Novel set mainly in ABRUZZO
Talking Location With … author Carole Bumpus – ITALY
11th April 2021
#TalkingLocationWith... author Carole Bumpus – ITALY
Double image of the author
The number one ‘come thither’ which whisked my husband and me off on our first trip to Italy was not only a suggestion of when to travel, but where to travel and what to expect once we arrived. While sitting in a modest café in San Francisco, we were interviewing a woman about renting her Tuscan farmhouse for ten days. It was then that she asked, “Do you want to visit Tuscany, or do you want to experience Tuscany?” We had been planning to travel throughout Italy, but Tuscany was definitely on the top of our list.
Amalfi
At that moment, she began to regale us with the wonder and magic of a tiny village high in the hills of Etruria (Tuscany) called Poderi di Montemerano.
“When are you planning to visit?” she asked. Off-handedly we mentioned September.
“Well, then,” she began to effuse, “you must—yes, you must arrive on the very first weekend of September! It is the time of the local Feste, the most anticipated event of the year. Not only will there be music, dancing and wine flowing like water, but little ‘nonnas’ (grandmothers) from the surrounding hillsides will have prepared the most fantastic of traditional gastronomical feasts! No, no recipes will be given out. These are generational secrets held close to the bosoms of these nonnas.”
Lake Como
“Oh, you must come, as you won’t want to miss this extravaganza—plus, it will be performed on your very doorstep!” Her eyebrows rose with delight. “You simply have to go. In fact,” she paused, as her forefinger thrummed her chin for a moment of thought, “I will go back with you and show you around. Not only will you visit Tuscany; you will experience her.” We did as she suggested, and we have never been the same. The trip was life transforming.
* * * * * *
When contemplating travel in Italy, first consider the time of year. The season will give you clues as to what’s open and available for tourists. You can find calendars of events for any destination by simply Googling it. Seasons of winter or late fall have less expensive rates, but that may be because nothing else is open. Closed for the season! Restaurants, museums, outdoor historic sites, beaches – all only open, when reasonable.
If you are taking the family along, the summer months, of course, are ripe for the picking. As you know, you can expect long lines to favorite venues, and, if the weather is especially warm, you can expect to cater to the whims of hot, grumpy children—or spouses. If you plan for these possible eventualities, you will make allowances for them—and will be far better parents than most.
If you are considering a wine river cruise for a week, for instance, think about the weather during the time you plan to be on the water. Early fall, late spring or summer are ideal. If it’s cold and rainy, you will not be able to trundle off on excursions or wine tours in comfort or ease. And you may remain holed up in your tiny cabin having your own solitary wine tastings. But the price may have been right.
Pasta with truffles (Rome)
Above all, be sure to write down a list of your highest interests. My husband and I love ancient history, art, and architecture, along with sampling good traditional and regional foods and wines. We also enjoy meeting the ‘locals’ so we structure our trips with those loves in mind.
Make a list of the places you hope to visit, the events or restaurants you want to experience, the museums or cathedrals you want to see, beaches upon you wish to laze, excursions to nearby islands you want to take, as this list will help set your agenda.
If your goal is to clamber down into an Etruscan columbarium or a watery cave on Capri, or hike to the heights of the Duomo in Milano, Florence, or St. Peter’s in Rome, make provisions for those tickets ahead of time. If you are interested in taking a cooking class in Amalfi, Roma or along Lake Como, make reservations before leaving home.
Of course, you will not want to arrange every minute of your trip, but a bit of early preparation (with a good Italian/English dictionary close at hand) will put your mind at ease. And don’t forget to get to know the locals. Your life, too, could be transformed.
In Rome
A retired family therapist, CAROLE BUMPUS, commenced writing about food and travel after she first began traveling through Italy and France. Having been introduced to the pleasures of the palate by spending time with local families in their homes, she also was introduced to their familial stories of love and war. She completed more than seventy-five interviews of families to date for her food and travel blogs. She published an historical novel, A Cup of Redemption, in 2014, followed by her unique companion cookbook, Recipes for Redemption: A Companion Cookbook to A Cup of Redemption, in August 2015. Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, Books One and Two in her multi-award-winning Savoring the Olde Ways series, published in 2019 and 2020, covered the first half of Carole’s culinary adventure in France. The third book in the series is A September to Remember: Searching for Culinary Pleasures at the Italian Table, due out in April 2021. The publisher for all five volumes is She Writes Press. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Connect with Carole via her website
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