Celebrating the Mediterranean lifestyle one delicious dish at a time.
Read stories about our amazing travels in Europe.
The perfect salad for fall entertaining. Serve it in a hand-painted Italian Pottery Tuscan Village Serving Bowl for a festive presentation. Ingredients: 4 tablespoons Ritrovo Selections Apple Balsamic Vinegar 1/2 cup Madonna dell Olivo Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Ritrovo Selections Herbs & Salt Freshly ground pepper 1 bunch fresh arugula, washed and trimmed 1 fresh fennel bulb, trimmed, halved, sliced …
on the French Riviera and were about to begin our quest for some new products to add to our French Ceramic Collection at www.poggibonsigifts.com. We are searching for one artist in particular whom we had heard lived in Grasse, the fragrance capital of the world. Ah, the Riviera home to beautiful hand-painted pottery breath-taking views, gorgeous architecture, glamorous movie stars, and beautiful beaches warmed by the Mediterranean sun…except, we found, not in February.Michelle Codd and Keli DeRitis, owners of Poggi Bonsi, were at the International Hosewares Show recently in Chicago looking for new products for their two stores in the Seattle, Washington and their online store which ships worldwide. While at the show the two were interviewed by a representative from Dow Jones Newswires and the story was picked up by the Wall Street Journal. Read the full article below and stop in to Poggi Bonsi at The Landing in Renton or in the Olde Burien Shopping District or check us out online at PoggiBonsiGifts.com.
Italy’s traditional Epiphany celebration includes the tale of a white-haired witch known as “La Befana” who arrives on her broomstick during the night of January 5 and fills the stockings with toys and sweets for the good children and lumps of coal for the bad ones.
On our buying trips to Europe for PoggiBonsiGifts.com we are very privileged to take time to experience the local flavor. Last year, while exploring French pottery studios in Provence, we stayed one memorable night in Chateauneuf du Pape. We were envisioning that our gourmet group at home was green with envy especially our two delightful wine …
Roberto made some suggestions as to the perfect restaurant for our luncheon. He explained the specialities, wine selections and locations of each possible venue at length, then raised an eyebrow and said, “Or perhaps you would like to dine at an osteria in Radda that is owned by ‘una strega’ who makes an excellent bistecca di Fiorentina.”
“‘Una strega,’ a witch in Radda?” We certainly can’t pass up this adventure–Florentine beefsteak served up by a Tuscan witch. “Yes, yes, we want to go there! Is she really a witch?”
Our friend and loyal customer Shawn (a.k.a. “Princpessa”) enjoys writing about daily events, family adventures, vacations and travel, her three well-behaved children and her favorite subject, her husband. She lived in France with her family for a year in 2001-2002 and her misadventures of speaking the language and day-to-day living in a foreign country are legendary. All of her stories are true with no embellishments, additives or preservatives. It is Shawn’s hope, after reading her stories, that you realize you don’t suffer the misfortunes of your spouse’s or children’s bad behavior on your own.
We would like to share one of Shawn’s adventures with you…
by Candace Sheehan
As appeared in the Seattle Times, November 16, 2008
When my husband and I returned from living in Italy for the past year, we knew we had an experience of a lifetime. We studied Italian for a year, we read everything we could get our hands on about Italian culture, what documents we would need to have, and prepared for whatever a new life there would bring and what we could give back to Italy as expats living there.
We lived in the small hilltown of Montefalco, which in located in the Umbria region of Italy, known as the Green Heart of Italy. It seemed perfect for two people from the Pacific Northwest, and we have fallen in love with this area of Italy for a long time.
August 15 is a holiday in Italy, Ferragosto, or Assumption Day. The holiday celebrates the assumption of Mary into Heaven. Almost the entire month of August is taken as holiday and leisure time in Italy in honor of this feast day. Italians take time away from work, visit sea-side resorts, and celebrate with festivals, food and, of course, wine!
Thanks to the generosity of Emmanuele Bizzarri and Caffe Umbria, who contributed the extra costs of sending the Marvin Oliver sculpture, “Sister Orca,” to Seattle’s sister city, Perugia, Italy.