Who we are
Your host: Mandi Gunsberger
Hey there, I'm Mandi Gunsberger, the heart and soul behind Nourish Travel. With a journey spanning two decades and three business ventures, I appear to be a serial entrepreneur. And let me tell you, Nourish Travel is the crown jewel of my ventures!
Back in 2018, after selling a media business, my family and I embarked on a magical journey to Tuscany. We did consulting work from our Tuscan villa while our three daughters immersed themselves in the community at the International School of Siena. It was a bucket list year for us all that we were fortunate enough to do just prior to the global pandemic.
Tuscany worked its enchantment on me from the minute I arrived – the people, the stories, the mouthwatering food, and that unbeatable relaxed vibe. This region felt like a warm embrace for my mind and body, igniting a longing to spend more time soaking in its splendour.
Long story short, that longing evolved into a wonderful idea: Nourish Travel. You see, I was absolutely determined to share the sheer magic of Tuscany with the world. It has become my mission. Even after returning to Australia, thoughts of Tuscany and the vision of bringing others to experience its wonder started to take shape.
And here we are! Nourish retreats are where the magic happens. Imagine a gathering of incredible people, coming together for an experience that transforms lives. I'm thrilled to introduce our guests to some of my dearest friends – some who run wineries, make olive oil, own charming restaurants, and teach inspiring yoga and art classes. The retreats are all about curating moments that nourish your soul.
My dream? It's a big one. I'm on a mission to extend a warm invitation to people from all walks of life, regardless of age or background, from every corner of the world. I want them to step into the Tuscany that has captured my heart and spirit.
It's a place of connection, rejuvenation, and pure magic. So, come along – let's make memories and experience the Tuscany I hold so dear, together! While these retreats are sold out, check out current retreats for April & May at Antico Macchione.
Chef: Riccardo Petraru
Meet Riccardo, the culinary maestro behind the magic at Nourish Retreats!
From an early age he was always fascinated with all things to do with food. He often wondered how it was possible that wonderful meals could be born from simple ingredients. This curiosity has evolved into his current work and searching for the best ingredients and their highest quality, so as to create excellent dishes to be able to delight all guests with both traditional and modern combinations.
His warmth and zest for life are as delightful as his dishes, making Riccardo a cherished member of our Nourish Retreats family.
Yoga, meditation & breathework: Kate Kendall
Kate is the Co-Founder and Director of Spiritually Fit at Flow Athletic in Paddington.
With over 20 years of experience teaching locally in Australia and around the globe, her knowledge and interests move beyond the asana (physical yoga) into energetic practices, breathwork and emotional freedom techniques.
She is the author of Life in Flow, a contemporary guide to living your yoga off the mat and loves inspiring her wide audience to return to self through the science of slow. Yoga came into her life as a teacher when she needed it the most. Struggling mentally and having surrendered to the idea that she may be medicated for the rest of her life to treat depression and a chronic eating disorder, yoga and its many gifts kept her buoyant throughout her healing journey.
With her yoga teachings featured on Gaia and having Founded Flow After Dark, Australia’s largest yoga silent disco, Kate is committed to and passionate about bringing spiritually expansive experiences to all.
Her current passion project is Spiritually Fit, a three-month container during which participants undergo daily practices to return to self and get clear on what feels most important, most alive and what wants to be expressed. It’s a course that is deeply respectful of the yogic traditions and all the teachers before her and is equal parts practical and magical; it’s science meets spirituality and she returns to this curious question of “what is it to be spiritually fit in this modern world” through all her offerings both in the studio and online.
Learn more about Kate’s messaging and how she endeavours to live a life in flow at @activeyogi and www.spirituallyfit.com.au
Novelist & Wordsmith Extraordinaire: Lisa Heidke
Lisa has a strong background in nurturing creative talent and has conducted retreats and taught writing workshops for many years at The Australian Writers’ Centre, and the South Coast Writers’ Centre, always with a focus on novel structure, character development, and point of view.
Lisa has been on many panels and facilitated workshops at Romance Writers of Australia conferences, GenreCon, Sydney Writers’ Festival, and internationally, including several in India.
Lisa’s passion is for writing fiction about women in their thirties and forties navigating friendships, careers, romance, and ultimately triumphing over adversity.
After a satisfying career in journalism, and with three small children, she decided to try writing novels. In 2009, her first book, Lucy Springer Gets Even was published with Allen & Unwin, Australia.
This was followed by four more novels with Allen & Unwin: What Kate Did Next, Claudia’s Big Break, Stella Makes Good, and It Started With A Kiss.
In 2020, Lisa signed with international publishing house, Bloodhound Books UK and her seventh novel, Lily’s Little Flower Shop was published in 2021, under her new pen name, Lisa Darcy. Lily’s Little Flower Shop has since been published in France as L’adorable boutique de fleurs de Lily, and in Italy as Il piccolo negozio di fiori di and as an audiobook in English.
Lisa has also self-published The Callahan Split which was a very rewarding and productive process.
As an editor with NAC Literary Agency, Lisa works with writers to polish their manuscripts for submission to publishers, focussing on story structure, plot lines, dialogue, character development, and more to ensure authors have the best chance at being picked up by a publisher - both in Australia and internationally.
Lisa is a voracious reader, and enjoys historical fiction, murder mysteries, domestic suspense, memoir, thrillers, chick-lit, and commercial women’s fiction – in fact, just about anything.
Yoga & meditation : Cally Albrecht
Cally is a yoga and meditation teacher.
A life long practitioner and student of yoga philosophy, she undertook her first 200 hr teacher training in 2018, completing a further 150 hours with senior teachers Anya Hawkes & Alison Wish.
Cally teaches vinyasa style movement classes with a slow and soulful approach, deeply healing Yin classes and nourishing restorative classes. She seamlessly weaves meditation, breathwork and philosophy into all her classes.
Her accessible style is particularly appreciated by beginners or those with little experience who, under her guidance are able to find their way into these mindful practices with a new found ease.
Antico Macchione is owned by Cally & Nick Albrecht, who manage the property and split their time between Tuscany & the UK, with their three children.
Macchione was originally a farm house or 'Podere' (a ‘podere’ is a local word meaning farm or small holding). Up until the 1970's, it had been in use as a working farm with the ground floor of the building being mostly for livestock (the wood from the original feeding troughs is still in use in the house) and the first floor housing several families.
In October 2015, after a long period of total abandonment, Cally & Nick, found Macchione and instantly fell in love. Even in its abandoned and crumbling state, it was obvious that this place and its relationship with its surroundings was very special.
The process of carefully rebuilding and restoring the historic building, started in September 2017 and was completed in June 2022.
"Much more than a building project. This has been transformational on many levels; a labour of love indeed. Everything you can imagine through blood, sweat & tears. We are now so delighted to be able to share this place with others."