Heaven can't wait

Two hours North of Venice sits heaven on Earth — the prosecco-growing region of Italy. 

Called the Prosecco Hills, or the Prosecco Road, this part of Europe remains undiscovered by the hordes of tourists that crowd Italian places like Venice or Rome. We've discovered the area's most amazing prosecco wine makers, cheese-makers and chefs. 

The Prosecco Experience will take place May 21 - 27, 2018, when the vineyards are green and lush. 

In a word, The Prosecco Experience will be magical —  something you’ll remember and talk about for the rest of your life. 

Exquisite wine, delicious food, incredible traditions, genuine hospitality, astonishing scenery, authentic ancient farmhouses and storied history are just a few reasons why the Prosecco wine country is one of the most wonderful places on Earth. 

We’ll stay in a beautifully restored ancient farmhouse set atop glorious rolling hills covered with vineyards as far as the eye can see. We’ll visit astoundingly beautiful wineries and meet with visionary winemakers to learn about Prosecco wine making and, of course, learn how to taste and appreciate these amazing Italian wines.

We’ll learn to make Italian cheese. We’ll visit local farms and explore the many customs and traditions practiced in the region. We’ll hang out with Italy’s top artisanal baker; he’ll show us some of the fields where his heirloom ancient grain varieties are grown. We’ll take hands-on cooking classes from a brilliant chef who will share his secrets for making the perfect pasta and gnocchi. We’ll visit a secret cellar unearthed not long ago. These are just a few of the incredibly fun things we have lined up for this experience -- we can’t tell you all the surprises.

Click here to get more information, and to reserve your spot! 
 

Please post pics!

Fans of my new book, GASTRONOMAD, are starting to post pictures of the book. I love it! 

If you've got the book, either in print or Kindle version, please post YOUR pics online. Share the joy! 

The new Kindle version of GASTRONOMAD is now available!

The Kindle version is portable, so you can take advantage of all my best information (the result of 10 years of living nomadically and learning how to do it well) while you're out there — the Kindle version works on any smartphone, tablet or computer, and also on any Kindle device, of course. 

Go here to buy it!

You can also read the first part of the book FREE by either clicking on "Look inside" on the left of the page or "Send a free sample" on the right.

If you buy the paperback, you can get the Kindle version for only $1.99. 

(Once you buy the paperback version, the $1.99 price for the Kindle version will always be available to you.) 

You can give the paperback version as a Christmas present for that special someone (I know they're special because you care enough to buy them GASTRONOMAD — the gift of culinary adventure that keeps on giving) and get the Kindle version for yourself.

Better still, buy a copy of the paperback for ALL your loved ones and be done with the Christmas shopping secure in the knowledge that they'll never forget what a fantastic gift you gave and what an amazing person you are. 

Learn more: http://amzn.to/2BjOLh4

#gastronomad #digitalnomad #kindlebooks

Gastronomad, the book, is now available!

I just published a labor of love, my new book: Gastronomad: The Art of Living Everywhere and Eating Everything. 

(It's available on Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/2BjOLh4 )

So what's it all about? Well, it's a solution to the problem that the world is too big to stay in one place and life is short. 

We can spend our life monotonously accumulating stuff or we can live a profound life of human joy and adventure. 

There is nothing more exhilarating, transformative and thrilling than exploring new places, making new friends in foreign lands and experiencing the way others live.

We’re lucky to be alive at a historically rare time when it’s possible to make a living while traveling frequently or constantly. 

No matter the destination or the duration of a trip, taking a gastronomad approach is far more meaningful and gratifying than banal tourism. 

Each of us has one life to live and a grand choice about how to live it. 

It’s a giant opportunity to explore the world with the mind of a traveler, the palate of a foodie, the soul of a wanderer and the heart of an explorer. 

That's what the book is about. I hope you enjoy it.

Give the gift of Gastronomad Experiences!

The holidays are coming. The most unforgettable gift is the ultimate, unforgettable foodie adventure! 

