a taste of
THERE’S A LOT TO LOVE ABOUT THE heart OF ITALY
O
BY MAC LACY
ver espressos at a street-side cafe in Bologna, I asked Alexa Dorobantu which better captures the essence of Italy: food or fashion. She paused, then laughed. “I cannot choose,” she said. “But I will say this: I will give up my pizza every now and then to buy a Gucci belt!” Dorobantu knew she had inspired this and other questions with her animated references to all things edible or wearable as our tour director on this Collette Spotlight tour of Tuscany. Youthful and expressive, her use of the English language veered between flawless and priceless. When asked if contemporary culinary trends had taken root in Italy, she answered, “Yes, it’s a thing to be vegan right now. But for me, if you are vegan, you should not even wear shoes!” Describing a region of Italy where men hold traditional sway over family matters, she created classic irony when she observed, “There, it’s the men who fold the pants in the family.” “We are very warm people,” she said, as we talked, just paces off Bologna’s boisterous outdoor market. “We embrace. We’re welcoming and open-hearted. In Sicily, you are best friends in five minutes. In Venice, it takes longer, but be patient.” Sicily and Venice will have to wait. My wife, Kim, and I were spending this week with a Collette group in Tuscany.
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