Grazie molto to BATW Ambassadors Harry and Julie Arthur for taking them on Festa Italia!

Ciao, turisti, e benvenuto in Italia! Today the beans have the pleasure of landing in none other than Sorrento, a small city in Campania, Italy, with somewhere around 16,500 residents. Sorrento is a vacationer's paradise, with 2,500 years of history and amazing architecture just waiting to be admired. So here the beans overlook the Excelsior Vittoria Grand Hotel, which was built in 1834 on land where it is said that Roman Emperor Augustus once had a villa. So see - you too can enjoy a view good enough for an Emperor, for as little as $350 - $620 U.S. a night. (Those Roman rulers had expensive tastes, didn't they?) Being flat broke as they are, the beans had to skip the 5-star vantage points from the hotel, and instead stuck to their everyday view of metal can. But that's okay - they'll fire up a travel video on their .6-inch plasma and pretend it's the real thing. Anyway, the beans were suitably impressed with Sorrento, and have ordered a new Italian silk suit for their can so that they can look sharp and fit in with the locals. Let's just be sure to remove it before diving into the gelato next time, okay?

So what else is happening in Sorrento? Well, naturally tourism is the biggest ticket in town - Sorrento is popular as a vacation destination for both British and Italian visitors. Agriculturally speaking, there's lots of olive trees and nut trees out here. (Sorry, no black beans...yet.) But the biggest thrill to the frijoles was learning that Sorrento is famous for the production of Limoncello, an alcoholic beverage made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water and sugar. Yeah, baby! The beans immediately ran out to sample the local wares, offering to give an honest yet personal critique of the local elixir. And I'm proud to tell you that lemons and frijoles go wonderfully together! Anyway, after sleeping off a long night of partying with the local donne belle, our beloved frijoles felt as fine as can be, and were ready to tackle a large platter of fagioli con le uova. Just hold the lemons for the time being, if that's all right with you...

Finally, the beans hopped the ferry across the Gulf of Naples to Capri, an amazing little island where every view is another picture postcard. Capri has been the summer retreat for millions of people over the centuries, from ancient Romans to modern day celebs. And now a globe trekking can of beans. How can you possibly top that? So here the beans and their friend Harry check out a slick set of wheels parked next to the dock here in Capri. The beans were hopeful that seeing this fine set of wheels here could only mean one thing: James Bond was in town. Alas, it wasn't his car; either that, or 007 was...preoccupied...all afternoon with some hot Italian double agent, and couldn't be torn away long enough to come out and share a martini with his frijole friends. But that's okay - thanks to the bean's international fame and that special hidden talent they picked up from Dr. No (hot wiring), they were able to tour Capri in style. Anyway, the beans had a fantastico time in Italy, and hope all of you can make the journey to see it for yourself. Until then, the beans will keep working on their Italian language skills, while trying to come up with a new black bean fettucini recipe. Hey, if Mario Battali likes it, we're home free.