Planning to get away from it all later in the year? Stalker spotted a couple of mushroom holidays promoted in the national press as the way to relieve stress and leave your worries behind.
Plugged for a September sojourn: " Mushrooming in Normandy, for ceps, ceps and more ceps, carpeting the Andaines forest, in Bagnoles de l'Orne, late September to November. You'll need to know your être from your avoir – hotel owner and guide Paul Quinton ne parle pas l'anglais, though his son Franck's mushroom demonstrations in their Michelin-starred kitchen require nothing more than a simple 'oo là là!' Details: £420 for 2 nights, at the three-star Manoir du Lys, including cookery classes, mushrooming, a trip to market and Eurotunnel crossings from Folkestone to Calais. Contact VFB Holidays (01242 240310, www.vfbholidays.co.uk)"
And for October there was truffling in Piedmont: " Why? A man (Ezio), his dog (Jolie) and more white truffles than Marco Pierre White's pantry – welcome to pick-your-own Piedmont style. You're also just in time for the Alba truffle market, the biggest in the world. Details: from £450 for two nights at Tra Arte e Querce, Ezio's restaurant with rooms (eggs with White truffle for breakfast) in the hamlet of Monsheiro Alto. The price includes flights with BA to Turin. Contact Bellini Travel (020 7437 8918, www.bellinitravel.com)."
Italy's warty white truffle, once aphrodisiacs for the Romans and now the most expensive fungi in the world, have recently earned their own museum. The museum is in the Tuscan village of San Giovanni d'Asso, housed in a 13th century castle.
There's an "odorama" exhibition, which allows visitors to sniff dozens of different truffles. According to the town treasurer Enzo Francini the reason the truffles are considered aphrodisiacal: " our chemical tests showed that the smell has a tranquillising effect which puts people in the mood for love."
Even more of a reason to head off truffling in October Stalker reckons.
