Download or read book The Reluctant Tuscan How I Discovered My Inner Italian written by Phil Doran and published by Gotham Books. This book was released on 2006-03 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written in the witty tone that made Doran a success as a writer in Hollywood, "The Reluctant Tuscan" will enchant a wide audience, from those who simply enjoy a captivating travel narrative to anyone who loves the quirky humor of Bill Bryson, Dave Barry, and Jerry Seinfeld.
Download or read book The Reluctant Tuscan written by Phil Doran and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012-09-30 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rising From The Mist in the sun-blushed hills of Tuscany is Il Piccolo Rustico, a 300-year-old stone farmhouse that Nancy Doran dreams of lovingly restoring into an idlyllic home. All her husband Phil can see is a crumbling money pit that, as far as dreams go, is more of a nightmare. Reluctantly leaving behind high -octane, air-conditioned Los Angeles where he lives and works as a writer-producer, Phil is uprooted to a strange country intoxicated by O sole mio, virgin olive oil and oak-aged Chianti. The local village reveals itself to be a hive of seething passions, secrets and age-old blood feuds, and the newcomers find that life is not all strolls around town during the passagiato and relaxing under the awnings of picturesque cafes. Beset by a rift of exasperating challenges - from the cunning tricks of the Pinatore family to an infuriating Byzantine Italian bureaucracy - it is only with an inspired touch of the 'Inner Italian' that Phil and Nancy finally manage to soften the hearts of their neighbours and are embraced by the community.
Download or read book Reluctant Tuscan written by Phil Doran and published by . This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the witty tone that made Phil Doran a success as a writer in Hollywood, "The Reluctant Tuscan will captivate a wide audience, from those who simply love a captivating travel narrative to anyone who loves the quirky humor of Bill Bryson, Dave Barry, and Jerry Seinfeld. After years of working on a string of successful sitcoms, Doran found that just as he and his peers had replaced the older guys when he was coming up, it was now happening to him. And it was freaking him out. He came home every night burned-out, angry, and exhausted. But even if he hadn't had enough, his wife, Nancy, had. After twenty-five years of losing her husband to Hollywood, Doran's wife decided it was finally time for a change--so on one of her many solo trips to Italy she surprised her husband by purchasing a broken-down three-hundred-year-old farmhouse for them to restore. "The Reluctant Tuscan is the author's transition from a successful but overworked writer-producer in Hollywood to someone rediscovering himself and his wife while in Italy, finding happiness in the last place he expected to. Doran finds himself navigating through the maddening labyrinth of Italian bureaucracy just to get a road paved to their house; dealing with the foibles of their neighbors and the tangled drama of the family who sold them the home; coming to accept that the Italians live with a million laws and no rules--all while he becomes slowly seduced by the inexhaustible beauty and tactile pleasures of Tuscany.
Download or read book A Thousand Days in Tuscany written by Marlena de Blasi and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2005-09-27 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They had met and married on perilously short acquaintance, she an American chef and food writer, he a Venetian banker. Now they were taking another audacious leap, unstitching their ties with exquisite Venice to live in a roughly renovated stable in Tuscany. Once again, it was love at first sight. Love for the timeless countryside and the ancient village of San Casciano dei Bagni, for the local vintage and the magnificent cooking, for the Tuscan sky and the friendly church bells. Love especially for old Barlozzo, the village mago, who escorts the newcomers to Tuscany’s seasonal festivals; gives them roasted country bread drizzled with just-pressed olive oil; invites them to gather chestnuts, harvest grapes, hunt truffles; and teaches them to caress the simple pleasures of each precious day. It’s Barlozzo who guides them across the minefields of village history and into the warm and fiercely beating heart of love itself. A Thousand Days in Tuscany is set in one of the most beautiful places on earth–and tucked into its fragrant corners are luscious recipes (including one for the only true bruschetta) directly from the author’s private collection.
