You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
NONSTOP TRAVEL<br />
JOSJE & BART - ITALY<br />
Growth in Italy<br />
travel<br />
Josje Machielsen between the olive<br />
branches in Puglia.<br />
The most popular apple of Italy, Golden<br />
Delicious. From our partner of the Capito<br />
apple’s in Katelijne. Mezzacorona Group.<br />
Our loyal prickly pear partner from Sicily,<br />
Giuseppe Seggio.<br />
Josje and Nunzio Spataro.<br />
Grape grower from Sicily.<br />
ITALY<br />
I travelled more than 10.000 km in the <strong>Aartsen</strong> Mini<br />
Cooper and visited over thirty partners. Before my<br />
trip, the only words I knew in Italian were cappuccino<br />
and pasta! Thankfully I took an extensive two-week<br />
course with Regina Coeli before I set off to the land<br />
of vino, gelato and familia.<br />
Calabria<br />
After being on the road for three days, 25 hours,<br />
my stop was at the company O.P. Monte in<br />
Calabria, where I was welcomed by Vicenzo<br />
and Alessia. After this stop, I was off to Sicily.<br />
Sicily<br />
The first Italian grapes we receive each<br />
season come from Sicily. There are growers<br />
in Sicily with whom we have worked for more<br />
than 20 years. I spent two weeks in Sicily with<br />
some lovely families (Spatarfrutta, Chessari)<br />
and visited our loyal transporter Cappello.<br />
I made great strides with my Italian during this<br />
period. During the day, I got the experience of<br />
a typical workday and in the evening I could<br />
learn a lot from the Italian food culture. In the<br />
weekend I had time to explore the beautiful<br />
area and take excursions. Besides grapes,<br />
Sicily is also famous for its blood oranges<br />
(Taroccos), I had the change to visit these<br />
fields as well with Il Galletto.<br />
Apulia<br />
After observing for two weeks and learning<br />
about the products here, I continued my<br />
journey to the "heel of the boot", beautiful<br />
Apulia. Here I visited Orchidea and Giuliano.<br />
Two impressive companies with a completely<br />
different structure than in Sicily. Here too,<br />
I didn’t have to worry for a second. There<br />
was a schedule from early in the morning<br />
until late at night. This way, I could also<br />
optimally practice the Italian language here<br />
and learn a lot about both businesses.<br />
I drove up via the East coast, with a stopover<br />
in stunning Ancona and resumed to Trentino.<br />
Here I visited V.O.G. and ended my stay in<br />
Trentino with a visit to the Mezzacorona<br />
group. Everything is bilingual in the North of<br />
Italy; even the German language is preferred.<br />
It was also a few degrees cooler here, which<br />
is better for the apple harvest.<br />
54 | AMBITION AMBITION | 55
Change language