POST ON YOUR DREAMBOARD
Did you know that there’s a Gelato University? Pretty sweet, right? Yup — if you have the passion to learn how to make gelato (business or pleasure) you can enroll yourself in gelato school. I know someone who flew to Bologna (northern Italy) to do this training and she has quite a hot gelateria shop in a sleepy Canadian town.
MANGIAMO
Continuing with our food theme… Pizza + Naples = Two words that couldn’t be better suited for each other. Unless you suffer from Celiac disease or have any kind of gluten intolerance/allergy. Then all those words do is incite the worst kind of FOMO. But here’s the good news – Italy is actually well ahead of the game when it comes to gluten-free cuisine. In Naples (and all over Italy, in fact), you can find many restaurants and pizzerias that follow recommendations from the Italian Celiac Association (all in Italian, sorry), so you don’t have to miss out on Italy’s signature carbs. To be sure, all you have to do is say “sono celiaca”, or ask for options “senza glutine”. One of the most famous pizzeria’s in Naples is called Starita a Materdei. They’ve been in business for almost 120 years, and have even expanded across the pond to New York. Don’t worry, it’s not just wheatless doughs here. Those who are able to can still eat all the glutinous goodness they want.
WHAT WE’RE LOVING RIGHT NOW
Today I’m sharing the work of my friend, fellow self-made entrepreneur, and creative badass, Justina Blakeney. Her book, Jungalow: Decorate Wild was released this week. Justina has taught in Italy at past workshops I’ve hosted. Our clients would fly to Italy (remember when that was legal, sigh) and hang out in a seaside castle in the Cinque Terre for a few days. I would make sure we all had good eats and good vibes. And Justina would teach her signature creative lifestyle and social media marketing prowess — she’s a social media marketing OG and has always done big things on small, self-funded budgets. To celebrate the release of her new book that came out this week, I’m doing a giveaway on my personal Instagram profile here.
WISH WE WERE HERE
Levanto, Liguria. This is a perfect small town — completely flat and bikeable, with some fabulous beaches. Very family-friendly and good for pushing strollers. When Justina and I finished our workshop we spent an afternoon in the village of Levanto — beach chairs, daughters, and husbands in tow. I love Levanto and it’s one of my fave spots in all of Italy because it’s so EASY to be there. You can bike around the whole town, yet it’s big enough that you can get anything. It has a row of beautiful sandy kid-friendly beaches with beach clubs (hello comfy umbrellas and sunbeds to rent) that you can bike to from your apartment. It even has some nightlife, and kids-playing-in-the-piazza-at-midnight life. We rented an apartment here for 3 glorious weeks a few years ago. I had a ritual of eating watermelon on the deck and walking to the beach for daily swims. H.E.A.V.E.N and I’ll never forget it.
SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER
This is a brand new feature we launched this month! It’s a way for you to share Italian Fix, and be rewarded with groovy things.
Wanna play? Click to share our newsletter, and we’ll send you gifties in the mail. Not lame cheap crap, but handmade, thoughtful and useful things to make your life more beautiful.
Share with 7 people, get an art print. Share with 17 people, a beautiful candle made in Florence. Share with 27 people, we’ll send you a skincare kit from the fanciest apothecary in Italy. Cause we’re crazy like that.
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With love + gelato,
Bianca
