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Lucretia and Reed Finlay
are two adventurers who love European and American travel. Reed is a former prep school English master and track/cross country coach, and Lucretia is a former French and dance teacher who also enjoyed being a sales luminary in a ladies’ boutique in Lynchburg, Hendersonville, and Columbia.
Together, they have organized and led forty-five European trips for extensive sightseeing, as well as theme-oriented excursions such as opera in Prague, Salzburg and Venice, and food and wine in Tuscany. Thirty-five American trips have included New England and the West for skiing and New York City and Sante Fe for opera, Broadway and shopping.
Because of their love for Italy, they have studied Italian in Florence, Lucca, Gargnano on Lake Garda and Venice. In January and February 2010, they spent six weeks in Rome, Parma, and Venice.
Mark Rosenstein
began his restaurant career by opening the Frog and Owl Restaurant near Highlands, NC, before moving to Asheville to open The Market Place Restaurant in 1979.
One of his fervent cooking precepts is using the freshest foods with an emphasis on organic products grown in the region, and his knowledge of wine is exceptional, as he is a member of the Chevalier des Tastevins of Beaune, France. He has recently led five wine and food trips to Burgundy and was our co-host for the October food and wine trip to Tuscany.
Reed Finlay, III
grew up in Western North Carolina, where he developed a love for the outdoors. After graduating from Davidson College, he worked on a dude ranch in Montana. While in the West, he pursued his interests with a six-week NOLS course in British Columbia before going to Jackson Hole, where he is now on the ski patrol, a boatman on the Snake River and a member of the Teton County Search and Rescue team.
Andrea and Marco Bitelli
live in Bologna, the food capital of Italy. Andrea, a native of Moscow, Idaho, is the author of two books on Italian travel and a freelance journalist who has covered stories in Italy and Europe. She is married to Marco Bitelli, a native of Bologna who earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at Washington State University. Over the years, the two of them have entertained visiting international groups. Both are energetic, knowledgeable and have a charming presence. They will show us the best of Bologna’s food, music, shopping and history.
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