Grazie, Amici Miei !

A sincere thank you to all of you that have encouraged me to follow my passion, AND this willy nilly blog of mine.  It means more to me than you can imagine, and it keeps me clicking away.  As I mentioned last week, my inspiration is under the weather, however, I am sure to be back on my feet soon, for tomorrow I will be en route to Italy, where inspiration is abundant.

My friend, PierAngela, and I, will fly into Rome and stay at her apartment for a couple of nights. While in Rome we will stroll the streets, take in the sights, and spend much of our time at ‘EATALY’ . This is a food shoot, but I plan on documenting the entire trip, all of it being consumable one way or another. From Rome we head North East to Le Marche region, a part of Italy that is untouched by tourists, nestled between the high Apennines and the Adriatic coast. It is the medieval period that has left the deepest impression in this area, with many of the streets having barely changed in 500 years.

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We will stay with PierAngela’s famiglia, and visit areas only locals could know. This is just what the doctor ordered, and I am “il dottore”!  After several days exploring, tasting, sipping, relishing, over-eating, spoiling and photographing  Le Marche region, we will head to Villa Latina, 1 1/2 hours south of Rome.  Villa Latina is where la famiglia di mio padres is from.  We have spoken to my cousin Renata, and she is thrilled to meet us, and to show us the region where my grandfather, Domenico Gargaro, was born. I am sure this will all take place in typical Italian fashion…. food and wine, hugs, kisses, more food, more wine, laughter, kisses, more food, more wine, and plenty of tears!  Did I mention Pierry speaks fluent Italian…. my saving grace!

These grapes are the closest thing to Italy that I have on hand. They were photographed last September in Galena, Illinois at Harvest Hills Farms. I also picked these grapes, vine after vine after vine …. Oh my!  and gained a new respect for the tonic of the gods.

I have one last photo to show you.  This is a picture of Magic, the horse.  I had arrived at the farm just before sunrise to capture the morning light.  In his eye you can see the sun rising just above the horizon …. I call that shot a Magical moment.

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    Arrivederci! miei amici, until next time …

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Tags: Atina, grapes, Harvest Hills Farm, Italy, Le Marche

• October 14, 2013
• Edible delights, food photography
• 12 Comments