AGRITOURISM

For most persons, the ideal vacation might be summarized as: land the plance, check into a lovely hotel, spend the rest of the week at the swimmingpool or the beach with a good book. That may be a good way to relax and enjoy in a bit of unstructured, switch-off brain time, but it has always appeared to me as a bit of a waste, especially when you are a foreign country. Not that I am advising you to go racing around museums or other touristy place, especially when the sun is out and you are faced with queues of children..

In Italy, oa good way to experience an authentic taste of the country, its cooking , without getting any cheveux blancs (french for greay hair,ahaha) and its way of life is to book yourself into an agriturismo. This roughly translates as a ' tuscany farm holiday', but the type of holiday accommodation you find can vary from the simple and rustic to very sophisticated indeed.
Down On the Farm?

In order to officially qualify for 'agritourism' status in Italy, the place must actually be an established farm or an agricultural business of some kind. It may not necessarily have livestock, it could grow grapes for wine, organic food, make olive oil and so on, but there should be some direct connection with agriculture. An agriturismo must also try to offer its guests local food typical of the area and items for sale in the farm shop should also be produced by the farm itself.

Being Italy, the original definition of a real farm offering board and lodging is now slightly more, how can I put it, flexibly applied, at least by the accommodation providers. You may be offered anything from simply a room with (or without) meals to a complete farmhouse with extra curricular activities like horse riding, mountain biking, wine tasting, cookery, art or ceramics courses. A search of the internet, on sites that have had SEO - they are easier to find -will reveal a vast array of country house hotels, bed and breakfasts, self catering villas and apartments mixed in with old-fashioned farms, all under the blanket heading of agriturismi. Read the descriptions carefully to see what's on offer. You may find that a country hotel or a small hamlet B&B might be exactly what you are after rather then the full blown farm experience. Even for bachelor parties, consider tuscany. Imagine palying a gps based role playing game with friends in the beautiful tuscany hills! A company that does this is for example the company lamosca, with their location based games for backelor parties explained on the vrijgezellenfeest page.

Food Glorious Food (and Wine!)

An agriturismo vacation can be a great way to experience another side of Italy. Of course, staying in a tourist hot spot like the heart of Florence or Rome is unforgettable and exciting. But just imagine an alternative, where a stroll along a strada bianca (unmetalled road) could lead you to a tiny rural hamlet or a local festa - with food and wine supplied by villagers for a few euros - with music and dancing. Maybe this white road will lead you to a market, where you can buy slices of pork slow baked with fennel, a kilo of freshly picked peaches and a bottle of the local wine to enjoy later on the terrace of your farmhouse.

Many agriturismi owners will be only too happy to advise you on how to make the best of your stay, suggesting out-of-the-way restaurants (run by their cousins or friends or friends of friends) that you would never find otherwise, or arranging a wine tasting or even olive oil tasting. Yes, it does exist - you slurp the spicy fresh golden green oil from tiny, tiny cups or from the crease between finger and thumb!