One Italian Summer

 

An account of a family's summer in Italy when Pip and Shannon decided to take their two sons across the world to experience life in a different country. The parents are taking part as WWOOFers - Willing Workers on Organic Farms - hoping that the experience gained will assist them with projects back home.

The family stays at four different organic farms experiencing a range of jobs including helping with bees, picking fruit, weeding vegetable gardens, tending vines as well as squeezing peaches for juice, baking bread and making pasta. In return for helping on the farms they are provided with free full board. The type of accommodation varies but learning to adapt to different environments is part of the experience. Meeting and working with people with different ideas and practices is also part of the holiday. 

Between each work experience the family become tourists visiting Rome, Venice, the Amafli Coast and Lucca. While in Italy the boys have some school work to do but much of their time is trying new experiences, learning to communicate in another language and enjoying lots of gelato and pizza, pasta and bread.

Before leaving the Adelaide Hills for Italy, Pip and Shannon hoped that the experience that they would gain overseas would help them sustainably farm their five acres of land when they returned. Shannon held on to that dream and continues farming but Pip realised that she needs other work as well. She returned to work part time but at her husband's suggestion wrote this book, One Italian Summer, recording their experiences. Since then Pip Williams has written the award winning novel, The Dictionary of Lost Words, one of the best books that I read last year. Hopefully there will be many more books to come.