Podcast From Italy: Ashley & Jason Bartner

The last guests of the season have checked out and we've got time to fire up the mics for a new podcast! This episode: Truffle Season updates & inside scoop, we just finished a 4 night Truffle Workshop so lots of great info to share!! Just as we are finishing the season, the house kicks back and throws us a curve ball... Now that we are closed for winter, it's time to start planning our trip north to the Alps for this year's Christmas Tree! Plus we share the details of our first ever Advanced Workshop for returning guests only. Thanks for downloading & listening!!

It’s been a busy 2 months at the farmhouse so we start the podcast with a summer update on what’s growing, cooking, delivery of wood and our ‘staycation’ in Fano. The weather forecast for autumn: Truffles!!! The talk of town is this should be a good year for white truffles with the ‘hunting season’ opening 1 October in Le Marche. We a day at the Fano hospital for a small surgery Ashley needed and share some of our observations and differences in hospitals in Italy vs. the US. A big shout out to our podcast listeners turned guests - you guys are amazing, thank you for all your support! The 2020 calendar of workshops is available online at www.latavolamarche.com - we hope the rest of you can stay & cook with us too!

A jam packed podcast: from piloting a boat along the Adriatic coast (when we had no idea what we were doing!), a small town boxing match & festival where we grilled our own bistecca, a very official letter from the local Post Master to finally, how to navigate the toll booth's in Italy! Thanks so much for listening!

We're up early & excited to share with you a few of our favorite local gems! After a 'staycation' with friends visiting we rediscovered our love for Urbino, the Furlo Gorge, Urbania & Gubbio. A Father's Day gift guide for the pizza maker, with a round up of a few tried & true tools we use. Local gossip: EU & Regional elections!

Easter celebrations, Liberation Day, Primo Maggio - all fell within 2 weeks this year! A recap of the festivities and how to grocery shop during the holidays (when shops are closed Sunday & Monday and we have a dinner for 25 on Tuesday). We've been busy around the farmhouse with lots of projects that have been checked off the to-do list - new patio, irrigation and more. Plus another chapter from the book: La Transumanza (cow herding in Italy!)... and we announce the 2020 calendar for La Tavola Marche (farm, inn & cooking school!)

We are so excited to make a BIG announcement on our podcast!! A very big collaboration is in the works and we share it here first! Plus a visit to AgriUmbria (agricultural expo) to pick out this years hens. A garden & Gaggi update of course along with the wild price of shutters. Yes, shutters. Easter is on it's way and Jason has been busy practicing the recipe for a local Easter bread, crescia di brusca. Plus I read 2 more chapters from the untitled, unfinished, unpublished book!

A lot to catch up on since our last podcast! Just in time for Spring & Summer travel to Italy, we share the inside scoop on international drivers licenses and if it's worth the trip to AAA.  An impromptu discussion on grappa and what it really is and an update on the garden and the latest projects around the farmhouse. Plus Ashley reads 2 chapters from the un-named/published/finished book!

Whenever conversations in Italy turn to politics, multiple terms for 'B.S.' are woven like rich tapestry into the discussion. We decided to explore the complex levels of severity when using the term "B.S." in Italian! After a winter getaway to Budapest to see comedian Bill Burr we share a few of the highlights of this stunning city along the Daube. Our short trip gets longer as we are hit by winter weather delays and airport closures due to strikes in Germany & Italy! Back home, we're planning for the next season of guests and cooking classes including the Wood Oven Workshop. Jason explains the thoughts behind creating the workshop and menu choices to highlight utilizing the oven at different temperatures.    

 We visit Gubbio for the World's Largest Christmas Tree Lighting! Gearing up for the holidays with bread baking and cappelletti making. A quick medical report/update, tracking an animal in the fresh snow...it's never dull in the countryside! 