Download or read book Tuscan Countess written by Michele K. Spike and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 469 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[This] marvelous biography peels back layer upon layer of previous myth to render a startling new portrait of the countess. . . . Absorbing.” —Publishers Weekly Tuscan Countess is a fast-paced and colorful exploration of the life of Matilda of Canossa (c. 1046–1115), a woman who loved a pope and was loved by him, successfully defied the Holy Roman Emperor, and changed the map of Europe. Matilda of Canossa, the “Great Countess,” was a remarkable woman. Her personal power was so extraordinary that even centuries after her death she became the first woman to be interred in St. Peter's Basilica. She is best remembered for her role in the conflict between the papacy and the Holy Roman emperor, the climax of which took place at her castle of Canossa. This unique biography is also a journal of the author's travels through contemporary Tuscany as she explores the palaces where Matilda held court, the blood-stained plains on which her soldiers battled, the churches and cathedrals she endowed, and the fortified aeries where she sought refuge. Readers will be swept along on this engrossing journey retracing the steps of a courageous and brilliant woman.
Download or read book Vanilla Beans and Brodo written by Isabella Dusi and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2002 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Isobel Dusi visited Italy with her Australian husband Lou, little did they imagine that life would change forever. But, utterly besotted with the fragrant warmth and good-natured conviviality of Southern Tuscany, they decided to sell up their lives in the big city and move thousands of miles to follow the dream of a life more in keeping with ancient rhythms and time-honoured traditions of the Mediterranean. After months of searching they settled upon Montalcino, an intriguing hilltop medieval village with a reputation for some of the finest wine in Italy. VANILLA BEANS AND BRODO is an account of Isobel's hard-won acceptance into this tempestuous, warm-hearted and proudly independent community, whose voluble passions for home grown wine and Tuscan cuisine, for football and ancient traditions and festivals, puts paid to the myth that life in rural Tuscany is tranquil. Isobel and Lou are gradually transformed into Isabella and Luigi in this charming account of Tuscan village life that really gets to the beating heart of an Italian community - its joys, pleasures, anxieties, but above all, its absorbing eccentricities.
Download or read book Villas of Tuscany written by and published by I.B.Tauris. This book was released on 2003 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dotted across the ancient Tuscan landscape of rolling hills, olive groves and towering cypress trees, sit some of the greatest country houses of Italy. Here, Professor Carlo Cresti and the photographer Massimo Listri present buildings by such noted masters as Sangallo, Buontalenti and Peruzzi.
Download or read book Marcus of Umbria written by Justine van der Leun and published by Rodale Books. This book was released on 2010-06-08 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Readers will delight in this tale of an urbanite who leaves her magazine job to move to Collelungo, Italy, population: 200. There, in the ancient city center of a historic Umbrian village, she sets up house with the enticing local gardener she met on vacation only weeks earlier. This impulsive decision launches an eye-opening series of misadventures when village life and romance turn out to be radically different from what she had imagined. Love lost with the gardener is found instead with Marcus, an abandoned English pointer that she rescues. With Marcus by her side, Justine discovers the bliss and hardship of living in the countryside: herding sheep, tending to wild horses, picking olives with her adopted Italian family, and trying her best to learn the regional dialect. The result is a rich, comic, and unconventional portrait about learning to live and love in the most unexpected ways.
Download or read book The Reluctant Fortune Teller written by Keziah Frost and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2018-03-06 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A retired accountant finds a new calling as the town fortune-teller in this “charming, warm, and wittily told” debut novel (Kirkus Reviews). Norbert Zelenka has always lived life on the sidelines. It’s why at seventy-three years old he’s broke and alone except for the company of a Chihuahua. But when “Carlotta’s Club” —three strong-willed seniors with plenty of time on their hands—decide to make Norbert their latest project, he reluctantly agrees to their scheme: establishing himself as the town’s fortune-teller. Soon his life begins changing in unexpected ways. It turns out that years of observing other people make Norbert an excellent card reader. As Norbert’s lonesome world expands with new friendships and a newfound self-confidence, he finally finds what he never had—a place to belong. But disaster looms on the horizon. When a troubled young woman goes missing after a bad reading, Norbert must find a strength beyond the cards to bring her home safely.
