Podcast from Italy: Ashley & Jason Bartner

A warm winter across Italy is bringing Spring vegetables to the market in February. Jason goes down the rabbit hole on local items for sale on FB Marketplace. He shares a few of his big finds! In celebration of carnevale we prepare cresce di Pasqua but end up with 8 kilos of FAIL! Water cooler talk in town is all about curing sausages! We learn we are not alone with some of problems this year curi...

Preperations for carnevale are in full swing & the parade of endless sweets: castagnole, struffoli, cookies and so much more!  We finally answer your burning question, Where’s the Tractor? Which leads us into a discussion on the garden and learning how to start thousands of seeds for our tomatoes, onions,… everything! On a recent wine tasting (for research purposes only), I happily discover a near...

Preparing for a move to Italy? We share a few of the most frequently asked questions and offer our candid answers: How much does it cost to move to Italy? Can I buy a house in Italy as a Foreigner? and How to Open a Bank Account in Italy.   An update on the 2020 Salami & Sausage making and the annual “Great Salt Debate” with Dr. Gaggi. We chat about the real cost of cheap flights and a truck stop...

A jam packed post holidays podcast! After a quick look at the 2020 calendar of cooking workshops we're planning at the farmhouse, we jumped right in. We had a lot to talk about this episode: From the death defying drive over the Apennines with Gaggi & Ashley’s debut at the Christmas concert, to our thoughts on Livorno. Then we spent New Years in Corsica and finished the holiday season with the ann...

A recap of all the holiday happenings in town from cappelletti making with Dr. Gaggi to Christmas cookies, Jason's scarring trip to the salon, 'war games' and packs of wild boar... there's lots going on in our valley lately! Plus Ashley reads a chapter from the book - remembering our first Christmas in Italy and that it wasn't what we had imagined... Buon Natale!!

Celebrating Thanksgiving with a road trip thru the Alps to find our Christmas trees to bring home to Le Marche! Our set destinations: Verona, Vipiteno, Innsbruck, Soprabolzano, Moena & Trento - stopping for cheese, meats, wines, hockey and Christmas markets along the way! Sharing a few of our favorite meals & memories - we realize we eat a lot! Thanks for listening to this holiday episode of our i...

The last guests of the season have checked out and we've got time to fire up the mics for a new podcast! This episode: Truffle Season updates & inside scoop, we just finished a 4 night Truffle Workshop so lots of great info to share!! Just as we are finishing the season, the house kicks back and throws us a curve ball... Now that we are closed for winter, it's time to start planning our trip north...

It’s been a busy 2 months at the farmhouse so we start the podcast with a summer update on what’s growing, cooking, delivery of wood and our ‘staycation’ in Fano. The weather forecast for autumn: Truffles!!! The talk of town is this should be a good year for white truffles with the ‘hunting season’ opening 1 October in Le Marche. We a day at the Fano hospital for a small surgery Ashley needed and...

A jam packed podcast: from piloting a boat along the Adriatic coast (when we had no idea what we were doing!), a small town boxing match & festival where we grilled our own bistecca, a very official letter from the local Post Master to finally, how to navigate the toll booth's in Italy! Thanks so much for listening!

We're up early & excited to share with you a few of our favorite local gems! After a 'staycation' with friends visiting we rediscovered our love for Urbino, the Furlo Gorge, Urbania & Gubbio. A Father's Day gift guide for the pizza maker, with a round up of a few tried & true tools we use. Local gossip: EU & Regional elections!

Easter celebrations, Liberation Day, Primo Maggio - all fell within 2 weeks this year! A recap of the festivities and how to grocery shop during the holidays (when shops are closed Sunday & Monday and we have a dinner for 25 on Tuesday). We've been busy around the farmhouse with lots of projects that have been checked off the to-do list - new patio, irrigation and more. Plus another chapter from t...

