Sounds great! The best Groupon thing I have heard of! Enjoy,

I agree! Have a wonderful time and please please write a report for the rest of us.

I'll definitely write a trip report for this!

>>> how exciting this is!

Not half! Well done indeed...

Peter

It sounds like a lot of fun. Don't you love looking forward to trips?

We are going to Rome in September but I am so jealous, what an awesome sounding adventure!! A trip report indeed! How far east of Rome? I'm still looking for another cooking opportunity while in Rome. We did Chef Andrea Consoli’s class last year. Anyone have a suggestion?

That sounds terrific!

What did you save with the Groupon?

We'll be in a town called Carunchio. It looks to be directly east of Rome, about 3 hour drive. It's about as far from the eastern coast as Rome is from the western coast. I just found this:

http://www.abruzzocibus.com/carunchio.php

I do love looking forward to trips tarquin!!! Sometimes that's almost as exciting as the trip itself with all the planning and dreaming that's involved! The only thing I had to plan this time though was the airfare, the apartment in Rome and what to do our 2 days in Rome. Considerably less planning than my normal trip, but no less exciting.

Another thing that happened is the day before we booked this Groupon, I went to a Mardi Gras party and the first thing I saw was a huge bottle of wine that said ABRUZZO on the label! I had never heard of that wine - or even that region - before seeing the Groupon and here was the wine screaming it out at me. Next I got the piece of King's Cake with the baby...good luck! Hmmm, were those signs?? I like to think so!

Didn't mean to forget to answer your question Judy. For the 2 person package, we saved about $2200!

@Kwren....ABRUZZO...duh.....it's a sign

Yeah, LuvToRoam, I admit I believe in signs, especially if they help convince my husband to go on an extra vacation!

Well, this is it...my final load of laundry before leaving!!! (where else would doing laundry be exciting...Fodors!)

Have a great trip!

Wow! I erase most Groupons without even looking at them. Obviously a big mistake. Can't wait to read the details. Have a marvelous adventure.

Groupon seems to have good trip deals. I saw one to Turkey which sounds great.

There was one to Greece which was tempting...until I considered the economy over there now!

Great! Have a super time.

Thanks! I'll write a trip report!

Hi all...I couldn't wait until getting home to start my trip report. We've been here one day and it's impossibly amazing! Rugged terrain with tiny hilltops on top of most mountain peaks, a flower celebration in the town with a procession from the church at the top to the piazza way down the hill and the most amazing food at the palazzo!

The food couldn't possibly be as good tomorrow...we are cooking!

Time for bed - it's been a long day of traveling, processioning and eating.

wow kwren seems like u were so right to go with the groupon thing...looking forward to hearing more

Oh, boy! It really happened. Anxious to hear more about the trip and this area!

This is so exciting; our only experience with GroupOn has been 1/2 priced meals in Buenos Aires. Not bad, but really !!!

Have a wonderful time.

If you ever want to go to a cooking school in Italy, you have to do this! Today we toured a small olive oil plant (and bought olive oil), went to a local butcher shop where he makes many types of sausage (and could buy his special spice blend), and then had an entire lunch of tasting the different types ... with wine, and finally back at the palazzo, spent a few hours making involtini, stuffed zucchini and tiramisu, with more wine, then ate it all for dinner. I never had such a great meal! They have a huge old farm table in the kitchen which is where we ate tonight. Everyone is so nice and willing to do anything for us. I'll be so happy to relive this in a more detailed trip report.

kwren,

You are making me hungry...and envious!

Have a fantastic time!

