Now, they’ve planted their roots, literally in Le Marche, Italy where they’ve renovated a 300-year-old farmhouse into a B&B Cooking School. The agriturismo is country living, complete with fresh air, wildlife, and fantastic sunsets.
In the mornings, Jason waters the garden for over 2 hours, keeping an eye on the fresh produce while wrangling new recipes in his head. Ashley heads to the chickens and the massive rooster called Foghorn Leghorn .Life is fresh for them, simple yet intricately fulfilling.
To the east, Mt. Nerone lords over the countryside and their road Via Candigliano winds through ancient Renaissance towns such as Apecchio and Urbino.
Ashley welcomes guests with a heartfelt wave as they drive up the white pebble driveway. Jason transforms the dinner table into a classic five-course Italian feast. Wine is local.The walnut digestive is homemade. At sunset, the midnight moon breaks from the mountains and ancient ruins cast long shadows over hay fields.
sending...
Melissa, that was fabulous – thanks for sharing a slice of our story! I think you captured our feelings perfectly -it just so happens that our ‘American dream’ and that “good ol’ go gett’em spirit” was found living in another country!
You and Jason are an inspiration! I’ll keep you updated with the other publications. But I wanted to get some immediate posts out, since publishing elsewhere can be sloooower. Take care
Hi Ashley, could you send me some a link to your Cooking School ?
Thanks,
Melinda
@Melinda: Sorry, there are links in the article but my theme is being stubborn! Ashley’s school is http://www.latavolamarche.com/ ,
Cheers!
Fabulous story and fabulous article! We too got the travel bug a while back, it was also an “escape the rat race” bug, and spent almost 6 months living in SE Asia (Bali, Thailand, Cambodia) with our two small children. Then we came back to the US, had another baby, and we are EAGER to plan our next big adventure. Maybe South America this time. Although we really love Europe too. I’ve also always thought running a little b&b would be fun and we both have a lot of experience in a variety of fields so we could totally do it. Ashley, would love to chat about your experience sometime!! http://www.teamjessee.com
Hi Summer! Thailand is where my family is from and we backpacked there in 2003. I am openly bias about traveling there
. But work comes first–lol!–so we’ll be in South America by September.
Would love to chat more! Email or FB me anytime!
I love this story, amazing, I wish you both continued success and I am going to plan a trip pretty soon, You both are a inspiration to me and I wish I could pull up stake and move however I have a 14 yr old now leaving for High school ( she would kill me) leave her friends you got to be kidding no way. Anyway that’s my plan for the future and I would love to visit and see what you guys are doing I could learn a few things from you. Best to you both freda
Hi Freda! I hear you about the teenage-kids predicament! I’d be tough on my parents. But you always have the summer! Let me know how it unravels and I would love to share ideas!! If your kids like wildlife, we’re headed to the Galapagos Islands next!
Thanks Freda – we live a good life! Trust me, if we can do it, so can you! It isn’t always easy, but its fulfilling!
Thailand is our absolute place on the face of this earth. I say this in comparison to the other 71 countries I have visited including 49 of the US states-haven’t been to Hawaii yet
I have spent up to 2 months at a time in Thailand on each of my over 30 trips for business and pleasure. Of course there is ALWAYS pleasure when visiting the Kingdom of Thailand!
Mary-Anne
SF Bay Area
Yay! I love that you love Thailand! It seems you’ve been much more than me! I haven’t been to Hawaii either but SF is my favorite CA spot!!
Hi Melissa, Thanks for understanding, Galapagos sounds great I read an article in travel and life a while back on the islands and it was an amazing story I would love to see it first hand, When are you planning to travel. We have our mind set on Italy’s country side for late 2012, Will keep you updated. Thanks best
Ciao Summer- Got your email & will reply privately. Thanks for making contact & we are happy to share our experience/stories, etc with you. Endless possibilities….
