Italy is under lockdown. Many friends and the people you've heard on this podcast are directly affected by the Coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
When we visited Florence just five months ago, we spent time with Anthony Frevelleti and his wife, Becca. We ate a fantastic meal together at Ristorante Accademia. Drank several bottles of amazing wine, and then walked the streets, enjoying all the Christmas lights and decorations. Good times!
Today the Freveletti's are confined to their home outside of Florence. They are homeschooling their daughter, having their groceries delivered, with little to no contact with the outside world and adding to their stress, worrying about their son, who is in Florida. The good news is Anthony can still ship wine all over the world. So he LOVES it when the delivery driver shows up to pick up a shipment for one of his clients. You can support Anthony and Becca by visiting their website and order some of the most fantastic juice Tuscany as to offer.
In the first half of this edition of the Total Tuscany Podcast, we talk to Anthony and Becca about what they are going through.
The second half is a conversation with Anna Madaffari, who owns and operates Cool Tours. We also spent a day with her in the Tuscan countryside when we visited last December. A day to remember that ended with a conversation we featured in episode 67.
Anna is a private driver and relies 100% on tourism. She hasn't worked or had a source of income for over a month. Anna is someone who during the busy time of the year and works 45 to 50 days in-a-row. Even during the slow months, she has three to four hours a week.
Today the cancellations far outnumber the bookings. Anna is worried and for a good reason.
Anthony, Becca, and Anna are open and honest about what they are experiencing right now. Their vulnerability tears at the heartstrings and is a reminder that COVID-19 is having a devastating effect on lives, whether you have the virus or not.
Episode 95: Wine and Cheese, Fixer To Fabulous
Episode 94: Embracing Nature's Tranquility: La Gualda Vecchia
Episode 93: Sara Amrhein-Artist In Florence
Episode 92: Cooking In Tuscany, and In Your Own Home
Bringing Tuscany to the United States, or Wherever
Episode 90: Callegari Custom Wine Experiences
Episode 89:Total Sicily Podcast
Episode 88: To Tip or Not To Tip in Italy
Episode 87: Tuscany For The First Time
Episode 86: Pushing Boundaries with Art
Episode 85: A Tourist Tax in Florence?
Episode 84: Italian America Magazine
Episode 83: It’s Time for Wine School!
Total Tuscany Episode 82: Italy’s Finest
Total Tuscany Episode 81: Getting Your Italian Citizenship
Total Tuscany Episode 80: Pasta Mike
Episode 79: Discovering Sicily
Episode 78: Rediscover San Gimignano
Episode 77: Too Good To Be True? The 1-Euro Home In Italy!
Episode 76: Let Italy Come To You!
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