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Tour Overview
Guests can elect on a daily basis to take one, or both activities, or skip a session and just chill out and enjoy the great facilities.
This retreat can be attended for either 3, 4 or 7 days so you can attend as little of much as time allows.
A very special retreat: now in it's third season, this exclusive property has just 5 luxuriously appointed guest bedrooms, and features extensive facilities for your relaxation and enjoyment. For programme activities, the teaching kitchen and the Balanced Body Pilates studio are equipped to the highest professional standards.
Spring Summer and Autumn Programme (March to November inclusive)
The retreat has been remodelled around an old Piemontese farmhouse set within it's own certified organic vineyard and kitchen gardens in the most stunning 'eagles nest' location overlooking hilltop villages and vineyard covered hills and valleys in Southern Piemonte North West Italy.
Activities
Don't just expect a cooking and pilates course, there is so much more to what this retreat and the people behind it can offer. Guests are not loaded onto a bus every day after breakfast and driven around to fill in time by visiting for example a cheese factory, then to a restaurant for lunch, bussed to yet another location for the cooking or gym facility and finally back to a hotel or B&B in the evening.
As all activities are conducted at the Agriturismo, guests can elect to participate in either the Culinary Experiences or Pilates sessions or both, skip a session, relax and chill out, and use the extensive facilities, the choice is yours, after all it's your vacation.
The itinerary is a pretty accurate guide to activities, but is not set in stone and changes are possible to suit guest wishes. Changes might also have to be made by factors outside of our control.
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Tour Highlights
Cooking - Pilates - Amazing Views - Attend for 3, 4 or 7 days
Itinerary
Day 1 | Monday
After 4.00 pm guests are either collected from Asti station or arrive by hire car. Upon arrival check into one of the 5 deluxe bedrooms. Time to explore the property, swim or relax in the sauna or steam room and feel the jet lag just drain away. For the more energetic, stroll down to the village of Costigliole D'Asti about 20 minutes away, via an unpaved road, flanked woods and vineyards for part of the way. Costigliole is virtually untouched by tourism and boasts a fabulous castle, home of ICIF the premier cooking institute for chefs in Italy, and winding medieval streets complete with the ‘Café Roma’, the ultimate wine bar.
Enjoy an aperitivi before dinner on the courtyard or on the roof terrace with truly amazing panoramic views. Welcome dinner in the Agriturismo featuring local cuisine – a wonderful opportunity to meet your hosts, Pilates instructor and fellow guests.
Day 2 | Tuesday
Breakfast can be taken either before or after the initial Pilates session . A typical Italian breakfast with fresh brioche, fruit and muesli, is available from 8.30 am to 10.00 am. The Pilates instructor will canvas guest opinions regarding timing of the first session which is normally designed as a stretch class and assessment session to determine guests individual needs.
Following breakfast (if the first session is held beforehand) the first of the more personalised Pilates sessions will be held before lunch, typically these are either 'privates' (one to one) or duets
After lunch and before the Culinary Experiences session guests can take their scheduled Pilates session or just chill out, maybe take a siesta, stroll down to the village etc.
From 5.00 pm. to approx. 8.00 pm guests wishing to participate in the first Culinary Experiences session will be taken by local chef Gino Minacapilli for their first voyage of discovery into Italian cuisine in the superbly equipped teaching kitchen. Executive chef Pietro Baldi will also be present at some of the sessions depending upon his schedule. With the emphasis on using the freshest seasonal ingredients from our extensive organic vegetable gardens and local markets Gino will ‘develop’ with the students 2 or more variations of a classic Italian dish. The central philosophy of Culinary Experiences is that to create good Italian food you need first to understand how variations of ingredients and cooking methods affect the flavour, texture and balance of the food. This is a true adventure and culinary experience.
Gino serves the fruits of the Culinary Experiences together with local wines to match the food and season. Guests are truly amazed at the quality of their endeavours. In the summer evenings dinner will be served in the courtyard under the stars.
Day 3 | Wednesday
Today for those wishing to rise early we visit the amazing food and clothing market in Asti. Leaving at 8.00 a.m. we have a typical market day breakfast on arrival at Asti in a bar adjacent to the market. To make it really interesting for guests we give each person €5 ‘spending money’ with which to purchase food for lunch. This is really fun and very popular. It could be, that you find your all time favourite antipasti in one of the amazing shops or in covered food market, or you may choose to buy something completely unknown ‘just to try’. Asti has very few tourists and so the buzz is completely Italian and the market people and townsfolk are genuinely friendly to overseas visitors.
Wander away from the market and you enter the medieval centre of Asti with quiet narrow streets, and feel transported back through the centuries. Many guests find the clothes and shoe shops just to inviting.
Arriving back at 12.00 noon, guests can show off their cooking skills by preparing their food purchases or, if time allows, join in a general Pilates group session before lunch which is usually around 2.00 pm.
It has become a trend recently for the group to ‘cook’ or at least present in a special way their purchases. This is certainly not obligatory but guests have had a lot of fun preparing their lunch. Invariably, no two lunches are the same, given the wide diversity of Italian cuisine, but without fail these lunches are really enjoyable and very successful. Wine tends to flow very freely, as all guests are really enthusiastic about how their particular choices are received by fellow guests.
Pilates sessions will continue from 3.30 until 5.00 pm.
Tonight is the second Culinary Experiences from 5.00 until 8.00 pm, with dinner centered around the dishes you have prepared under the watchful eyes of the chef.
Day 4 | Thursday
Those on the three-night Start the week programme depart after breakfast and vacate the rooms before 10.30 am. Guests are free to stay on the property until 11.30 am possibly getting in a final Pilates session if space and time allows.