Hi! Melissa, just came across this today,I’m Portuguese but have lived most of my life in CA USA. Its been in the back of my mind to try to move to Italy,my olds boy is a opera singer (tenor) and is going to go to Italy next year to study,I have a feeling he will not come back for he loves all that is about Italy,food,girls,culture etc.but I hear that taxes are high there, can you tell me what you think about that.
Best regards
Angela
Hi Angela! Thanks for stopping by! Wow–your son is an opera singer! Amazing!
This trip to Le Marche was my first time to Italy. That being said, while there, I met several expats, including of course: Ashley and Jason Bartner. There were a few Americans, Canadians, and Dutch that we met.
Life is good there. International Living has a pretty workable forum on Facebook. You could post a question there. Generally, people are very open about their opinions. LinkedIn.com is a professional networking site but also a great resource for expats.
If you’re passionate about moving and can afford it, start the buzz.
For me, I left NY when I was 21 to live in Japan for 1.5 years. Now, I am about to go backpacking around the world for another 2 years. So…perhaps, I’d be a biased source, but I’d say start with a long trip to Italy! If you like it, you wouldn’t be the first to just stay.
Good Luck!
My husband and I have traveled to Italy 9 times in the past 10 years and are working on getting there for 3 or 4 months at a time. We stayed with Ashley and Jason at La Tavola Marche in May this year and have nothing but admiration for their place, their cooking school and their spirit. Read what I had to say in Dream of Italy’s June issue: dreamofitaly.com
Hi Linda! I agree that Ashely and Jason are a great couple living a great life!!
I totally recommend the expat life. My husband and I embarked on our first expat experience a year ago and it has proven to be so much more rewarding than we anticipated. Friends and family thought we were nuts to move to the Middle East/Dubai “at our age” but we just couldn’t resist the lure of a great adventure . . it was our time! My blog arabiantalesandotheramazingadventures.blogspot.com tells our story. And . . . our next adventure, when we leave here in a few years, is a 3-month road trip through Europe in our Corvette. Will definitely put Ashley and Jason on our itinerary. Would love to talk with you about your travel writing. Please contact me at katiefoster46@gmail.com
Hi Katie! Wow, a road trip through Europe! So wonderful! I can’t wait to see what you post on your blog! We leave next month for South America and are completely psyched! Like you, our friends think we’re nuts too. But since Neil and I have pulled stakes and lived overseas before…they aren’t that surprised! I’ll email you privately!
What a life! Beautiful
Isn’t their world a wonderful thing?!
Thanks for stopping by, Mira. Isn’t their world a wonderful thing?!
Thank you Mira! Dream big!!
Hi there, just thought you might like to know Ashley and Jason have been regular contributors to both Italia! and Taste Italia magazines here in the UK for several years. They are currently writing a monthly feature called ‘Notes from Le Marche’ for Taste Italia, with tales of their amazing kitchen garden and delicious seasonal recipes! Take a look at the website tasteitaliamagazine.com
Hi Amanda! I’ve read Taste Italia. It’s lovely. Ashley should be using one of my pictures in her next column. It’s a veal pic, yum!
Your article made me long again for Italy…what a wonderful, delicious piece. Congrats!
Thank you for stopping by, Linda! We had a lovely time in Italy and can’t wait to go back. Maybe next year! Cheers!
Tomorrow, we leave for Marche to settle on the house we purchased in Mondavio. We are keeping our home in Virginia, but we are firmly placing one foot in Italy. It has been a dream to buy a home in Italy for almost 10 years, but our trip to Marche in 2011 settled the matter for us. Our house is 500 years old and built into the medieval walls of the city. From our garden you can see all the way to the Adriatic. If you haven’t discovered Mondavio, I encourage you to do so. It is one of the magical spots of Italy.
Wow Fritz! Congratulations on your move to Marche. Our friends love it there–such peace and quiet mingled with great coffee and food cultures!! Your house sounds amazing. Please keep me up to date on how things go
Are you going to visit the US regularly or just whenever you feel like it?