Each of our Gastronomad Experiences takes place in an incredible food culture, where a small group (typically around 8 people) learn to cook local delicacies, make artisanal cheese and wine with the top makers, exclusively visit visionaries and artisans making some of the world's greatest foods, enjoy enlightening tastings and epic gatherings and exquisite dinners under the stars with great people!

Take your pick from three experiences happening in 2018: 

The Prosecco Experience is May 21 through May 27. (In this idyllic corner of Northern Italy, wine-makers are creating brilliant prosecco and other wines, and the incredible foods that go with it.) This will be an epic celebration of Italian food and wine with the most spectacular views for the most joyful gatherings in an ancient farmhouse on the hills the prosecco.

The Provence Experience happens June 26 through July 1. (French cuisine meets the Mediterranean diet in Provence, resulting in some of the most fantastic gastronomic experiences on the planet!)

And the Mexico City Experience takes place at the end of next year, starting December 28 and continuing until January 2. (The incredible breadth and variety of all Mexican foods come together in one of the world's largest cities. We'll ring in the New Year with incredible Mexican foods, wines, spirits and a huge range of foods and drinks that are never exported outside Mexico. 

The greatest gift of all is the gift of joyful experiences that you'll never forget. Sign up right away to reserve your spot!

Great Gastronomad Gear

As you know, we live for months each year in Airbnbs around the world. Most Airbnbs come with a fully-equipped kitchen with pots, pans and dishes.  

However: I hate using other people's cutting boards. And Airbnbs rarely have sharp knives, or any tool for sharpening knives. Life is too short for dull knives. 

That's why I recommend to all gastronomads to carry your own cutting board and knives. 

One great option is the Gerber Freescape Camp Kitchen Kit. 

It's basically a briefcase with a handle, where the top is a cutting board. Inside are two good knives in a locking drawer and integrated ceramic knife sharpener. 

I also recommend that everybody carry eating utensils. 

One way to minimize what you carry is an integrated spoon and fork — a spork. 

The Sparkfun S.H.O.V.E.L. (for "Semi-Horned Oblong Versatile Eating Ladle") is a titanium spork with a serrated knife, a bottle cap opener, and six feet of red paracord!

Here's all the gear I use and recommend.

Love this rugged iPhone cable with a built-in battery

My iPhone and iPad lightning cables get trashed. I carry them all the time — sometimes in my pockets, other times in one of my backpacks. 

And I also need a battery pack that's not too big and heavy, because I have to carry that, too, in my jacket or pants pockets. 

That's why I really like the Nomad Ultra Rugged Battery Cable and portable battery. 

The cabling is made with "ballistic nylon" and "Kevlar core." I'm not sure what that is, exactly, but it's super durable. 

The battery charges only one device once, but it's smaller and shaped better for a pocket than most chargers I've seen. Plus, the charger is actually built into the cable. 

Here's all the gear I use and recommend. 

#portablecharger #ruggedcables
 

A very vermouth evening

In the past three years, Barcelona has made itself the vermouth capital of the world. Hundreds of establishments there now make house-made vermouth — from posh restaurants to two-stool hole-in-the-wall sidewalk joints. 

You can't understand the new Barcelona without understanding its vermouth culture. 

So Amira and I brought our gastronomads to the spectaculicious Bodega Els Sortidors del Parlament — our favorite vermouth and tapas restaurant.

Yada, yada, yada — it's safe to say we all formed a personal relationship with vermouth. And had some mind-blowing tapas to go with it!

What a night. Unforgettable. 

If you have a time machine, I highly recommend going back in time and joining our Gastronomad Experience in Spain. If you don't have one, make sure you join a future experience in Italy or France! 

Gastronomad Gear: Gentlemen's Hardware Kitchen Multi-Tool

We practically live in Airbnbs. And because we stay for weeks or months, we cook a lot in those rental homes. 

