Presentation on Italian travel with Paul Cullen set June 15

Paul Kares, a newly launched nonprofit to support Delmarva-area students interested in musical or culinary careers, will benefit from several upcoming opportunities for locals and friends to travel to Italy with Paul Cullen.

The nonprofit grew from roots steeped in Cullen’s history, as his music fueled his passion, his grandmother’s meals fed his soul and travel opened his eyes to the world. The three pillars of the nonprofit income now come from musical events at the Room at Cedar Grove, the unique meals served there, and exclusive opportunities to travel with Paul Cullen.

Since 2014, Cullen has hosted groups traveling to Europe with a focus around food and wine. Local travel agent and Accent on Travel owner Annette Nero Stellhorn designs and manages the trips with Cullen. Stellhorn is a previous certified Bon Appetit travel specialist with Italian heritage. The two put together exclusive travel opportunities where great food, wine-tasting opportunities and pop-up live music events by Cullen are the focus, and Europe’s best locations are the backdrop. 

The news that Europe will be open in July for Americans means Cullen’s travel plans are moving forward as well. He will head back to Italy with guests this fall for two vacation offerings combinable for those available to extend their journeys. In mid-September, he will visit the Prosecco region northwest of Venice for a few days for wine and prosecco tasting. Options include a truffle-hunting experience with Cullen, a certified truffle hunter, and his dog. From there, the group will board a stunning Uniworld Boutique River Cruises boat in Venice for a seven-night cruise exploring the Poe River and the Venetian Islands. A post-cruise two-night option in Florence is also available.

Following the September cruise, Cullen will return to Tuscany, where the public can join him at the home of his own Paul Cullen Sangiovese wine. The villa has its own winery and olive trees, and he is hoping to catch some of the harvest season. Each day, guests will have opportunities to embrace Tuscany, whether exploring the villa’s vineyard and winery or joining Cullen on exclusive food and wine tours, sightseeing and shopping tours to fabulous Tuscan locations such as Sienna, enjoying a Chianti wine experience or touring Verrazzano Castle.

Cullen has already arranged his 2022 trips, when he and his fun-loving wife Bonnie will be hosting two sailing cruises. The first will offer a wine and food-centric three-night stay in the Piedmont, Italy area prior to boarding the ship in Cannes, France. This great cruise includes a port stop in Fontvielle, Monaco, for time to view the famous Grand Prix, in addition to port stops at the Italian resort islands of Sardinia and Elba as well as France’s Corsica before ending in Rome’s port of call, Civitavecchia.

The Cullens will stay on the ship to greet more guests flying in for the second cruise along with those who have decided to stay on for the extra seven-night cruise. The second cruise features ports of call in southern Italy including Sicily, one of the Cullens’ favorite areas. Both will offer wonderful exclusive shore excursions and pop-up music events by Cullen onboard the ship.

“Paul puts as much effort into designing an amazing travel experience as he does in one of his at-home dining experiences or in-person events at the Room at Cedar Grove. The result is travelers coming back thrilled with their travel experience. The team of professional travel advisors at Accent on Travel manage all the travel components for the cruises, villa stays, and guided tours, provide travel insurance, flights and design any custom pre- and post-travel plans for the individual travelers,” said Stellhorn. “Personally, stopping into Paul’s Kitchen on a regular basis and seeing past travelers, now new friends, joining together for a meal at Paul’s reminds me just how much travel influences our daily lives.”

All new vacation reservations for Paul Cullen’s hosted vacations support Paul Kares.

For reservations and more information, visit Accent on Travel’s Rehoboth Beach office at the corner of Coastal Highway and Rehoboth Avenue.

An in-person travel presentation to preview the trips will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday, June 15, at the Room at Cedar Grove. Reservations are required with a $10 per-person donation to be taken at the door. All proceeds go to Paul Kares. All attendees can enjoy a complimentary wine or prosecco and light Italian snacks.

To RSVP and for more information, call Accent on Travel at 302-278-6100, or go to tableagent.com and search Paul's Kitchen Market & Brunch Italy Presentation.