Let's Go to Italy Together Stephani takes TWO (2) Tour Groups every year to Italy Stephani - Parma, Italy - finding so many fabulous things Stephani in Venice, Italy I love the beautiful Blackamoors! come see the one here in the store Ginger & Stephani enjoying another Gelato Stephani & Anthe enjoying Positano, Italy Where is Stephani? Shopping, of course! Stephani talking to old friends in Positano, Italy We are in our motor-coach driving in South Italy Come go with us, Stefania takes two groups every year! Look to the (right)those are GRAPES growing Stefania and her Americana group are in their "own" private boat! out in the gorgeous Mediterranean - South Italy Look at the castles down by the water, & grapes growing above the white houses Stefania is taking the photo of gorgeous Positano, Italy Do you see the "Decorate Ornate" sign to the right on the white fence? And, the three walking are Americana with Stefania Guess where we are now? Anthe, look at the camera! This is the gorgeous Basicila of Saint Andrew We are in Amalfa - South Italy - Saint Andrew rests in peace inside this gorgeous basilica Bruno & Tony - Naples, Italy Tony and Bruno are Stefania's extended family Tony goes everywhere with Stefania on "their" tours Tony is born and raised in Sicily & now lives in bella, bella Tuscany! Stefania's FAVORITE place - Assisi, Italy Final Resting place of St. Francis of Assisi If you are with Tony & Stefania, then you will be staying just up the little narrow cobble-stone street to the left. Let's Go to Italy - with Stefania! Sign-up NOW Don't put off today, your life-time dream, for tomorrow may never come.. George from Chandler, TX "Wow, what words can described this village," per George Just another "magical" place in Italy with Stefania & Tony Let's Go to Italy Together! Trust me, it's a "fairy-tale Journey with Tony and Stefania leading the way! Wow, my sign is still here! One of the locals here in Tuscany, placed Stefania's sign here four months ago! Come on, what are you waiting on? Let's Go to Italy Together! Call Stefania NOW, she only takes a small group! Wow, this photo was taken my Stefania from her window in Tuscany Stefania is with them somewhere! Come celebrate with them in Italy! Stephani - having a good time in Tuscany Are you in a Cave? Area is roped off, high security,& only officials inside secured area Hurry up with the Olive branches! I knew Stefania & Peggy would be here! Stefania is here every year for the huge celebration But what celebration in Italy? Come along with us and see Smile Stefania, you are on Italia television Stefania & Peggy Garmon, attorney in Gilmer, TX Enjoying a real medieval dinner in Tuscany What a fabulous day, here in Italy Sign up for the NEXT Tour of Italy Finding treasures in Italy is so much FUN Tony & Stefania Stefania leading the way to Venice, Italy "Everyone look ahead, the famous ___ bridge - Venice, Italy" Venice, Italy - Stefania, Kim Kay & Jacque Gibbs In front of Saint Mark's Basilica Saint Mark is "resting in peace" inside this gorgeous basilica Sicily June 2008 - Stefania Stefania - Erice Sicily Meet Maria, a story of God's grace The medieval village in Sicily, called Erice, is absolutely fairy-tale all the way! Tony & Stephani took everyone to this magical village, Erice, & met Tony's friend, Maria After an American lady, Mary Taylor Simeti, a best seller author, moved to Sicily, and discovered Maria, she recorded Maria's story and wrote Maria's painful childhood, which is now published, Bitter Almonds. Read the Book Reviews An American writer living in Sicily sympathetically captures a Sicilian woman’s recollections of her childhood in an orphanage, complete with recipes. After a few pages describing Sicily’s impoverished west coast, tracing the history of its pastries, and explaining how she met her subject, Mary Taylor Simeti (Travels with a Medieval Queen, 2001) draws on taped interviews to let Maria Grammatico speak for herself, with an occasional interpolation. When Maria’s father died suddenly from a heart attack in 1952, her mother, pregnant with a sixth child, was unable to support the family on their small farm near Erice. So 11-year-old Maria and her younger sister were sent to a local orphanage, the San Carlo, in Erice, run by nuns who earned money making and selling regional delicacies. With a mixture of pride and pain, Grammatico describes the orphans’ involvement in every step of production, from shelling kilos of almonds to making molds for the famous Martorana fruits, painted marzipan candy. She learned how to paint them and how to make pastries and preserves, skills that later helped her earn her way in the world, but she remains angry about the conditions she and the other children endured. They lived mainly on meatless pasta and worked long hours in the laundry, the kitchen, and the hospital. They had no playtime, no books to read, and were punished harshly. Girls with developing breasts had to bind them painfully tight because brassieres were thought sinful. Maria missed her family, but stayed on at the orphanage until, thinking she wanted to be a nun, she entered a cloistered order in Catania. A nervous collapse brought her home, and in her early 20s she began making and selling confections andpastries; she now owns two shops. The recipes are clear and easy to follow, but the most memorable portions here contain Maria Grammatico’s vivid recollections of a vanished culture and way of life. Eloquent celebration of food and a woman who learned the hard way how to prepare it. Another Book Review: Bitter Almonds I have just returned from Sicily where I visited Maria's shop and saw the convent where she spent her painful childhood. I wish I would have read the book before my visit. The smell of almond pastries led me right up the narrow street and to the pastries and candies in her shop, and they are marvelous. The convent is just a short walk up the street from her shop, in the square. The recipes she shares in the book are uncomplicated and simply delicious. Her story is not embellished. There is no polished prose. It is as she saw it and lived it and has told it with her unique Sicilian expression. I enjoyed reading it and I will continue to enjoy her recipes. I highly recommend this book, and if you are lucky and blessed enough, travel to the very end of Sicily, and then go all the way to the clouds, (not joking) the medieval village is so far up in the clouds, that the climate actually changes to very cold! You will meet Maria and taste her delicious marzipan candy, and so much more! br> Loretta Ward, Stefania, Maria, & Becky Clark Maria can't speak English, only Sicilian I wish you could see how far we are up in the clouds Erice is a fairy-tale village, it unbelievable! Lana Niemann - Sicily June 08 Sicily - Valley of the Temples This is a burial cemetery in the Valley of the Temples Tony & Stefania - entertaining us! Let me know if you want to see more photos, I have thousands! Email: ALNCHANCE@AOL.COM Don't forget to Sign-Up for the "Italy Tours" with Stephani