Hi! I'm Elena! Welcome to my travel blog Creativelena.com.
For me, it is all about “life-seeing instead of sightseeing”: Join me as I create, eat & live my way around the world. Curious?
*Check out my book, “The Creative Traveler’s Handbook”, for learning more about what we mean by creative travel. Travelling means the world to me, makes me fit for everday life and sometimes, I trust, also calmer on the inside. Read this blog with a smile, share what you love and remember to check back regularly: After all, when was the last time you did something for the first time?
Table of Contents
What comes to your mind when you see the hashtag #EuropeTour ? Social Media tells me that more often than not, people get back to us thinking that our European project for the sustainable development of cultural tourism in rural areas is more like a travel agency. Funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ programme, our aim is, however, to first and foremost encourage quality tourism development, an aim that once again drives our most recent project meeting in #DestinazioneMarche, the gently rolling hills behind the coastline of Ancona, in north-eastern Italy.
After our last meeting in the Cantabrian “Picos de Europa” mountain region in Spain, my European colleagues and I gather again in order to develop guidelines for important topics in business development, such as destination management & digital communication strategies. Check out our website for more about the how and why we keep meeting in such beautiful places as Marche region: http://www.europetour.tips.
All of us are truly impressed by what the local people of Marche region have achieved over time. Among many other things, they have “invented” a certain type of olive oil that has even won a patent from the European Patent Office: Francesca Petrini’s website will tell you more about it.
Welcome to Ancona …
… where visiting the small town of Monte San Vito, in the immediate surroundings, we immerse ourselves in the history of olive oil production …
… being welcomed by local olive oil producer Francesca Petrini …
… who teaches us all there is to know about her family olive oil estate, as well as the right way to taste olive oil in the first place …
… and right here, “Petrini Plus” has even won a patent from the European Patent Office for its extraordinarily beneficial health properties, such as added vitamins in order to help the body better process calcium … Bravo, Francesca e famiglia !!
What a lovely way to start “feeling” the area we’re in, gathered over dinner here with friends & colleagues from Italy, Poland, Bulgaria & Romania …
… in the area of Borgo Lanciano, whose history is truly worth noticing! The attractive English webpage will again tell you more, and have you want to travel here in no time ..!
Borgo Lanciano welcomes us as the small, typical country village that has now been renovated to make for a luxury resort, hosting weddings, company events and leisure clients of all kind. You can find it a good hour’s drive from the coast of Ancona, a quiet retreat before the rising mountains to the west as well as a great base for visits of the surrounding area, for instance to Fabriano: Did you know that Fabriano is home to the oldest (and likely the most fraud-resistant?) paper & watermark museum of Europe? Their beginnings date back even to the 13th century. Check this out.
From the meeting room at Borgo Lanciano …
… where we talk about the nature of Social Media Marketing & more …
… as well as the (perhaps even more important) coffee breaks sweetened by typical “dolcetti” …
… we continue visiting the “Museo della Carta e della Filigrana” in Fabriano …
… where creative travellers like us, too, are invited to try their hands at traditional ways of making paper : I last tried it for myself in the Lower Austrian Waldviertel, as well as in Banyoles, Catalonia, Spain!
Very impressive, to learn about the centuries of experience in making first fraud-resistant paper, then money, such as by constantly developing clever watermark techniques …
… which still today are used in printing money …
… Fabriano and its museum, a beautiful (cultural) hotspot for your next visit of #DestinazioneMarche !
What a story! Then of course, Giorgio Poeta is a “true poet”, right! The humble, good-natured, young entrepreneur, who is the same age as me, openly talks about his life and shares his philosophy with us: “I love my bees”, he says, what with honeycomb & bee dance tattoos all over his forearms, “and continuously strive for the best balance in respecting nature and the needs of my bees. The idea to mature honey in Barrique, like you would a good old wine, came naturally to me”, he smiles, his voice filled with warmth. His most famous honey, “Il Carato“, is being sourced by some of the world’s best restaurants, and you can constantly see Giorgio Poeta out & about at trade show events, restaurants, and other innovative producers of all kinds. My personal recommendation for you is this: If you travel in #DestinazioneMarche, you can not afford to miss a sweet visit at Giorgio Poeta’s!
Grazie Giorgio …
… per la tua passione ..!
… #BeeUnique is the motto of this truly outstanding, “sweet young entrepreneur” …
… thank you for hosting us to such a wonderful visit in Fabriano / #DestinazioneMarche , dear Giorgio & team !
All hosted by the “Palazzo Gentili” in the city of San Severino, where we tried to, erm, make an “easy type of linguine”. Easy only to those who’ve been doing it for years though: It’s not as easy as it seems to knead the perfect pasta, then spread it out thinly before cutting the dough. But never mind, it would not have been half the fun if we had all been experts already. And tasty it was, now that’s for sure!
I mean, learning to make Italian pasta …
… from the hands of a true local chef …
… what could possibly go wrong here ?!
Well. Whatever …
… the result on our tables finally was very, very delicious …
… and I believe the chefs also had their share of fun with us! Grazie per l’amore nella cucina, cari amici nelle Marche !
Check out more pictures from our study visit to Marche region here:
And you: When will we see you next in Marche?
Ready for learning even more about creative travel?