How wonderful! Enjoying your report as it all sounds so exciting

Yesterday was the "pasta making extravaganza" - we made hand-rolled cavatelli and hand-cut spaghetti...then ate them for lunch with homemade sauces. Dessert was a slushy of lemon sorbet, white wine and limoncello - a traditional summer dessert TO DIE FOR. I can't tell you how delicious it all was! Later was a wine pairing class and movie night...'Mediterraneo'. (that wasn't in the initial itinerary - as the owner gets to know us, he offers other things he thinks we might like)

The palazzo where we are staying was bought 10 years ago and is the highest point of this hill town. It took 5 years to renovate and has been open as this cooking school since then. The rooms are simple but with beautiful antiques, and are all tiled and very comfortable. We got the suite since there are 3 of us - 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and tiny connector hall. The views all around are striking, amazing!!! Mountains dotted with other tiny hill towns mixed with Tuscan-like patchwork fields of hay bales down below. Just breathtaking.

Today we'll be going to Vasto, a popular seaside town, for sunbathing (a bit too chilly for that for me), walking, shopping.

Hey, maybe this should be my trip report, although it's hard to believe I could ever write such a short one!

I AM GREEN WITH ENVY. What a fantastic vacation! Good for you for being so brave and taking chances.

We started with Groupon with half price ice cream and now we're in Italy. This trip had all great reviews on Tripadvisor so we took the plunge. The owner likes nothing more than to make his guests happy and every single one of us here this week is having the best time ever! If you ever want a cooking trip, I can't recommend this enough.

kwren - only just found your thread and had forgotten [if I ever knew] that you were doing this and had booked la casa di clelia, though i do remember you asking me about it.

sounds as if the week's cooking is living up to expectations, I hope that la casa does the same.

please say hi to catherine for me - though i doubt she remembers me, we were the people who were there in the snow 2 years ago who wanted to go to the rugby!

How fun...I guess I need to start getting on Groupon...or how ever it works....I just got on Twitter a month to two ago, so I am slow!

How fabulous! In case anyone is interested, here is the link for the hotel (at least I hope it is the correct link)


http://www.palazzotd.com/paese.html

I've been fascinated by the thought of a trip to Abruzzo, since the recipes from that region are so outstanding. So glad you are on the scene to file these tasty bulletins!! More, please!!

How was the beach at Vasto? Did you like the town?

This trip sounds so wonderful! And it's great that you're able to add on days in Rome, too. Can't wait for your trip report!

Annhig - I will certainly say hi to Catherine for you, although I don't want to leave here at ALL to be able to do so I'm sure it will be great though.

Denisea - I'm about the slowest one I know to get involved with technology, but I'm sure glad I signed up to get Groupon emails.

Ekscrunchy - if you want to go to Abruzzo and cook you would love this trip. We make all Abruzzi recipes and have many homemade wines and Abruzzi liqueurs. As a matter of fact, they even break out the wine on some of our excursions! The beach at Vasto looked pretty, but it was too chilly to go swimming so we had a quick tour and some time for a little shopping. Many of the people in the group were saying they wished they would have thought to rent a place on the beach for a bit after this week, but it isn't quite the tourist season yet so it was not too busy. I'd prefer going to Rome (good thing since that's what I'm doing), but I'm not much of a beach person. Anyway, ek, if you might be interested in this trip, ask all the questions you want!

Anward - I was thinking this might serve as the trip report, but if people prefer more details, I can do a long version (but be careful what you wish for )

As an aside, I got a picture of a little old lady holding a freshly plucked chicken today. Cool shot! 3 of us also ended up in the apartment of another little old lady having wine and cookies with her after she dropped a stocking off her balcony. This vacation has been very different in so many ways!

What a wonderful opportunity, kwren!

Today is a trip to a bell foundry which makes bells for the Vatican and to a cheese factory, then we come back and make pizza!

The end of a fabulous week! We cooked, ate, drank wine, relaxed, drank wine, toured the area and drank wine!! We depart in an hour and not one person wants to leave this paradise

However, it's off to Rome for us so it's not all sad!

buon viaggio!

Thanks annhig

you are the best spokesperson for Groupon. They should be paying you!

Aw, shucks, tentek! Thanks! That would be a fun job!

I also want to be the best spokesperson for this Abruzzo cooking trip. We expected a wonderful trip, but we never ever thought it could surpass many of our favorite vacations. I'll write a trip report when I get home. We are toying with the idea of going back if the owner puts together the "part 2" itinerary he is thinking about.

