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Travel With the Experts:
 Barbara Petrarca Hardesty & the Da Vinci Capers
Today,
Norm Goldman,
Editor of Bookpleasures.com & Sketchandtravel.com
is pleased to have as guests of The Timeshare Beat Barbara Petrarca Hardesty, Creator of Da Vinci Capers.
Good day Barbara and thank you for agreeing to participate in our interview.
Norm:
Barbara, could you tell our readers something about yourself, what is Da Vinci Capers and how did you get interested
in starting tours of this nature?
Barbara:
I grew up in a large Italian family outside of Baltimore. My grandparents emigrated from Rome through Ellis Island
in the early 1900's. We lived on what seemed to be acres. Nothing held back my imagination. Our yard had a jungle,
a desert, an orchard and a performance hall (the chicken coop). Sunday pasta was a ritual (always made by my father
with his secret ingredients one pork chop and a pinch of sugar!) and listened to Mario Lanza. I come from a string
of talented artisans. I tried to continue the tradition with my first culinary accomplishment around seven years
old - mashed plums, a chocolate pudding mix, water and a few stones for texture served to my baby sister! This
zest for life has been with me ever since.
After receiving my degree in Humanities and Italian, I created architectural sculpture. This is very European friezes,
columns, portali, arches, etc. Commissions dropped out of the sky and I was having great fun! But if you could
see me, I have a petite 5 "2 frame with a bad neck. I knew that I would have to make some changes. This is
when I was hired to manage a cooking school in Italy. I have some business and culinary experience, so this was
a natural.
It was when I was hosting one of the cooking weeks in Italy that I had an epiphany. There was a terrible flu that
swept through the villa. Everyone was falling ill from the receptionist to the grounds keeper. I decided to change
the itinerary and called an artist friend from the small village of Greve to bring over all of his painting supplies
to the villa. No moving about just a quiet day under the purple wisteria with views stretching over the vineyards.
After our lesson in painting, a doctor from Sacramento pulled me aside and told me how much he appreciated this
change in the itinerary. He forgot how much he loved drawing and painting as a child and now, he will continue
to take classes for fun and be more balanced. It was shortly afterwards that I created Da Vinci Capers ~
A Personal Renaissance Journey.
Da Vinci Capers ~ A Personal Renaissance Journey is a week-long adventure in both right-brain and
left-brain arts and experiencing the Italian culture by learning the history, architecture, music, and eating,
drinking and being merry. With the help of incredible teachers, we have experiences in cooking, painting/sculpting,
learning Italian and creative writing. I call this a Personal Renaissance Journey because something will spark
your interest. Your confidence and openness is raised, and when the time is right, you will find yourself at home
continuing some sort of creative endeavor. It may be writing your personal story for your children, taking up a
language, or enrolling in cooking lessons. Or, it could be something totally different - one person took up dancing,
another started a new business venture. It's really about shedding those preconceived ideas that you don't have
a creative bone in your body. It was Leonardo da Vinci who said, "The greatest deception men suffer is from
our own opinions."
Norm:
Could you explain to our readers what you mean when you state on your web site that your mission is: To help you
acquire a new sense of discovery and appreciation of the arts to ignite old passions and to unveil new talents?
Barbara:
I believe that as we climb the career ladder, we lose the freedom to explore areas of personal interests. We forget
what we had fun doing as a child. Freud said that Leonardo was the most child-like adult that ever lived! His curiosity
and experimentation created concepts from the helicopter to the bicycle! During his life, there were successes;
but also many blunders. He just didn't care - he kept on testing and experimenting. Leonardo is a great role model,
and we're fortunate to have thousands of pages from his journals to guide us.
In Da Vinci Capers, I provide a fun, safe environment with teachers who inspire participants to play again. The
activities will hopefully spark a memory or create a new interest. At a minimum, new confidence and a true appreciation
are discovered.
Norm:
Approximately, how many people participate at any one time in your tours?
Barbara:
We typically have 12 to 14 people. We place a maximum of 16 people since we want as much contact time as possible
and it's more intimate. It feels like a luxurious grown-up camp in one of the most beautiful places in the world!
Norm:
What does travel mean to you? When did your passion for travel begin? What keeps you going?
Barbara:
For me, travel means having the curiosity and appreciation of peoples from around the world. As a child, I traveled
in my imagination to distant places. My favorite memories were taking a sack lunch and heading off for hours in
the woods over creeks and up the sides of what seemed like huge mountains. But it was during the Roots period
when I traveled to Italy to meet my relatives. This was the real beginning.
It's the same curiosity and love for people that keeps me traveling. I am very lucky to have a husband who is a
scientist and who travels around the world. I just returned from Japan for the first time. It was fantastic!
Norm:
If you were to choose your most romantic venues in Italy, which ones would they be and why?
Barbara:
The places that come to mind are textbook.
- Venice is incredible. It has a mystery and aura (outside of high tourist periods).
- I also love Vernazza in Cinque Terre. For such a small place, they have wonderful restaurants. The position
of the harbor, snuggled between the yellow ochre church and ancient fortress, creates a beautiful setting.
- Another place that comes to mind is the Amalfi coast. It's just plain romantic to sip wine while perched
on the hillside overlooking the sea dotted with the lights of Capri and tiny colorful boats!
Norm:
How do you come up with ideas for your adventure vacations? What are some of the obstacles in planning these trips
and how do you overcome them?
Barbara:
It's a combination of experience and creativity. Logistically, I know what will and won't work. My experience running
the cooking school and educational seminars in another era helps me a lot. Putting ideas and concepts into an actual
program is the fun part. I brainstorm and use mind mapping a technique of taking a large piece of paper with a
center issue and spiraling ideas off of it. It's like sculpting with your mind. I thought of Leonardo da Vinci
long before the Da Vinci Code! I read Michael J. Gelb's book, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci,
and thought that Leonardo would make a great framework to build Da Vinci Capers upon. Michael and I have
since become friends and he whole-heartedly supports what I' m doing.
As you can imagine, the business logistics can be overwhelming. There are over 10 instructors chefs, scholars,
artists and guides during the week. There's the management, owners and other cast-of-characters that must all come
together to have a fun and successful week. And, for the most part, they're Italian! Business runs on a different
time-line none!
What you hear about Italians and relationships is true. I constantly build these relationships, balanced with persistence
and tenacity for my vision. I think this in itself, is an art form! Also, the managers at both places are wonderful
and competent. Everyone has become great friends.
Norm:
In order to fully appreciate your tours, do you need to have some artistic talent?
Barbara:
No, not at all. Most of the participants have not learned a foreign language, or never picked up a paintbrush!
The idea is to just come with an open mind to explore new artistic expressions and have fun.
Norm:
Is there anything else you wish to add pertaining to your tours and travel in general that we have not covered?
Barbara:
We all can find zest in our life it is what gets us up every morning. I love that Winston S. Churchill declared
that we all should have at least three hobbies. At the age of 50, Churchill took up painting. He said, The first
quality that is needed is audacity. There really is no time for the deliberate approach & this is for
the young. We must not be too ambitious. We cannot aspire to masterpieces. We may content ourselves with a joy
ride in a paint-box. And for this audacity is the only ticket.
Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.
Grazie mille!
To find out more about Da Vinci Capers go to http://davincicapers.com/index.html
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Norm and Lily Goldman are a unique husband and wife team, writer and water colorist, who write and
paint about romantic destinations.
