Under the Tuscan sun

All food is made better with olive oil. Okay, all savory food is at least. Nudo agrees- the company is offering olive trees for adoption. For a small price, you can adopt a tree from the Italian countryside and receive all produce from that tree for a year. What a fun gift idea for an Italian produce lover, way better, and more useful, than adopting a star.

If you're looking for a more intense way to immerse yourself into the Italian farm culture, a new trend I've been looking into is a "volunteer vacation." Many small, organic farms around the world will take in travelers, housing and feeding them in exchange for work on the farm. I've heard of fantastic experiences (think a few hours a day in the vineyard, then drinking an unlimited supply of wine), as well as horrible experiences (think near slave labor and sleeping in tents). Here is an article from the Today Show about the vacations and here is a link to a reputable website.