Just to add my two cents....I now understand why people will say this is a trip of a lifetime. The experiences at Abruzzo Cibus, the food, the wine, the laughter, the friendships formed added up to "a trip of a lifetime."

A large part of it was due to our host Massimo and the rest of the gang at the Palazzo, they have a passion and a love for what they do and it shows.

I don't know if I can do the trip justice in a trip report but I'll try once i'm stateside.

K- we're thinking LA in the fall when Massimo & Dino come over. Want to join us?

uh_oh....this sounds like the kind of trip that would get us back to Italy.

Uh-oh, you can't begin to imagine how wonderful this was. I'm excited to write my trip report just so I can relive every little detail!

Johnny, wouldn't that be fun! Let me know the date and I'll see what I can do. Thanks!

Oh, and by the way, johnnyomalley and I aren't connected to the owner and/or the palazzo in any way!

Would you stay at Casa di Clelia again?

pct- I don't think she's got there yet.

it was on my recommendation that she booked it so I'm on tenterhooks to see what she thinks.

I would book it again, personally.

Here is the question I ask myself when contemplating ann item of clothing in a discount store:

"Would you want it if you had to pay full price?"

So, I'm asking that question here..since the Groupon might not be a possibility for most of us, would you recommend the Abruzzo trip if one had to pay the non-Groupon price and just book directly from the website?

Can you tell us about Vasto..how was the beach? The town itself?

Fascinating! Another destination to add to the (long) list!

Hi all! After 21 1/2 hours of traveling from Rome yesterday, I am home (A flight through Dublin, the land of free airport Wi-Fi, will add extra hours!) I started to answer the above questions while there and finish on the plane, but the Wi-Fi the didn't reach the plane so I lost the whole thing.

What a wonderful trip, which will end up in a trip report...but not today!

Eks - DH and I were contemplating the same question you asked by the end of our week. When we love a place, we do think about Groupon vs non-Groupon prices so I loved your question. We pondered it after our Groupon weekend trip to Virginia and had definitely decided NO WAY. Why pay full price when that hotel offers the deal every year and we can go whenever we like. Groupon or bust for that one.

But for this trip, IMHO, I think the full price would definitely be worth it (not that I wouldn't prefer a Groupon price, of course). What we got was incredible, from the food cooked for us, to the cooking classes (one chef was from the states so no language barrier, the other was Italian but his English was pretty good), to the culture, to the unlimited wine every time we turned around , to the generosity and caring of the owner (who, by the way went to college and got his MBA in the states so language was no problem at all), to the accommodations, which were simple, yet so fitting and comfortable, and to the camaraderie of our group. We had some experiences that I couldn't have gotten anywhere else.

I also asked DH this question without telling him why I was asking and he didn't hesitate in saying yes, he'd pay full price. Would we go back for the same itinerary and items cooked? No. Would we go back to stay there, visit with Massimo (the owner), go on different excursions, cook different food? Absolutely. As a matter of fact, many of us had just this discussion with the owner and he is now trying to figure out how to incorporate 'Abruzzo Cooking, Part 2' into his yearly plans. We hope he succeeds!

More to come in my trip report - don't want to give it all away here!

pctraveler and annhig - Unfortunately, answering the question about Casa di Clelia in Rome isn't QUITE as positive. There were certainly plenty of pros. The apartment is adorable and the perfect size for the 3 of us. 2 adults and 2 smaller kids would be very comfortable as well. So many things were there for our use - tea, coffee, olive oil, sugar, plenty of toilet paper (our apartment last year had 1/2 of 1 roll...woo hoo!), shampoo, soap, maps, guide books, even a baby seat at the table. We were given coupons for one free breakfast at a tiny cafe around the corner - juice, coffee or tea and a delicious cornetto. The A/C was included and worked quickly and perfectly, very welcome after the 90 degree days in Rome. The location was wonderful and quiet. The owner, Catherine, was only an email away. We hadn't received enough towels, emailed her and she brought them by the next day, along with some apricots from her garden. The location is perfect and easily walkable to most tourist sights. And oh yes, my daughter's favorite positive - it was near the best gelato we had in 2 trips to Rome - Gelateria del Teatro. (and we eat a lot of gelato!)