Download or read book The Tuscan House written by Angela Petch and published by Bookouture. This book was released on 2021-04-07 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Corbello, Italy, 1947. A woman and a little boy stagger into the ruins of an old house deep in the forest, wild roses overwhelming the crumbling terracotta walls. Since the war, nowhere has been safe. But they both freeze in shock when a voice calls out from the shadows... For young mother Fosca Sentino, accepting refuge from ex-British soldier Richard - in Tuscany to escape his tragic past - is the only way to keep her little family safe. She once risked everything to spy on Nazi commanders and pass secret information to the resistenza. But after a heartbreaking betrayal, Fosca's best friend Simonetta disappeared without trace. The whole community was torn apart, and now Fosca and her son are outcasts. Wary of this handsome stranger at first, Fosca slowly starts to feel safe as she watches him play with her son in the overgrown orchard. But her fragile peace is shattered the moment a silver brooch is found in the garden, and she recognises it as Simonetta's... Fosca has always suspected that another member of the resistenza betrayed her. With Richard by her side, she must find out if Simonetta is still alive, and clear her own name. But how did the brooch end up at the house? And with a traitor hiding in the village, willing to do anything to keep this secret buried, has Fosca put herself and her young son in terrible danger? An absolutely gripping and heartbreaking page-turner that explores the incredible courage of ordinary people in extraordinary times. Perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen, The Nightingale, and anyone longing to lose themselves in the mountain landscapes and olive groves of rural Tuscany. Read what everyone's saying about Angela Petch: 'Fantastic read... I loved this book... will grab you and hold onto you long after you put it down... an amazing story.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Loved it!!!... Beautiful... heartbreaking... The ending of the book was perfect... Definitely recommend... Loved everything about it.' Goodreads reviewer
Download or read book Miracles in Montanare written by Larry Snyder and published by . This book was released on 2016-05-17 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Picture a tiny village, the smallest place you've ever been, a place half way around the world. Tuscany! Inhabited by families whose roots run a dozen generations deep. You pull up stakes, quit your job, and move to that ancient place for a year. No one speaks your language and you don't speak theirs. Now imagine that despite the language barrier, these people become your dearest friends, an extension of your own family that you return to year after year. A chance meeting over a shared connection to Italy brought Larry and Jill together. Within months, they suspended their careers, secured visas, and moved to the tiny hamlet of Montanare, Italy. A series of life changing miracles commenced. Embraced by villagers Primo, Francesca, Piero, Rosetta, Amedeo and a tapestry of others, Larry and Jill discovered a new language, experienced cherished customs, and became attached to the land that provided each evening's dinner. Ultimately, this digitally driven American couple learned a new human experience that fostered love, whole friendship, family, and spiritual enrichment. This is the experience Larry Snyder chronicles in his collection of memorable vignettes, Miracles in Montanare: Ten Years in Tuscany.
Download or read book The Good New written by John Glavin and published by New Academia Publishing/VELLUM Books. This book was released on 2018-01-02 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this memoir, John Glavin returns to Italy to teach Shakespeare¿s Italian plays to contemporary American students. In the process they all come to understand themselves and their own lives in deep and revealing ways.