Nearly all Airbnbs are equipped with plates, cups, glasses, pots and pans. It's also true that most are lacking in other areas. Airbnb kitchens often lack random items like cheese graters, garlic crushers sometimes even — gasp! — wine openers. 

Amira and I travel with at minimum a cutting board and kitchen knife (we don't like using other people's cutting boards; Airbnb kitchen knives are rarely sharp). 

That's why I love the Kitchen Multi-Tool from Gentlemen's Hardware. It's got several kitchen knives, as well as a cheese grater, zester, peeler, garlic crusher, corkscrew, can and bottle openers and even a spoon and fork. 

It's also great for picnics! 

By carrying the Kitchen Multi-Tool, as well as a thin and lightweight bamboo cutting board, gastronomads will be ready for anything. 

#travel #kitchen #gastronomad

Tbilisi: the best city for wine

Lonely Planet has released its Second Edition "The Cities Book: A Journey Through the Best Cities in the World." 

The book pegs top cities like, say, the best city for architecture, the best city for nightlife and the best city for families. 

Interestingly, their "best city for wine" is Tbilisi, where we've been living for the past three weeks. 

Totally makes sense. I've never seen a more wine-centric city. 

The oldest wine-making culture we know of is right here in Georgia. Wine-making goes back at least 8,000 years. In fact, some 525 Georgian wine-grape varieties are still in use. 

In America, Europe and other wine-growing countries, everybody's obsessing and arguing about "natural wine" — wine grown with minimal intervention. In Georgia, "natural wine" is just what they call "wine." I'm pretty sure that everyone I've met here so far makes natural wine at home. It's pretty amazing. 

One of the big trends in California wines is an explosion of so-called "orange wines." In Georgia, they call it "golden wine," and it's everywhere and always has been. 

The Wall Street Journal suggested last year that Georgia may soon be the world's next "wine destination." 

And that makes sense. In fact, we're working on a Gastronomad Georgia Experience, which may happen in 2018 or 2019. (Stay tuned.)

Tbilisi, of course, is the capital of Georgia, and the motherlode of Georgian wine culture. And all the wine I've tasted here has been fantastic. 

So I applaud Lonely Planet for acknowledging Tbilisi as the world's top wine city. (Georgians are also obsessed with making toasts: So here's to Georgian wine!)

Inside Barcelona's Best Bakery

Anna Bellsolà is Barcelona's brilliant, visionary baker and owner of now THREE great bakeries. 

Her first bakery is Baluard Barceloneta. The second is a larger shop called Hotel Praktik Bakery (the lobby of the hotel is actually her bakery) and the third and newest location is Restaurante Santa Clara — just opened last week! (We'll be there in November to check it out in person!)

Anna is a 4th-generation artisanal baker. She's the author of a wonderful book on baking (written in the Spanish language) called "Pan en Casa. Del Horno al Corazon." And she received the prestigious L'Espiga d'Or prize, an extensive blind-tasting judgement that resulted in her being named one of the two best bakers in Barcelona. 

And she makes no compromises. Her breads are made with natural leavening (using a 10-year-old starter), ancient or organic grain flour and baked in a custom-made, wood-fired oven. 

These bakeries offer not only incredible breads and pastries but also great coffee, sandwiches, pizza and much more. 

A visit to Barcelona must include some quality time munching on goodies from one or all of these bakeries. 

Amira and I have been obsessed with Anna's bread and pastries since we discovered Baluard Barceloneta years ago. Since then, she and Amira have become friends. 

One day after winning the L'Espiga d'Or prize, Anna generously and exclusively hosted our Barcelona Experience gastronomads with an extensive tour of her Hotel Praktik Bakery, gave us countless insights into the art of baking and treated us to a brunch beyond delicious. 

Thank you, Anna! And congratulations on your continued success!

#Barcelona #spain #bakery #Baluard #AnnaBellsola

Accidental friendships

Gastronomad Experiences started out with a simple idea. 

