Hands down, the best thing we did in Tuscany was take a cooking class.  I’d looked into quite a few classes before we went, and it seemed we had a few options for an inclusive day.  An Italian woman that spoke no English, an American woman teaching Italian cooking and an Italian woman with fantastic English.  As we don’t speak Italian, the first was out.  And as it seems ridiculous to go all the way to Italy to learn about Italian cooking from an American, that was out.  And so we booked Alessandra… which was the best decision of all.

Alessandra is loud.  She is funny.  She is direct.  She is generous.  She is so warm, so kind and so wonderful!  We meet Alessandra at a coffee shop in town to go over the menu, drink some coffee and run through what the day would be like.  Then we followed her through town to do the shopping… grocery store, butcher, produce store.  And then to her house where we drank wine, cooked amazing food and learned so much about Italy!    She told us about living in Italy, about the healthcare system, about bidets… no question was off limits and I learned a lot more than simply the proper way to cook pasta.  I think one of the best parts for me was really spending time with an Italian family, in an Italian home.  Those things that you don’t really get a feel for when you’re staying in a hotel, or just passing through a town.   How they live the everyday life… how it was different from my everyday, and how it was so similar.  We ate together and more than overstayed our welcome.  It was all around the most amazing experience!  If you are ever in the vicinity of Cortona, call Alessandra and grab a seat at her next class… it will be the best part of your trip too!