Download or read book Cooking with Fernet Branca written by James Hamilton-Paterson and published by Europa Editions. This book was released on 2005-09-01 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A very funny sendup of Italian-cooking-holiday-romance novels” (Publishers Weekly). Gerald Samper, an effete English snob, has his own private hilltop in Tuscany where he whiles away his time working as a ghostwriter for celebrities and inventing wholly original culinary concoctions––including ice cream made with garlic and the bitter, herb-based liqueur known as Fernet Branca. But Gerald’s idyll is about to be shattered by the arrival of Marta, on the run from a crime-riddled former Soviet republic, as a series of misunderstandings brings this odd couple into ever closer and more disastrous proximity . . . “Provokes the sort of indecorous involuntary laughter that has more in common with sneezing than chuckling. Imagine a British John Waters crossed with David Sedaris.” —The New York Times
Download or read book Palazzi of Tuscany written by Claudio Rendina and published by Konemann. This book was released on 2000 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Living in a Foreign Language written by Michael Tucker and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2008-06-16 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Not at all the usual actor’s memoir, but a simple toast to eating, drinking and innocent merriment in old Umbria.” —Kirkus Reviews Having sent their last child off to college, Michael Tucker and his wife, the actress Jill Eikenberry, were vacationing in Italy when they happened upon a small cottage nestled in the Umbrian countryside. The three-hundred-and-fifty-year-old rustico sat perched on a hill in the verdant Spoleto Valley amid an olive grove and fruit trees of every kind. For the Tuckers, it was literally love at first sight, and the couple purchased the house—without testing the water pressure or checking for signs of termites. Shedding the vestiges of their American life, Michael and Jill endeavored to learn the language, understand the nuances of Italian culture, and build a home in this new chapter of their lives. Both a celebration of a good marriage and a careful study of the nature of home, Living in a Foreign Language is a gorgeous, organic travelogue written with an epicurean’s delight in detail and a gourmand’s appreciation for all things fine. “The ex-L.A. Law star details his and wife Jill Eikenberry’s move to Italy. Viva la dolce vita!” —People “If you’ve ever dreamed of living in an ancient stone villa set high above the Italian countryside—and who hasn’t?—Living in a Foreign Language is a seduction, a warning, an encouragement, and a guide to making a dream come true.” —Mary Doria Russell, author of The Sparrow
Download or read book The Reluctant Traveler How to Explore the World Without Learning Anything about Yourself Or Other Cultures written by Dan Fazio and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2010-12 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You know the type of book. Some insufferable backpacker leaves behind his perfectly good life in the U.S. for a hot, disease-infested hellhole to eat grub worms, catch giardia and build mud huts with the locals - then has the nerve to claim the experience was enlightening! This is not that type of book. This is travel from a whole new perspective - that of the worst traveler in the world, Dan Fazio. He hasn't written another "Eat, Pray, Love" - it's actually more like "Panic, Sweat, Curse." Fazio's idea of international travel involves relaxing in a Mediterranean villa and stuffing himself with various cured meats. Unfortunately, his wife was drawn to the whole grub worms and giardia thing, and she managed to drag him along on a grueling 10-month death march through Europe, Southeast Asia, South America and Mexico. Shattering romantic travel illusions about swimming in waterfalls or picking olives on a pastoral Tuscan ranch, Fazio reads a bit like Chuck Klosterman if he were being carted around the globe in Bill Bryson's backpack - and reveals that the average traveler spends most of his time puking, being puked on, about to die in a fiery bus crash - or all of the above simultaneously.
Download or read book And Then You Die written by Michael Dibdin and published by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Having survived an explosive assassination attempt, Italian police detective Aurelio Zen finds himself convalescing at a Tuscan seaside resort town, where he is under orders to lie low until he is to testify at a much-anticipated Mafia trial. The quiet—and the boredom are relieved by the pleasant distraction of the beautiful Gemma, but just when he feels he is getting somewhere with her, a the discovery of corpse in his usual lounge chair brings his holiday to an abrupt end. Convinced that the Mafia has finally located him, the police put Zen on the move again, in startling directions. And Then You Die, Michael Dibdin’s latest installment in the Aurelio Zen series, is a wicked, twisting tale that pits Zen against invisible assassins and the possibility of forced retirement. As the plot unfolds, and Zen ponders his uncertain future, bodies are stacking up around him. And Then You Die is another exceptionally surprising, consistently funny triumph from a master of the genre.