We are so excited to make a BIG announcement on our podcast!! A very big collaboration is in the works and we share it here first! Plus a visit to AgriUmbria (agricultural expo) to pick out this years hens. A garden & Gaggi update of course along with the wild price of shutters. Yes, shutters. Easter is on it's way and Jason has been busy practicing the recipe for a local Easter bread, crescia di...

A lot to catch up on since our last podcast! Just in time for Spring & Summer travel to Italy, we share the inside scoop on international drivers licenses and if it's worth the trip to AAA.  An impromptu discussion on grappa and what it really is and an update on the garden and the latest projects around the farmhouse. Plus Ashley reads 2 chapters from the un-named/published/finished book!

Whenever conversations in Italy turn to politics, multiple terms for 'B.S.' are woven like rich tapestry into the discussion. We decided to explore the complex levels of severity when using the term "B.S." in Italian! After a winter getaway to Budapest to see comedian Bill Burr we share a few of the highlights of this stunning city along the Daube. Our short trip gets longer as we are hit by winte...

 We visit Gubbio for the World's Largest Christmas Tree Lighting! Gearing up for the holidays with bread baking and cappelletti making. A quick medical report/update, tracking an animal in the fresh snow...it's never dull in the countryside! 

A holly jolly packed podcast upon our return from a road trip to the Alto Adige/Sud Tirol/Alps! From minor league hockey, a wood working workshop to endless Christmas markets we recount our week including our first experience with "German Spa Rules"...! Happy Holidays  

Ahhh 'la dolce vita' the good life in Italy, that usually doesn't include visions of a broken pump and loosing water for 5 days! After a long and busy season we are finally back with a proper podcast. The water saga, antiquing in Arezzo, Truffles & Cappelletti making with Dr. Gaggi

After a summer hiatus from podcasting (it's our busiest time of the year at the farmhouse) we are back for a short & dirty podcast. Just checking in to say Ciao!

Thanks for tuning in to our latest podcast from Italy. Sharing a slice of our Move to Italy Workshops - we share a few tips & important questions to ask while house hunting in Italy! Then we turn to bitchin' about bureaucracy while stewing in paper work and immigration. Plus  few updates for the farmhouse & the local gossip! 

 A month after our last podcast & Spring has sprung! The chickens, turkey & rooster are happyily roosting in their new home - our coop! Spring garden updates and improvements...and frustrations! Jason explains how he utilizes our wood oven at different temperatures & cook many more dishes than just pizza, even a chocolate cake! The we chat about our 10+ year road to Italian citizenship and the lat...

It's Easter Monday and with full bellies we waddled to the mics for another podcast! Crescia di Pasqua vs. Colomba - local Easter eats! Spring update from the farm, an outlook on this years truffle season, Spring Events in the area and the long anticipated conclusion to our lighting dilema in the kitchen! Plus the biggest news of the area - a WWII bomb was found & triggered in Fano! Thanks for lis...

Holy Smokes - it's a crap-shoot most days in Italy if you will get everything crossed off your to-do list. The fireplace and kitchen are damn near done just in time for guests to arrive in less than a week! Which makes us pose the question - when to D.I.Y and when to hire the pros...A SPEICAL OFFER for our Podcast Listeners for our Move to Italy Workshops! Jaosn comments on Jeremiah Tower's articl...

This week podcast is brought to you by Procrastination! As the snow continues to fall we put off painting and fire up the mics for another podcast! From the most amazing samples at the grocery store to Gaggi's birthday, we tell a few tells and explain what a typical day in the snow is like living in the Italian countryside! Thanks for listenting!

This week's podcast we apologize to the Florence airport for our disparaging words on a previous podcast and then quickly take back the apology! An invitation to Barcelona for a five start hotel opening at the Alamanac means a surprise winter getaway to one of our favorite ciities! We share a few of the best tapas bars & spots to visit off the beaten path. Staying at the ritzy new hotel makes us a...

A light hearted Sunday podcast sharing on thoughts on life in Italy - from our discoveries while doing a little light "breaking & entering" along our road to Spring Festivals and why coffee pods suck! Plus find out what cardinal sin we commited at lunch with Gaggi! Thanks for listening!!