After breakfast those guests staying for the 7 night vacation have Pilates sessions during the morning.
Lunch is a combination of dishes prepared by Robyn with wines selected for the type of food with assistance from any guest wanting to learn some of Robyn's extensive repertoire of dishes.
Today, following some lunch relaxation with possibly a little siesta, there are Private and duet Pilates sessions until late afternoon.
From 4.00 pm we greet our new guests who will be staying until Monday.
Tonight is the third Culinary Experiences from 5.00 until 8.00 pm, where once again dinner consists of the dishes you have prepared under the watchful eyes of the chef.
Day 5 | Friday
Similar to Thursday, however, mid afternoon and before the fourth Culinary Experiences session we will try and squeeze in either a visit to a local cantina for (yet more) wine tasting, or dependent upon season and weather conditions we can go truffle hunting.
Day 6 | Saturday
8.00 a.m leave for the second market visit this time to Alba. For those guests who visited Asti on Wednesday, Alba is a little more sophisticated with excellent shops and market stalls. Here guests last year discovered the third activity; shopping, for even with a low US dollar good quality and designer label clothes and shoes are significantly cheaper than in the US. (Tip: bring an empty suitcase for wine and clothes).
By popular demand guests can now stay in Alba until mid afternoon and be collected at 3.30 pm for return to the Agriturismo. Guests wishing to return for lunch and Pilates class are free to do so.
Tonight is the final Culinary Experiences session and the dinner will include presentation of the embroidered aprons to all our star pupils.
Day 7 | Sunday
Sunday is a special day in Italy, and apart from the obvious religious activity, many festivals and events take place on Sunday, including of course the traditional Italian Sunday lunch. Depending upon what's on and guest preferences, we can visit a festival or event and eat lunch at one of the many Agriturismos that specialise in the Piemontese traditional foods.
The day revolves around the lunch which usually starts at 1.00 pm and finishes mid to late afternoon.
In the morning there is usually time for a group Pilates session starting at around 8.00 am followed by breakfast at 9.00 am. At 9.30 depart to a local festival or event. Guests wishing to stay and relax at the Agriturismo will be collected at 12.30 and taken to the lunch venue.
Arrive back at the Agriturismo in late afternoon and most guests take time to relax before a light evening supper. Keen guests can take a Pilates sessions
Guests with cars may like to explore the region by themselves as the Alps are less than 2 hours away with the Italian Riviera or Serravalle for major designer outlet even closer.
Guests not participating in the group Sunday lunch are given Euro 30 each to purchase their own.
Day 8 | Monday
Breakfast is served as usual at 8.30 am and we ask that guests vacate their rooms by 10.30 am and we say a final to farewell to our departing guests before 11.30 am. There are no activities scheduled for Monday
Our Trusted Partner's Responsible and Sustainable Travel Policy
We aim to provide our guests with an unforgettable rural Italian experience. All our staff, including our Chef Gino Minacapilli live within 5 km, with the exception of our visiting Pilates teachers. The success of the village, and with it the Italian rural way of life, is very important so we strive to maximise use of the village community. We actively seek out local suppliers of goods and services and use small producers for more specialised items. We are founder members of a newly formed consortium of farmers and producers in the village, and we will create a small display featuring members wines, preserves etc. that guests can purchase. A typical stay with us would involve local market visits where guests can choose a food item to feature in a buffet lunch, encouraging interaction with the locals. We visit local restaurants and take a wine tasting tour of small family vineyards. We also suggest local walks, church services, etc.
In redeveloping the property natural cork insulation was used extensively thought out the walls and ceilings etc for both heat and sound insulation. 80% of our total lighting is LED based, giving us dramatic energy reductions over normal lighting systems. We have 2 high efficiency stoves that provide heating. We also have plans to use solar photovoltaic produced energy.
We have special shower heads, which use 30% less water than conventional showers. All water taps in public areas are infra red to reduce water flow if inadvertently left on. All waste water is treated on site in our biological treatment works. This, and collected rainwater are used for both the toilets and to irrigate the vineyard and vegetable gardens in periods of low rainfall. The indoor swimming pool uses an oxygen system for water treatment, thereby minimising the use of chlorine. Being organic, we compost as much as possible and reuse on the land. We have very little packaging as virtually all of our additional food items are sourced fresh and locally without point of sale packaging. In addition all non compost waste is taken by us to a central recycling depot in the village.
About our Trusted Partner
Agriturismo Cascina Papaveri 'The Poppy Farmhouse' offers guests the possibility of taking both Pilates and Italian cooking courses in a unique double activity vacation. Golf, cycling and skiing (two days per week in season) can also be arranged and guests can elect daily to take any of the activities, or skip sessions and just chill out and enjoy the great facilities.
The Agriturismo has been remodeled around an old Piemontese farmhouse set within it's own organic vineyard and kitchen gardens in the most stunning 'eagles nest' location overlooking hilltop villages and vineyard covered hills and valleys in Southern Piemonte, North West Italy, the food and wine capital of Italy.
The Accommodation : Cooking and Pilates in Italy at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)
The Accommodation
The Views : Cooking and Pilates in Italy at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)
The Views
Fresh Local Food : Cooking and Pilates in Italy at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)
Fresh Local Food
Cooking Classes : Cooking and Pilates in Italy at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)
Cooking Classes
Facilities : Cooking and Pilates in Italy at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)
Facilities
Local Beauty : Cooking and Pilates in Italy at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)
Local Beauty
Local Views : Cooking and Pilates in Italy at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)
Local Views
Pilates Outdoors : Cooking and Pilates in Italy at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)
Pilates Outdoors
"The Group" : Cooking and Pilates in Italy at www.NatureandKind.com (THE.NATURAL.CHOICE)
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