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News
Welcome to the Newsletter from Merrion Charles Private Travel Consultancy, providing the most recent and exciting information regarding hotels, villas and much more. Merrion provides a bespoke and professional service for holidays in Italy and further afield. Nothing is too much trouble. |
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A late Autmn trip to Puglia produced two new exciting properties to add to Merrion’s portfolio: Trullo Cacatosto and Torre Maizza Masseria!
We stayed at the luxurious and enchanting Torre Maizza and certainly did not want to leave - delightful staff, exquisite Puglian cuisine, a bedroom where every intimate detail had been thought of and an atmosphere of complete calm and relaxation. Nearby Trullo Cacatosto was an exceptional find set amidst olive groves and with fabulous sea views - this luxurious and elegant property is hard to beat for anyone wanting a truly Puglian experience. |
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Torre Maizza Masseria - elegant & captivating, Torre Maizza stands out as a firm favourite! As well as being an elegant and stylish property, Torre Maizza has the most fabulous & professional staff - here one is really looked after in an atmosphere of total relaxation. With mouth watering Puglian cuisine, stylish nearby private Beach Club, beautiful heated pool & just 28 rooms & suites, Masseria Torre Maizza is a must for a rejuvenating Spring break or Summer escape. |
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Trullo Cacatosto - an exciting addition to Merrion's villa portfolio, Trullo Cacatosto is a real gem! With captivating views across the olive groves to the deep blue sea, a superb pool and outside dining areas, cook service available and contemporary, minimalist interiors, Trullo Cacatosto is also completely private and easy to access from either Bari or Brindisi airports. From €2,700 per week in Low Season. |
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Spring and Summer ideas:
Whilst the gruelling and bitter winter continues it is the ideal time to think about Spring and Summer escapes - lazy days in the Meditteranean sunshine lying by a pool with a glass of chilled Verdicchio!
Here are just a few mouth watering suggestions!!! |
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Palazzo Luling, Florence - fabulous apartment for a Spring Break!
This elegant, stylish and contemporary penthouse apartment in the centre of Florence is out of this world!
With private roof terrace, state of the art kitchen, marble bathrooms and cook service available, Palazzo Luling is a magical find for a sojourn in historic Florence. |
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Casa Glyn, Lunigiana, Tuscany – delightful luxurious farmhouse with private pool in the Lunigiana hills!
Tastefully restored and furnished, Casa Glyn is a haven of peace & tranquillity. The terrace with its inspirational views & pizza oven is hard to leave - a fabulous villa for couples and families. €2,700 per week in high season. |
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Villa Favorita, Marsala, Sicily - extremely comfortable & characterful hunting lodge with staff, pool & gardens!
As the expert in Italy, Merrion is proud to announce her collaboration with thinkSicily in promoting the very best properties in Sicily. An old favourite of Merrion’s, Villa Favorita is the perfect destination for a family gathering. With Favorita Cottage next door there is luxurious accommodation for up to 16 people with two fabulous pools, delicious Sicilian cuisine and utter relaxation! Please contact Merrion for further details! |
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| Please take a look at Cookery Courses on the website or contact Merrion for more information. |
L'Orto di Primavera - Spring produce from the orchard |
 Copy courtesy of Maxine Clark |
It is spring that brings the greatest excitement in gardens and markets in Tuscany. The blossom is on the trees and in the hedgerows, everything is turning luminous green and the earth is warming. The colours in the spring market are white and every shade of green and purple. Easter Saturday is the traditional time to sow vegetables and legumes as the moon is waning (luna calante). Horticulture guided by the phases of moon is a tradition still followed by many throughout Italy. |
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Asparagus in all its guises floods the market stalls – from spindly wild ones, to thin green stems flushed with purple, to every grade of Italy 's beloved white asparagus. Spring opens the floodgates to artichokes of all sizes & Tuscan lore says that the Etruscans bred artichokes from the indigenous wild thistle. There are baby artichokes, round Roman ones for stuffing, elongated ones still with stalks and leaves on, the best coming from Chiusure near Siena, where there is an annual festival to celebrate them in April/May. |
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Broad beans (bucelli) snug in their furry pods, are eaten raw when small and young at the beginning of the season. They are put into a basket, pods and all for you to help yourself - the pleasure being both in the podding and eating fresh beans. There are piles of sweet new peas, again in the pod. |
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New fresh garlic (aglio fresco) is everywhere, starting early in the season as the thinnings (a cross between a spring onion and a leek, before the bulb has developed) & delicious chopped up raw in salads or omelettes; finally progressing to big fat heads of tender young cloves with a mild creamy texture. There are bunches of fat spring onions and if lucky, wild young salad leaves (insalata di campo), tender cultivated salad leaves and wild hop shoots (luperi), cooked and eaten like young asparagus. |
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Wild fennel starts to grow by the roadside, where it will flower then turn to seed. The flower heads are gathered when in full blossom then quickly dried and ground into a fantastic greeny/yellow pungent anise flavoured powder to perfume chicken, fish, rabbit, pork and ham dishes.
Finally, rosemary, the beloved Tuscan herb, is covered with fluffy intense blue flowers and sage is beginning to regrow... simply delicious!!! |
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Please do call or email
Tel: +39 0585 92098 Mob: +39 392 155 1464
info@merrioncharles.com |
