silly. During my six months in New Jersey, if you find me places to read, you will be keeping me sane. I will be forever grateful and Jack will thank you because I will not be driving him pazzo. I’m free, funny and won’t embarrass you – well maybe a little. Seriously, I would love to come and share stories from Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos (this is the international link) with your club, organization, condo complex etc. Just contact me and I’ll put it in the calendar.

Time to head down to Bar Elimar and have a Compari Spritz and people watch. Thanks for always being there for me.

Ci vediamo.

Midge – midgeguerrera.com