THOMAS & MICHOU'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A WHITE LOTUS SUMMER
Michou & Thomas' White Lotus Summer
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As a barware, lighting and home accessories design company, at Thomas Fuchs Creative we specialize in handmade goods. Every week we give you a behind the scenes look at the people, places and things that inspire us.
Our 1/2 & 1/2 Italian Inspired Summer Collection
Being the owners of a home design product firm, Thomas Fuchs Creative LLC, having manufactured our tableware and lighting in Italy for over the past 25 years it was no surprise we were lead to Sicily to a renowned table linen company The NapKing for a stellar collaboration.
Thomas’ penchant for exploration of our new home country, having recently purchased a small home there, lead us to taking a 3 week jaunt down the Amlafi Coast through Sicily.
We only found out much later upon returned the series White Lotus was all the rage and was actually filmed in Taormina directly across the street from the hotel we stayed in.
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Our plan was to pick towns off the beaten path where the bites and sites were authentic and not run over buy tourists. We decided to model our trip after actress Sharon Stones 1998 Oscar’s outfit pairing a GAP shirt with a Vera Wang couture ball gown, we chose sensible stays with great views and cuisine combining that with two high cost hotels.
Thanks to our Miami based Sicilian travel agent Eugenio Sgroi of Forrest Travel who guided us like Italian explorer Cristoforo Colombo (aka Christopher Columbus ) discovering worlds unknown.
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Furthermore we started the 1st week of June beating the loads of families that would descend upon Italy post covid. I am sure everyone saw the global flight cancellations and luggage loss which we managed to avoid only one entanglement with our flight to Milan for the home show Salone del Mobile.
1st Stop: Vietri Sul Mare
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Thomas Striking A Pose in Vietri Sul Mare
Our first stop was Vietri sul Mare the inspiration for the the tabletop company Vietri we wanted to check out the craftsmanship and topography.
Vietri , declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, is located at the beginning of the Amalfi Coast, not far from the cities of Positano and Amalfi. The historic center extends over the hills to the coast and on the slopes of it the Marina area extends a hamlet that over looks the sea.
Jetlagged and driving down from Rome to Vietri we decided to eat at the hotel where the food was diving and the view even more enticing with a infinity pool that washes your every worry away.
Hotel Ratio Infinity Pool
Thomas was so excited to be in Italy he took to sunbathing on our balcony as soon as we finished the walk about town. The hotel rooms all over look the sea and the food was as spectacular as the view (scroll through our instagram post)
2nd Stop: Tropea
Thomas @ Hotel Della Rocca Della Sena Private Beach
Our next stop was the town of Tropea. Tropea is a small town on the east coast of Calabria, in southern Italy. It’s known for its clifftop historic center, beaches and prized red onions.
Tropea Red Onion Truck
Built on a former Byzantine cemetery, the 12th-century cathedral has marble sarcophagi and a painting of the Madonna of Romania, the town’s protector. Nearby is a viewpoint over the hills. The centuries-old Santa Maria dell’Isola Church is on a rock overlooking the sea.
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The best part of this hotel was their teaching us the true better sister drink of the Aperol Spritz THE BERGAMOT SPRITZ . Known for its Red Onion all recipes in restaurants utilized the regions most famous product and all food products sold in stores down to peppers contained red onions.
Bergamot Spritz, Aperol's Sexier Sister
We got back in the car and packed with Pistachio Pesto, Red Onions and bottles of Bergamot Soda and crossed the strait via ferry arriving in Palermo for our collaboration meetings.
3rd Stop Sicily
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Palermo is the capital of the Italian island of Sicily. The 12th-century Palermo Cathedral houses royal tombs, while the huge neoclassical Teatro Massimo is known for opera performances. Also in the center are the Palazzo dei Normanni, a royal palace started in the 9th century, and the Cappella Palatina, with Byzantine mosaics. Busy markets include the central Ballarò street market and the Vucciria, near the port.
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4th Stop: Agrigento
Category Room: Temple Facing Room –
Next stop was the intoxicating Valley of Temples and our most expensive stay yet but worth every penny in Agrigento. The archaeological area of Agrigento, the Valley of the Temples, is on the southern coast of Sicily and covers the vast territory of the ancient polis, from the Rupe Atenea to the acropolis of the original ancient city, as well as to the sacred hill on which stand the main Doric temples and up to the extramural necropolis.
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Our hotel room and veranda over looked the temple along with a private entrance to the Valley of the Temples. The hotel restaurant was gourmet level where I learned of my other new found love of UNI PASTA (sea urchin) where I went on to order it for the rest of my trip. You only need 1 night in Agrigento.
5th Stop:
TAORMINA: THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL
Back in the car we headed to Taormina. Volcanic Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea provide the cinema-worthy backdrop for Taormina, Sicily's legendary resort town. Twisting medieval streets and a second-century Greek theater add to its romantic air, which inspired the writings of D.H. Lawrence and Truman Capote. Take a cable car to the beach, or walk uphill behind the Church of St. Joseph for panoramic views.
This was packed of tourists and a Dior pop up however we mused at the exploding volcano from our luxury accommodations and dined at our fav hide on the path restaurant Gourmet 32
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The next day we got back in the car onward and upward to a prehistoric ancient hillside town of Altomonte.
Stop 6- Altomonte
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Next Stop: Ragusa
Category Room: Classic Double Room
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One of our fav hotels boutique and cute Villa Boscarino. Like much of this region of south east Sicily, Ragusa was reborn following the devastating earthquake of 1669. Some residents, empowered by the loss of one home, sought higher ground and built a more modern town whilst others, loathe to leave their grand palazzi, rebuilt directly atop Ragusa’s medieval network of narrow streets.
Sitting high above what used to be is Ragusa Superiore, a classically modern Sicilian hilltop town of rational straight lines. Not without its architectural draws or old school charm (including the city’s official cathedral), it is however the historical centre - or Ragusa Ibla - which so enthrals most who cross the city limits. A warren like maze of cloistered and clustered streets lined with honey coloured buildings, grand squares and grander palazzi, towering churches and wide boulevards, all so perfectly, elegantly Baroque in design.
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So perfect in fact that, along with seven other towns and cities in the Val di Noto, Ragusa is a UNESCO World Heritage site; a living, breathing, open air museum, and fine example of how tragedy can breed greatness.
And to end our Italian trip ended up where we started in ROMA! 1 night with our Roman family La Famgilia Marcantoni (Pietro, Claudia, Leo, Edo and Riccardo )
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As Jennifer Cooligges character said at the end of the series “ these gays they are trying to murder me” no no au contraire these gays are leading you to the best eats, meets and beats.
To check out my other blogs for the amazing hotel we stayed at in Lecce and on to Portugal click the links below :
3 comments
There are certainly some fun things going on in this little rendezvous (as the French would say) with Italy. Gorgeous hotels, handsome men, lovely red onions, antiquity, breath taking scenery, and tasty looking food. But Tanya was no where to be seen. Oh! Wait. She had a tragic ending. Nothing is ever quite perfect but you keep trying! Well done.
Larrissimo
Stunning!
Hayley Henning
💙
Alessandra
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