Lynette Romagnesi
Lynette was born to Italian parents in the
small seaside town of Portland, in South Eastern Australia. Her father
hails from the Friuli region of North Western Italy, whilst her
mother’s family emigrated to Australia from a small town in the "Alto
Piano" (High Plains) area in the Veneto region. Lynette is a dual
citizen who is proud of both her Australian and Italian backgrounds.
She
is passionate about gardening and cooking, and in particular Italian
cooking! She takes great pride and delight in preparing traditional
Italian meals for her friends and family, when in Italy and Australia,
and particularly appreciates the cuisine of the Southern Lombardy
region. She has a background in teaching and has primarily taught
special needs young adults, who will always have a special place in her
heart. While she was teaching these young adults about literacy, she
felt strongly that they were teaching her about enjoying life.
Lynette
is now very keen to employ her skills in the area of teaching,
communication and cooking, so that she can be the best possible host
for her guests on the Lombardy Delight’s tours! She first travelled to
Italy on her and Jim’s honeymoon. Put simply, she fell in love with all
things Italian and always dreamed that one day she would return. Ten
years later her dream came true. Spending two years in the region of
Lombardy with her Jim, and their two sons Jason and Marcus. During this
time her love for Italy grew as she was able to watch and learn from
the local people in the little town near to where they were staying in.
Jim Romagnesi
Jim
was born in Melbourne, Australia and is also a dual citizen of Italy and Australia. His father was born in Varzi, the
small medieval village in the heart of the area where the tours are
undertaken. Jim is a true “Italophile”. He soaks up any information he
can gather about Italy and longs for all things Italian – its wine, food, the
blessed football or "calcio", motor cars and of course the coffee!!
His
father nourished his love for Italy throughout his life by taking
him back to his hometown on several trips when only a young boy. Jim
has frequented this area on many occasions over the last 30 years and
as a result has forged some special friendships with the local people.
As a child he loved the attention and fuss that the Italian mothers and
nonnas (Grandmothers) would make of him on his visits.
As a
teenager he came to appreciate the beautiful Italian girls. And during
his adulthood he developed a deeper, culturally-based interest in
Northern Italy, and in particular the region of Lombardy. A former
University lecturer, Jim is committed to discovering all sorts of
information about the area where the tours are conducted, and is very
proud to share this knowledge with his guests on the tours.