A holly jolly packed podcast upon our return from a road trip to the Alto Adige/Sud Tirol/Alps! From minor league hockey, a wood working workshop to endless Christmas markets we recount our week including our first experience with "German Spa Rules"...! Happy Holidays  

Ahhh 'la dolce vita' the good life in Italy, that usually doesn't include visions of a broken pump and loosing water for 5 days! After a long and busy season we are finally back with a proper podcast. The water saga, antiquing in Arezzo, Truffles & Cappelletti making with Dr. Gaggi

After a summer hiatus from podcasting (it's our busiest time of the year at the farmhouse) we are back for a short & dirty podcast. Just checking in to say Ciao!

Thanks for tuning in to our latest podcast from Italy. Sharing a slice of our Move to Italy Workshops - we share a few tips & important questions to ask while house hunting in Italy! Then we turn to bitchin' about bureaucracy while stewing in paper work and immigration. Plus  few updates for the farmhouse & the local gossip! 

 A month after our last podcast & Spring has sprung! The chickens, turkey & rooster are happyily roosting in their new home - our coop! Spring garden updates and improvements...and frustrations! Jason explains how he utilizes our wood oven at different temperatures & cook many more dishes than just pizza, even a chocolate cake! The we chat about our 10+ year road to Italian citizenship and the latest in the saga! Thanks so much for listening, Jason & Ashley

It's Easter Monday and with full bellies we waddled to the mics for another podcast! Crescia di Pasqua vs. Colomba - local Easter eats! Spring update from the farm, an outlook on this years truffle season, Spring Events in the area and the long anticipated conclusion to our lighting dilema in the kitchen! Plus the biggest news of the area - a WWII bomb was found & triggered in Fano! Thanks for listening!

Holy Smokes - it's a crap-shoot most days in Italy if you will get everything crossed off your to-do list. The fireplace and kitchen are damn near done just in time for guests to arrive in less than a week! Which makes us pose the question - when to D.I.Y and when to hire the pros...A SPEICAL OFFER for our Podcast Listeners for our Move to Italy Workshops! Jaosn comments on Jeremiah Tower's article/interview in Bon Apetite and cooking with what's in fashion vs. what's in season.  A little local gossip of course and the usual updates from our farmhouse. What happens when you have credit card fraud in Italy? (Pray it doesn't happen) A few thoughts on the election coverage and politics in Italy. And GPS vs. an old school DRIVING MAP! Be sure to head to our blog - latavolamarche.blogspot.com for photos promissed in the podcast!

This week podcast is brought to you by Procrastination! As the snow continues to fall we put off painting and fire up the mics for another podcast! From the most amazing samples at the grocery store to Gaggi's birthday, we tell a few tells and explain what a typical day in the snow is like living in the Italian countryside! Thanks for listenting!

This week's podcast we apologize to the Florence airport for our disparaging words on a previous podcast and then quickly take back the apology! An invitation to Barcelona for a five start hotel opening at the Alamanac means a surprise winter getaway to one of our favorite ciities! We share a few of the best tapas bars & spots to visit off the beaten path. Staying at the ritzy new hotel makes us ask ourselves the question about what the definition of high end hospitality is today. After seeing a photo of us dressed up & Jason in a Tux Gaggi comments on Jason's resemblence to certain infamous Producer...it's hysterical! Always there's an update from the farm and what we've been up to from Fish on Friday's, Carnevale and the local gossip about the price of wine in 2018! And finally another chapter from The Book, Chapter 13: The Doctor's In -- thanks for listening! Ashley & Jason

A light hearted Sunday podcast sharing on thoughts on life in Italy - from our discoveries while doing a little light "breaking & entering" along our road to Spring Festivals and why coffee pods suck! Plus find out what cardinal sin we commited at lunch with Gaggi! Thanks for listening!!

A January update from our farmhouse & cooking school! With 55 kilos of salami hanging in our rafters, we’re adding another 55 kilos of sausages this Saturday. This warm winter we are ready for winter projects around the house after a short trip away. We flew out of our local airport of Ancona which was a pleasure (especially compared to Florence) and we share a priceless long layover travel tip! THanks for listening!!