For many years, Amira and I have been mostly living abroad. Sometimes we live in Spain, Greece, Kenya, Italy, France or Morocco for a month or three months or somewhere in between. While there, we find ourselves discovering really cool stuff, especially in the food department.

Amira, especially, has an insatiable appetite to learn everything about the food culture of each place we live. 

We occasionally post our discoveries and experiences on social media. Very often, people would say "I'd love to do that someday," or "I wish I could join you." 

The Gastronomad Experiences idea was: "Why not? Maybe you can!" 

It takes weeks or months to discover all the best markets, restaurants and food visionaries in city or region. So maybe we could take that time to make those discoveries. We could then invite like-minded adventurous foodies to join us for a week or so, during which time we could visit all the best places and experiences we had discovered. 

Our first Experience happened in Barcelona last month, and it was magic. 

What I didn't expect was to become such close friends with all our Gastronomads — like family. 

I'm not sure how it happened. But it has something to do with people self-selecting as adventuresome foodies — our kind of people. It has something to do with living together and sharing brand-new experiences every day. And it has something to do with the magic of community around a table. 

Whatever. I think having these awesome people in my life now is the best thing about our Barcelona Experience. 

(It's too late for Barcelona, but JOIN US for Prosecco, Provence and/or Mexico City Experiences!)

Lunch in the Catalonian wine country

In Europe, there's a beautiful country called Spain where you'll find a beautiful region called Catalonia, which is graced by a beautiful wine country called Penedès, which is the location of the beautiful Vinyas Singulars, owned by Ignasi Seguí and his family, where they have a beautiful estate, upon which grows a beautiful 400-year-old oak tree. 

It was in the shade of that tree that our group of Gastronomads with the Barcelona Experience last month enjoyed an epic Catalonian feast (put together by Veronica, as well as Ignacio's mother and wife) — homemade sausages, a selection of cheeses from Xerigots, tortilla (the Spanish and Catalonia kind), pan con tomate and more. We also took another crack at drinking wine from a porron. 

Did I mention it was beautiful? 

Here comes the Provence Experience!

Ah, Provence. Where the Mediterranean diet meets French cuisine. 

Taste Provence in the most profound way possible. Meander through glorious medieval villages, across fields of lavender, through mountaintop forests and on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean. 

Join our small group of gastronomads June 26 through July 1, 2018, for the one and only Gastronomad Provence Experience! And learn the true culinary arts and traditions of this enchanting French agrarian region.

We'll show you our secret hidden spots, and introduce you to our friends in Provence — winemakers, cheesemakers, truffle hunters and many others. 

Provence really is the ultimate foodie paradise: the delicious cuisines, the luscious wine, the most breathtaking lavender fields and a true devotion to ancient culinary tradition.

The lure of Provence is irresistible and the magic of it can only be experienced firsthand, guided by locals and experts. 

Experience, learn, discover and be transformed by the French Provençal way of life with its history and voluptuary culture.
 
We've timed our Experience to coincide with lavender season! Provence explodes with color this time of year — the overwhelming pink-purple of the lavender fields in full bloom, searing yellow of vast fields of sunflowers, deep greens of vineyards, forests and grazing meadows, shocking copper-reds of Roussillon, and the crystalline blue water of the Côte d'Azur (not to mention the pale pink of chilled bottles of rosé on every table along the coast in summer).

We'll immerse ourselves into the sublime food culture of this idyllic, sun-soaked region. We'll learn how to make wine the French way. We'll make cheese with some of Provence's legendary cheese makers. We'll hunt for truffles, take cooking classes from master chefs, learn how to make french pastries and so much more. 

We'll taste everything, guided by experts. 

Here's how the Gastronomad Provence Experience works. Our small group will live together in an exquisite location. From that home base, we'll visit the region's greatest food visionaries, most amazing outdoor markets, incredible restaurants and beautiful food shops in picturesque, hill-top medieval villages. 

The cost includes all lodging, food, drinks and transportation during the experience. (Airfare and airport transfer not included.)

