FISH AND CHEESE ON THE ISLAND

SPECIAL PROGRAM

Unwindyourself

This program is tailored on a 2 weeks long stay in Tuscany.
It is composed by:
14 nights in apartment in Florence
5 days of cooking classes at GiglioCooking, culinary school in Florence, the first week plus one more class at the end of the second week.
The second week is partially devoted to the discovery of an authentic jewel of the Tuscan Archipelago: the Island of Giglio.


Find yourself as you look around for authenticity.

the Port of Isola del Giglio

FISH AND CHEESE ON THE ISLAND

Description:
This Special Program  has been thought for who likes to discover an authentic segment of Tuscany far from the very tourist destinations.
These weeks include six cooking lessons in Florence, at the Gigliocookin Culinary School and  three days trip to Isola del Giglio, in a spectacular House-farm climbing on rocky walls from the sea.
The cooking classes in Florence are performed Monday through Friday, the first week and on Friday the second week. The trip lasts from Monday to Thursday morning the second week.
Student in Florence will have a location for two total weeks, in apartments and rooms.
During the last classes in Florence, students will cook together, then they will evaluate the meal and discuss about the tasting experience.

The Farm House is located in the southern coast of Isola del Giglio, in the Natural Park of the Tuscan Archipelago. The place can be reached exclusively by boat or through a path in the Mediterranean woods once run by peasants and donkeys. The Farm House is nowadays a modern hotel and welcomes the guests warmly, offering foods coming from their organic cultivations and farming.
During the staying, the guests will be involved in cheese making.
The trip offers the occasion to go deeper into the “understanding” of the multiple Italian cultures: the small islands are places rich of history, traditions, folklore where the populations have had to fight against isolation – and pirates -  developing their own way of living, fishing, cultivating.

During the permanence on the island, it is possible to take courses of “meditation” scuba diving,  a sport fishing trip, a natural and cultural excursion with a guide; wine and grapes harvest lessons; olive tree cultivation and olive oil making, depending on season: some of these activities are optional and not included in the price. Please contact Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist gegen Spambots geschützt! JavaScript muss aktiviert werden, damit sie angezeigt werden kann. for info and reservations.

At Isola del Giglio there are three main town: Castello, a medieval village circled  by walls on top of the hill; Porto, which first settlements are of Roman origin; Campese, a large beach on the west side with a sighing tower. There are sandy beaches and wonderful smooth rocks. The water has been declared – again - in 2008 the cleanest of the Mediterranean by the Goletta Verde (Green Vessel). Destination place of summer tourism, the island offers a large variety of meeting points: restaurants and hosterias, pub, wine bars, beach bars, motor cycles for rent, a disco.  There is a local theatre company, a chorus “a cappella”, a musical band. During the festivity of the Patron Saint in September – music, games and fire works – the traditional dance La Quadriglia is performed in the main piazza: everybody is invited to participate.  

Program: Five days cooking school in Florence, three days trip at Giglio island; Final cooking class at Gigliocooking in Florence. The week end is free.
All the participants will receive an apron and the exclusive book with recipes.

PROGRAM

Saturday:

Arrival in Florence and accommodation in apartments. The students should have been already divided in groups, according to the size of the houses. This agreement must be done before the departure from USA. The groups will be accompanied to the respective apartments.

Sunday:

Welcoming brunch at GiglioCooking. Distribution of the books, aprons and brief speech for orientation in town.

FIRST WEEK

Monday:

Cooking class at Gigliocooking School in Florence

Recipes: Tuna fish in olive oil; Tagliolini with red mullet; Linguine with mantis shrimps; Stuffed anchovies; Stroffoli    

Tuesday :

Recipes:Spaghetti with black ink; Calamars Porto Ercole style

Wednesday:

Recipes:Fish soup with cauliflower; Beans soup; Monk fish with pine nuts; Panficato

Thursday:

Recipes: Caldaro di Nonna Assunta; Stewed cod fish; Schiaccia Briaca

Friday:

Recipes: Great Sea food appetizer; Sword fish ravioli and maccu; Crostata (made with olive oil)

Note: In case of 30 participants, the students will be divided in two groups for the cooking classes.

Saturday and Sunday are free

SECOND WEEK

Monday:

Departure to Giglio Island

Note: during the trip to Isola del Giglio, the apartments in Florence will be still rented to the participants of the program: they have the possibility of leaving part of their luggage in the apartment.

Tuesday:

In May: Natural excursion with the guide.
In September: Lesson on grapes cultivation, harvest and wine making in the vineyard.

Three nights staying. Cheese making at the Farm House. The prices are inclusive of breakfast, a light lunch, dinner with wine and water. Students will be involved in all the farming activities, mostly learning how to take care of animals and garden and how to make cheese. It’s important to remark that the guests will be not “kept prisoners” at the Hermitage: they are free – and pleasantly welcome -  to visit all the places of the island.


