Colors of Spring

Spring is in the air! We can almost taste it. Let’s look at what’s blooming and cooking this Spring in Italy and France. This is our favorite time of year to celebrate new life, abundance, freshness, and renewal—all bursting with bold, bright colors.

Here’s a sneak preview of what awaits you on our best Colors of Spring trips.

PUGLIA

Italy’s famous “spur” of the boot–otherwise known as Apuglia–enjoys warm temperatures early on in the Spring and the colors of this magical region are endless but even more rewarding experienced from the seat of your bicycle.

The group of flowers that are bursting with color this time of year are the pink and white cistus and yellow calicotome (spiny yellow broom), beaked ophrys and lax-flowered orchids. Italian marbled white and adonis blue butterflies fill the air. Open markets spill over with those wonderful vegetables most used in Puglian cooking this time of year: Cime di rape, (aka broccoli rabe or turnip tops) cicorie (related to endive rather than chicory) and lampascioni, a bulb related to the hyacinth, which has a fairly bitter taste.Sponsali, which are similar to large spring onions, with a sweeter, milder taste and are often used as a focaccia filling or calzone, combined with wild fennel in some recipes. These, along with the local varieties of carciofi(artichokes) are all late Winter-early Spring vegetables locally enjoyed in healthy proportions–a tavola!

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FRANCE

CILENTO COAST

Spring along the Tyrrhenian Sea stirs an intense longing for summer as the days grow longer, the sea breeze warmer, and the sights, sounds, and smells brim with excitement and invigoration. This lesser-known part of the south still amazes, boasting wondrous historical towns, tiny romantic villages, secluded bays, untouched beaches, and archaeological sites with centuries-old ruins—not to mention the stunning cycling roads!

This colorful coast, just south of Salerno, offers a treasure trove of spring delights: agave, violets, carob, sea daffodils, orchids, white mulberry, primrose, passion flower, myrtle—the list goes on. It’s pure cycling paradise. And in true southern style, lively spring festivals pop up nearly every weekend from the end of March onward.

Locals stroll to morning markets with a spring in their step to purchase asparagus, Swiss chard, broccoli, artichokes, spring carrots, cauliflower, chicory, spring onions, cime di luppolo (hop shoots), fennel, all kinds of lettuce and bitter greens, fresh fava beans and peas, and dandelion greens! Apricots, cherries, plums, strawberries, and kiwi fill the fruit stalls.

Spring up your pedaling and join us in Cilento!

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SARDINIA

Sardinia never ceases to dazzle us with her glowing tones—all year round. But spring is a particularly intense and exciting time to visit this enchanting isle.

With over 1,800 kilometers of unspoiled, dramatic coastline, flowers in full bloom by mid-spring, and 9 hours of daylight by May, it’s no wonder Sardinia turns out to be one of our most popular springtime trips.