Did you know that Amici Miei Ristorante offers a cooking school once a month? Amici Miei is right on the Potomac/Rockville border and is a great place for lunch or dinner!
What a day! - the sun was splendid the views over the valley to the adjacent castello were captivating! Alessandro Rivetto greeted us along with his father and brother and their truffle-hunting dog, “Gofer!” The vines were drooping low with Barbaresco and Nebbiolo grapes almost ready for the harvest and preparations were underway for the harvest and pressing for the “vinification” in late September!Alessandro’s father was most interested in the upcoming elections and we tried to focus on sampling the Barbera d’Alba, Barbaresco and Barolo’s that were brought forth - then the family provided us with the freshest local breads and cheeses, and as a bonus, Gofer dug up a truffle from the roots of an oak right on the lawn! Since truffles sell for hundreds of euro per “etto” (100 grams) we think Gofer is pulling his weight!Happy Holidays from Bethesda Travel...
Enjoy your Time with Your Family During this Special Season!!
TOP 15 FRUGALISTA BEHAVIORS!1) You used to think ‘civic’ was a responsibility and now you’re
driving one!
2) You’re playing munis instead of investing in them! (FYI a ‘muni’ is a
public golf course)
3) You cancel your gym membership instead of lying to
yourself about actually using it
“tomorrow”!
4) You turn down the heat 10 deg to save $10 and the sweater on your
wishlist costs $150!
5) The Starbucks in your 401(k) went down but not enough to actually
start buying your morning coffee
there again!
6) Your dog is very happy since you’ve started walking him yourself
instead of paying someone else to do
it for you!
7) You’ve adopted the European and practice of exchanging gifts on
the Epiphany, (January 6th) so you
can catch the after-Christmas sales!
8) When you come home from a restaurant you end up actually
preparing and eating what’s in the
doggie bag instead of just letting it
spoil and throwing it out!
9) You learn the hard way that printer cartridges are not reusable
and can not be refilled without
making a huge mess!
10) You love the Papua New Guinea Mosquitos but decide that
watching the Australian Cup
Superbowl isn’t worth the $60 extra
a month for the premium channel!
11) You buy used skis and bindings-but you end up spending
$2,000 for your new knee ligament
brace!
12) You and your neighbors have started splitting your Netflix
subscription and sharing the dvd’s!
13) You find that you save a lot by never letting your gas tank go below
3/8 since the fillup costs less!
14) At Costco you can buy 64 batteries for less than the two you
need at Rite-Aid –so you buy all 64!
15)You save so much and the Euro drops so low that you call
Bethesda Travel to book that
unbelievable dream vacation you’ve
been wanting to take for years!
Bethesda Travel Center LLC is a family run unique boutique specializing in customized itineraries in Europe and especially in Italy! Since you are on our newsletter list, you know of us and quite probably have had a fantastic trip designed just for you and your family! Our philosophy is that we never like to program a trip that we wouldn’t take ourselves! The growth of our business depends on referrals from people like you, so we thank you for sending this newsletter along to your family and friends! If they send a quick email we will be certain to include them in future editions so they won’t miss a thing! All the best, BTC crew
In terms of destinations, Piemonte is very high on our list! Piemonte is in the northwest part of Italy and got on the map when Torino hosted the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. The Po River flows right through Torino and the Savoy (Italian Royal family) had roots in the regionTorino is the main automotive design city of Italy and is totally charming and offers many cultural highlights. The shroud of Turin is here as is one of the
These wonderful wines are the pri de of Piemonte and many wineries host visitors! Piemontese cuisine is exceptional, with a huge variety of outstanding cheeses, salamis, pastas, and lamb & beef dishes; always expertly prepared. Truffles are in season in late September and the Fall season offers harvest festivals and antique fairs! Read More
Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
Thanks to all who sent in their favorite photos and we had a difficult decision to make - just to the right is a shot of Vesuvius taken by Jim Grueff at Pompei! (Kinda makes you want to go there, huh??) Bravo, Jim! A nice bottle of wine is coming your way! Won’t you have a look at some other submissions below!We’d also like to invite you to share a fun story or a special experience about something that happened on one of our trips! A prize awaits the winner (think vino!) and you will all get to read all about it in a couple of months in our next issue!
Thank you and we hope you had a phenomenal Thanksgiving! Each family has their own traditions built around Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, New Years and much more, so please accept our wishes for a most fulfilling and spiritual family time!Guidobest collections of ancient Egyptian art outside of Cairo which is housed in Torino’s Museo Egizio.
To the north and west are the Alps including Mont Blanc! As you go south you will find outstanding landscapes, cuisine and wines. Monviso, is the big mountain that you have seen on the Paramount Pictures movie screen. Arneis is a wonderful region known for its white wines and Le Langhe is the region of Alba, featuring fabulous reds, including Barbera and Barolo from the local Nebbiolo grapes, plus the rich Barbaresco, derived from a different type of grape. Think about it! With the 19th century liberation of South America came the term “Federalista”. In the 20th century
came Giorgio Armani and Hugo Boss and the craze became “Fashionista” -
and now, with Henry Paulson & Co. we have the 21st century morph to “Frugalista”!
Defining “frugalista” is not easy - it has to do more with a pattern of behavior than with a definition. -- And so, here goes
Jim Grueff
Deck Potts and
daughter, Emily
Bob Cavaliere
Lynn Forbes-Gautier
Laura Guerney
EURO NOTES!!
Happy news since the Dollar has maintained its strength relative to the Euro and the Pound, and the Canadian Dollar! Gives you about 30% extra buying power over last year!
The wines were excellent, especially the Barbaresco --pleasant and simultaneously fruity and dry!
For your next trip, consider the agriturismo at Rivetto with pleasant, functional rooms - or of course we’d be happy to plan a hotel in the area, perhaps at Alba, Monforte or at the Castello di Sinio! www.rivetto.itWe’re inviting you to share a fun story or a special experience about something that happened on one of our trips! A prize awaits the winner (think vino!) and you will all get to read all about it in a couple of months in our next issue! Submissions go to ciao@bethesdatravel.com
The American Center for Puccini Studies will celebrate with the 5th annual Puccini Vigil, on Saturday 20 Dec at 19h00 at the Chevy Chase Women’s Club. Should be a great evening! Here’s the scoop!
In addition to the scenery, wines and food, Piemonte is filled with unique architecture and incredible countryside! The Castello di Grinzane is a remarkable building with wonderful display of agricultural techniques in the region and houses a restaurant for an elegant dinner in an authentic castle setting!
You will love Piemonte, and best of all the region is out-of-the-way and yet totally accessible, making it an easy trip where you will have a lot to do it’s never crowded. And now, if you’ve already been to Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast, Rome and Venice, keep thinking Italy! Piemonte is favoloso! Our guarantee!
Davide the chef and Roberto, the Maitre d’ offer a cooking school every month on a Saturday! You’ll assist in
preparing a four course gourmet lunch and then best of all you’ll pair each course with suggested wines to savor your creation! $85 includes cooking demonstration, 4-course lunch, wine and tax (grat’s are extra)! And best of all the restaurant staff does the cleanup!
The cooking demonstration is limited to just 17 lucky diners! To reserve (20-Dec and 24-Jan, 11h30 - 14h00), just give Roberto a call at 301-545-0966
or email
randd@amicimieiristorante.com