This exclusive 6-day, 5-night experience will transform your understanding of French, European and Mediterranean foods. 

Go here to reserve your spot now (availability is limited; don't wait!)!

Or, fill out the form here to get more information about the Provence Experience. 

My office today: Acid Cafe in Tbilisi

Acid Cafe is a somewhat overpriced restaurant, but with good wi-fi and good spaces for spending hours working.  

#gastronomad #digitalnomad #cafe

A very Georgian evening

Amira and I spent an unforgettable evening last night overlooking the City of Tbilisi with great new friends sampling delicious light foods and mind-blowingly good home-made Georgian wine. 

These Georgians know how to live, I tell you. 

#georgia #tbilisi #wine

Under the cava country

The Catalonian version of "swords into plowshares" is: bomb shelters into wine caves!

Our Barcelona Experience (September 12 - 17) took us to Ignasi Seguí's biodynamic Vinyas Singulars vineyard, where he uses a Spanish Civil War bomb shelter to develop cava. He gave us an exclusive look inside the bunker — we're sworn to secrecy and can't tell you where it is! 

We emerged from the shelter to toast life with our friend Florian Porsche (co-owner of VisitPenedes). And it was the bomb!
 

Say cheese!

So little time, so much to taste.

Our Gastronomad Barcelona Experience headed straight to the cava country’s best affineur, called Xerigots. (An affineur is someone who ages cheese. The dairy farmer makes the cheese, and the affineur brings it to perfection through temperature, humidity, proper handling and time.)

Xerigots’ owner Jordi hosted us, and Victor gave us insights into Xerigot’s history, cheese and facility.

Xerigots is located near the old railway station where trainloads of cava were bottled, packed and shipped out of this region and into France and elsewhere, especially during the mid-19th Century Great French Wine Blight.

Cava is stored in underground tiled caverns, and Xerigots ages cheeses in modified caverns. Individual tanks can be controlled for temperature and humidity. We got an exclusive, up-close look inside these caverns.

Xierigots is an extremely high-quality affineur; they select cheeses from various places in France and Spain, age them to perfection, then sell them to restaurants and also to the public.

After our exclusive tour of the aging rooms, we sat down for a guided progressive tasting (progressing from mildest to strongest) with Jordi, along with the obligatory cava, which paired flawlessly with the full range of cheeses we sampled.

If you ever encounter Xerigots’ cheese, do yourself a favor and buy all you can.

Into the Cava Country

Next morning our Gastronomad Experience Barcelona headed out to the nearby “cava country.” First stop: the Mas Comtal winery in Avinyonet del Penedès.

The winery has belong to the Mila family since the 15th Century. Co-owner Marta gave us a tour of the house, which was built in part from a 2nd-century Roman building, and the vineyards, which grow organic Xarel-lo, Chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

After checking the place out, we were treated to a tasting of Mas Comtal’s Clàssic Penedès, which is a style of wine like cava but of higher quality.

Incredible!

A Spanish feast!

A Spanish feast!

In addition to the gazpacho, seafood paella, sangria and crema Catalana we all made together, Ella prepared a scrumptious board of local cheeses, extremely high-end jamon iberico (Spanish ham), an assortment of veggies fermented by our chefs, teachers and hosts, Alberto and Ella, at Espai Egg.

We did a David Copperfield on that sangria (we made it disappear) and moved into a nice Catalonian table red. 

Ella showed the group the finer points of drinking wine from a porron, which is a glass pitcher that pours wine in a stream through the air and into your face (or, if you’re drunk or uncoordinated, onto your face and the front of your clothes — as in "porron your shirt!"). 

Our gazpacho had a crazy twist: It was made with watermelon as one of the ingredients! 

The paella was truly amazing, as was everything we made. What an incredible experience with great food and great friends. 

After dinner, we were treated to a truly brilliant and intimate Flamenco performance that brought us to tears, and then to our feet. 

And that was our first full day of our Gastronomad Barcelona Experience!