None of the disadvantages were earth-shattering, but they added up. The pros were so wonderful and Catherine was so sweet that I hate to even bring them up, but since you asked I will mention them so people can make an informed decision. The Internet was spotty, actually didn't work much at all our last 2 days. The main reason I had wanted it at that point was to confirm our ride to the airport and in case our 3 kids left at home needed to email us, but otherwise for us, no biggie. The apartment was a bit dark, but first floor in a tiny street, that was to be expected - and we did expect it. The sheets were very pilled and scratchy, but with all the late night dining I could have fallen asleep on just about anything. I have to say that it wasn't the best feeling on my legs, but maybe someone there a different time would have better sheets. The biggest negative was that the basement level, where the bedrooms were located, was damp and made my husband sneeze...and sneeze, and our towels never really dried out, even when we moved them out of the bathroom. Catherine had said there was a leak in the ceiling 3 days before our arrival so this all might have been temporary, but with my husband's allergies, it was difficult. If that had not been a problem, I could overlook everything else because we really did enjoy the apartment and it suited us quite well, but being honest, we personally wouldn't be able to risk the dampness issue again. We also couldn't run the A/C while out because a key is inserted to run the electricity while you are in, and has to be removed when you leave. Running the A/C full-time might have taken care of the problem, but we were asked not to do that since electricity is so expensive there.

I feel really badly being honest about this - I don't really know Catherine, but I feel so disloyal. If it was really due to this leak, it could be completely different the next time and the apartment itself had everything you would need. Otherwise, we were quite happy there.

OMG - I almost forgot the best part of my answer about Groupon vs non-Groupon prices. Massimo gave all of us a few cards which offered a reduced price, similar to the Groupon price, for next year without going through Groupon. We can give them to friends. You guys are my friends, right?

Hi kwren! (It's me, Leslie from the trip...) I just wanted to say what a pleasure it was to meet and get to know you and your family. The trip was so awesome, and I agree wholeheartedly that the trip to Carunchio was beyond amazing!!! I'm so happy I got Donna and Mary to agree to go with me. I can't wait to see your trip report. I'm happy you all arrived home safely. I think we need to start planning a reunion to Abbruzzo!

kwren - I'm so sorry about the issues you had with the apartment. perhaps because we were there in winter with the heating on, we didn't experience the damp - and also it seemed quite light possibly because we had the lights on!

also i don't remember the sheets being a problem - but we were there 2 1/2 years ago so perhaps she needs to buy some new ones.

I'm glad that the trip overall worked out so well - now to interest DH in a cookery trip!

Hi orkid!!! How cool is this...welcome to Fodors! I'm so glad to see you here - I've been waiting for you to join!

My husband and I talked about going back most of the trip home. You should see my suggestions for Massimo for Part 2. I got an email from one of the other participants today offering to help put together an exit survey so he could see what we would all be interested in. Did you get that one? I think its a good idea. Now to get us all back there together!

It was also great to see you and Jan at the Campo di Fiori Monday, have coffee with you, and walk around the market. I ended up buying spices and pasta after leaving you. It was hard to fit everything in our luggage, but that extra duffle bag and a few shopping bags helped us out immensely. How was Capri? I can't wait to hear all about it. Have a good - and safe - trip home.

Hi annhig! It's only now that I realized that you wrote again just before my last post as they were both posted about the same time. Thanks for your responses!

I have been feeling badly that I wrote about anything here negative about this cute apartment without letting the owner know about them, so this morning I wrote to the owner to give her some feedback on the 2 issues that in my opinion could be remedied - the sheets and the dampness, especially in the bathroom causing our towels to never dry out. It didn't seem fair that I would talk about them here and not give her the opportunity to do something about them if she so chooses. I feel much better having done so, and will post back if she replies.