Note: In the price it is included the Natural excursion with the guide or the lesson in the vineyard, depending on the season. The other option can be anyway reserved.

Possibility to take meditation scuba diving classes,  grapes cultivation and harvest (on

September) , wine making , natural excursion with guide, tour of the island in boat.
It’s better to know in advance, in order to make reservations. Ask information at Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist gegen Spambots geschützt! JavaScript muss aktiviert werden, damit sie angezeigt werden kann.

Tuesday and Wednesday:

Activities of farming.

Thursday:

- The boat shuttle will take the students to the Port at 08:00
- Ferry Boat  – arrival Porto Santo Stefano
- Departure to Florence

Friday:

Final cooking class at Gigliocooking in Florence. Recipes:
Panzanella; Rabbit saddler with artichokes ; Fruit ice cream

During the class the Certification of Attendance will be given to the students.

Saturday:

End of the program.
Final transfer from the apartment to the airport and the transfers inside the town are not included in the price.

Luggage:

For the trip to the island Giglio, a light back pack is recommended. The rest of luggage can be left in the apartment in Florence.
Heels shoes, formal dresses are un-useful.
Do not forget to put in your bag: trekking shoes or sneakers; a bath suite; sun screen cream; a sweater; a waterproof jacket; a hat for sun; hat for rain.

Dates:

This trip can be done with a minimum of 8 participants to a maximum of 30. 

For details contact: Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist gegen Spambots geschützt! JavaScript muss aktiviert werden, damit sie angezeigt werden kann.

Assurance:

Gigliocooking Assurance is responsible of participants exclusively inside the walls of the school.
During transportation the Assurance of public means or rental bus will be responsible.
Gigliocooking is not responsible for outside the school, included apartment and hotel.

Prices:

are inclusive of:  cooking courses in Florence, Accomodation in Florence in apartments 14 nights: travel to and from Isola del Giglio, stay in Giglio with full board, apron and book.

do not include: lunches and dinners in Florence; travel A/R your Country/Italy.

May and September: 2000 euros for each person (price may change according to market and season)

Plus 400 euros to be divided among all the participants for the guide.

FISH AND CHEESE ON THE ISLAND

Author Marcella Ansaldo

NOTHING

I believe it’s a good system of research to start with the questions, observations, perceptions about things by other people. Looking for an answer, a solution or simply meditating around an opinion we would have never thought before it’s a the first step for understanding,
The question I want to answer ( or better, I will try to answer, filtering reality through my experiences and feelings) is:
What is there to do on your island? –
Of course the island is not “mine” with the meaning that I own it, but just that I was born on it.
The answer is:
Nothing. –
Some memory in the back of my brain often reminds me that there is nothing better than doing nothing if someone want to do something.

It ‘s because sometimes the Nothing is made by something. And the Something is not necessarily little. Just it is not visible at the first sight and needs some attention – and time -  to be seen.
The miracle of the sweetness of the sea urchin taste in the middle of the saltiness of the sea; the lines of the vines climbing from the granite rocks up to the hill; the faces carved by sun; the unbelievable crystal clear water reflecting the sun light with  a wide range of brilliant colours and of which soon someone would realize cannot do without – as soon people will realize how much the transparency is fundamental in life: this is part of the Something you would start to see behind the curtains of the Nothing just after the first steps on the island.

Any disco…? –
Any  attractions park…? -
Yes and no.
No if someone has got a standardized idea of fun: there are no Shopping Centres with shot air conditioning.
The idea here is the least standard: create your own fun.

As well as people has been able to elaborate their own Modus Vivendi – way of life – on the island: creating their own economy based on particular techniques of cultivations, fishing, breeding and developing their own customs and cooking; fighting, throughout the centuries,  against pirate invaders as well as against the daily problems generated by an isolated life; finding, among the personal controversies, a common solidarity to protect themselves against bad weather and enemies; children inventing their fun games without toys; gathering in someone’s cellar for a dinner soaked with their own wine and cheered by invented poems in a rhyme  and songs; meeting the most ancient disco of the world: it has been existing since before the invention of the records.

It takes time to see the “at the first time Invisible”  because of multiple reasons: it takes time to enter the circle of the islanders and gain their confidence. Nowadays, being able to see the secular culture is even more invisible as it covered by a layer of modern life: fast boats – rather than veil vessels - , cars – rather than donkeys -, cell phones – rather than hours of walking -, micro wave ovens – rather than healthy fish grilled directly on the beach -, computers are here exactly as anywhere else.
It take time to understand what the nothing is made of.

Although all this nothing, most of the people who have had the fortune to land upon this rock with the hope to find nothing, went away – actually, go away, as the present tense is more appropriate – with hidden tears wetting their chicks and the new awareness to have had the most fun in their life: unforgettable foods, wine made by the Gods, songs like pining ballads, liberating  laughs and lost words. But, above all, with the newer awareness of feeling lighter, emptier and with the relief of being able to get rid of the imposed, commercial nothing to find themselves.


m.a.