I do think that having the heat on would make all the difference in the winter. Basements tend to be damp anyway and since the bedrooms are at the basement level, it makes sense that it might be damp this time of year, and not when you were there. With that in mind, I might try it in winter, maybe not again in the summer, but I think my husband with the breathing and allergy problems he experienced might not be so forgiving unless there was a clear solution in place. We weren't there much for the 3 days and I loved everything else about it so it was a good suggestion. Thanks! Stick to the winter for now!

As far as the cooking...my husband only grills here at home - he's really not that much into cooking - but the cooking was so much fun, and interesting to all levels (well, maybe not high level gourmet chefs unless they just want to relax in a wonderful atmosphere) that he had a blast. There were a few other men there who were not previously much into cooking either and they also loved it. As long as your husband is into new experiences, I do feel that he would enjoy it too.

Another thing to consider is that there is NO nightlife in Carunchio. It's a tiny hill town in the middle of nowhere. I think there were 1 or 2 bars and that was about it for nightlife...and they were all the way at the bottom of the hill. On the other hand, we usually started dinner about 8 pm and finished at 10 and after all the wine and sometimes after dinner drinks, everyone was ready to fall into bed anyway. If you need discos, cafes, high-end shopping, this is not the place for you! Otherwise, it's something I have never experienced before and the group has been busy communicating with each other ever since. I made some really nice friends through all of this!

Tell your husband to go for it, and if you do, I believe I can help you out with the discount.

Kwren! I'm your friend!! I'll try to drum up enthusiasm and see if I can plan something!

Haha Ekscrunchy!!! If you're serious and you drum up that enthusiasm, let me know. I presume you are already enthused, it's drumming it up in someone else?!

Exactly! But I will use all of my persuasive powers!

Go for it. I'm hoping to get to my trip report soon and am working on organizing my first batch of pictures today. Maybe those will help! Stay tuned!

Hi, just saw your post on the Groupon Abuzzo tour and I meet up with them in 2 weeks.
Thanks so much for all your info. I can't wait!

Hey hollywood! Another Groupon person...gotta love it. I'm excited for you since you're about to go on one of the best vacations ever! (as long as you won't miss night life!) I'm glad my info helped you and if I can answer anything else, please don't hesitate to ask.

Tell Massimo hi from me, and tell him I'm waiting for "Abruzzo Part 2". He'll also remember my daughter in her little chef's outfit.

Maybe you'll spur me to write my trip report...which seems to have gotten away from me!

we love abruzzo area and are anxious to read your full report!

Kwren: Please, please consider writing that report! There is such limited information here about the region and I, for one, am seriously considering a visit next year.

Does anyone know of a language school in the region that might offer short-term classes--let's say a week or so?

OK! I actually started writing it on Word today! I'll try to at least get a day or two started very soon!

Kwren: I'm also waiting for more about this trip. Please tell us all!

Please keep us updated. (And send me a discount card, too!)

we missed you at the boston gtg

Just noticed this, a good read.

We've purchased a 'Scoopon' here in Australia for 5 nights for 3 couples in Zillertal Austria over Christmas.
So excited, such a great deal.

Thanks Bob! I'm thinking of next year already! It will be a good excuse to visit my son...or should I say visiting my son will be a good excuse to go to the gtg? Either way, maybe I can work it out.

aussie, I never heard of a Scoopon, but that sure sounds like a wonderful trip. One year I will be an empty nester and it'll be much easier to take advantage of all theses things! Do you need a volunteer for one of the couples?

Ha ha kwren plenty of volunteers . Actually taking our two daughters and their partners for our first 'white' Christmas . Scoopon is the same as groupon, we have both here in Aus!

OK guys - this is it!!! I started my trip report:

Top Chef Abruzzo! - A Week in an Italian Cooking School (+ Rome)

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/top-chef-abruzzo-a-week-in-an-italian-cooking-school-rome.cfm

I hope it lives up to expectations...enjoy!