Seed & Rooted, LLC

“What if I book a Seed & Rooted retreat and then have to cancel? Will I get a refund?”

It’s one of the most common questions I receive, and I believe in being completely transparent from the start.

Seed & Rooted has a ZERO REFUND policy.

When you reserve your spot, I immediately begin making financial commitments on your behalf. Accommodations, excursions, transportation, retreat materials, local vendors, and other services are reserved well in advance, and many of these payments are non-refundable to me. Because of this, I cannot offer refunds if you need to cancel.

All retreat payments are non-refundable, non-transferable (unless approved by the host), and non-negotiable.

In some situations, if there is enough time before the retreat and I approve the transfer, you may sell your retreat spot to someone else. The replacement guest must meet all retreat requirements, and you are solely responsible for finding the new participant.

Please note:
• Your original $500 non-refundable deposit remains non-refundable.
• A $180 transfer fee will apply to cover the administrative costs of transferring your reservation to another guest.
• Any costs associated with finding or arranging the replacement guest are your responsibility.

This is exactly why I require every retreat guest to purchase Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance.

Travel insurance can help protect your investment if something unexpected happens before or during your trip. Every policy is different, so be sure to carefully review what is and isn’t covered before purchasing. Depending on the policy, covered reasons may include certain illnesses, injuries, family emergencies, and other unforeseen events—but always verify the details with your insurance provider.

I personally recommend Allianz or Trawick International for trip cancellation/interruption coverage, and HTH Worldwide (HTH Global) for international medical insurance while traveling abroad.

No one books a retreat expecting to cancel, but life is unpredictable. Having the proper insurance provides peace of mind and helps protect your investment if the unexpected happens.

Thank you for understanding and respecting these policies. They allow me to continue creating the meaningful, high-quality retreat experiences that make Seed & Rooted so special. I can’t wait to travel the world with you! 🌿✨

www.seedandrooted.com

Did you know that today, Thursday, March 19, 2026, is a major public holiday in Bali, known as Nyepi (Bali Hindu New Year). It is the Balinese Day of Silence, characterized by strict restrictions—no working, traveling, lighting fires, or entertainment—and the airport, ports, and streets are closed.

Restrictions: The holiday involves the "four, no's": no going out (Amati Lelunganan), no fire/lights (Amati Geni), no amusements (Amati Lelanguan), and no work (Amati Karya).

Duration: The silence and restrictions are observed for 24 hours, starting from 6:00 AM on March 19 until 6:00 AM on March 20.
Closures: All traffic, including in the airport and seaports, is halted.
Context: Tourists are expected to stay inside their hotels/villas, and hotel lights must be dimmed

I always laugh when I read this…

Dear tourist,Please do not ask our waiter to do this.

We love you. We really do.

But some things happen at Italian restaurant tables every single day that make every waiter in Italy age three years at once.

This is my list.

1. DO NOT ORDER FETTUCCINE ALFREDO

We need to talk about this.
Fettuccine Alfredo does not exist in Italy as a restaurant dish.
It is something we make at home when we have a stomach problem. Butter and pasta. That is sick-day food.
When you order it at a restaurant in Rome, the waiter nods politely while a small part of him dies inside.
If a restaurant has it on the menu, it was put there for you. That tells you everything you need to know about that restaurant.

2. DO NOT ASK FOR PARMESAN ON SPAGHETTI ALLE VONGOLE

You are about to ruin one of the most perfect dishes Italy has ever created.
Spaghetti alle vongole is clams, white wine, garlic, parsley, olive oil. The sea. That is the dish.
Cheese on seafood is not a personal preference in Italy. It is a different category of problem entirely.
The waiter will bring it if you insist. He will not be okay.

3. CHICKEN DOES NOT GO ON CARBONARA

Carbonara is eggs, guanciale, pecorino, black pepper. That is it.
Chicken is not an ingredient. Chicken is a side dish. Chicken goes next to things, not on top of things.
Chicken carbonara is something that exists in other countries.
In Italy it is a crime that has not yet been formally classified.

4. DO NOT PUT ICE IN YOUR WINE

We understand you are warm. Italy in summer is very warm.
But ice in wine dilutes the wine, changes the temperature it was meant to be served at, and makes the whole glass water by the end.
If the wine is not cold enough, ask for it to be chilled. The waiter will help you.
Ice in wine is the kind of thing that travels through a restaurant kitchen in under thirty seconds.

5. DO NOT ORDER CAPPUCCINO TO WASH DOWN YOUR CARBONARA

You can drink a cappuccino at 4pm. We genuinely do not care anymore.
But ordering a cappuccino in the middle of a meal, specifically to drink alongside pasta, is a combination that confuses every part of the Italian digestive logic.
Cappuccino is breakfast. Milk after a meal is something we actively avoid.
The waiter will bring it. He will go back to the kitchen and say something we cannot repeat here.

6. EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA HAS EGGPLANT IN IT. THAT IS THE POINT.

It is called eggplant parmigiana because the main ingredient is eggplant.
Every week a tourist asks if it can be made without the eggplant, or orders it not realising what it is, or asks if there is a version with chicken instead.
There is no version with chicken instead.
It is eggplant. That is the dish. That has always been the dish.

7. SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE DOES NOT EXIST IN ITALY

In Bologna, the ragù is made with fettuccine. Fresh egg pasta. Wide, flat, soft — built to carry a slow meat sauce.
Spaghetti bolognese is something that happened outside Italy and then came back to haunt us.
Spaghetti is too thin and too smooth. The sauce slides off. It makes no sense.
If you order spaghetti bolognese in a real Italian restaurant, the waiter will probably bring you tagliatelle al ragù.
He is not making a mistake. He is correcting one.

8. THERE IS NO SALAD DRESSING

Italy does not have a bottle of ranch, caesar, thousand island, or honey mustard waiting in the kitchen.
Italian salad is olive oil, vinegar or lemon, salt. That is it. You dress it yourself at the table.
Asking the waiter what dressings are available will produce a pause that contains multitudes.
The answer is olive oil. The answer is always olive oil.

9. DO NOT ASK FOR PASTA WELL DONE

Well done is for steak. Not for pasta.
Pasta in Italy is served al dente — firm to the bite. This is not a preference. This is how pasta is cooked correctly.
Asking for it well done, or soft, or more cooked, is asking the chef to ruin the dish he just made.
He will do it if you insist. He will not enjoy doing it.

10. DO NOT ASK TO SUBSTITUTE THE PASTA SHAPE

The pasta shape on the menu was chosen for a reason. A wide flat pasta carries a meat ragù. A ridged short pasta holds a thick sauce. A thin spaghetti works with oil and clams.
Asking to swap the penne for spaghetti or the rigatoni for fusilli because you prefer it that way is asking the chef to break the logic of his own dish.
The shape is not decoration. The shape is part of the recipe.

11. DO NOT ASK FOR TAP WATER AT A RESTAURANT

In Italy, when you sit down, the waiter will ask: naturale o frizzante — still or sparkling.
That is your water. It comes in a bottle. You pay for it.
Asking for tap water — acqua del rubinetto — at a full restaurant is technically possible but will be met with a look that is difficult to describe.
If budget is a concern, buy a bottle of water from a tabacchi before you go in. Outside the restaurant, tap water from the free public fountains across Italy is excellent and completely normal to drink.

12. IF IT IS NOT ON THE MENU, DO NOT ASK

The menu is short because the chef decided what he cooks today.
Asking for something that is not there is asking the kitchen to stop and invent something for one table.
The answer is almost always no. It is not personal.
If nothing on the menu works for you, find a different restaurant. That is the honest solution.

13. DO NOT ASK IF EVERY DISH HAS A GLUTEN FREE VERSION

If you have coeliac disease, Italian restaurants take it seriously. Tell the waiter when you sit down and they will tell you exactly what is safe.
But asking the waiter to go through the entire menu dish by dish and confirm which ones can be made gluten free — for every pasta, every sauce, every possible combination — while other tables are waiting, is a different kind of request entirely.
Be specific. Ask once. They will help you.

14. DO NOT PAY FOR A €1,20 ESPRESSO WITH A CARD

The espresso at an Italian bar costs €1,20. Sometimes €1,50 in tourist areas.
Paying with a card for this is not wrong exactly. But it creates a transaction that costs the bar more in fees than the drink is worth, slows down a counter that moves on seconds, and produces a receipt that is longer than the drink took to make.
Italy runs on cash for small amounts. Carry coins. Use them at the bar. The barista will love you for it.

15. WE ARE NOT GOING TO BRING THE BILL UNTIL YOU ASK

You finish eating. You sit there. The waiter does not come with the bill.
He did not forget you. In Italy, bringing the bill without being asked means "please leave." No good restaurant wants to say that to a table.
When you are ready, catch his eye and say "il conto per favore."
He will bring it immediately. That is how this works.

16. WE ARE NOT IGNORING YOU

Italian waiters do not check on the table every four minutes.
We do not ask how everything is tasting.
We do not hover.
This is not rudeness. This is respect. You are eating. We are letting you eat.
If you need something, look up. We are watching the room. We will see you.

17. DO NOT ASK US TO TRANSLATE THE ENTIRE MENU

We are happy to help with one or two things.
"What is this dish?" — yes, absolutely.
"Can you explain every single item from the antipasti to the dolci?" — we cannot do this.
Point at what interests you. We will tell you what it is. That is the version of this that works.

18. THE MENU HAS AN ORDER. PLEASE USE IT.

Antipasto. Primo. Secondo. Contorno. Dolce.
This sequence exists for a reason.
Ordering tiramisu first, then a salad, then pasta at the end is a meal that makes no structural sense and a kitchen that does not know what it is building.
At least learn the basic order. You do not have to order every course. But the ones you order should go in the right direction.

19. ORDERING A "LATTE" WILL GET YOU A GLASS OF MILK

Latte means milk.
If you want coffee with milk, say caffè latte, or order a cappuccino.
If you walk into an Italian bar and order "a latte," the barista will hand you a glass of cold milk, say nothing, and watch you figure it out.
This has been happening every day for thirty years and it never stops being the same situation.

20. DO NOT ASK FOR KETCHUP WITH YOUR PASTA

It exists. It lives in our supermarkets.
It does not live on the table next to a plate of amatriciana.
The tomato sauce on your pasta was cooked for hours. It does not need assistance from a bottle.

We are not trying to make your meal complicated.
We are trying to give you the best version of what this table can be.
Meet us halfway.

✨ 🌲As this beautiful year comes to a close, I just want to take a moment to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To every client, friend, and soul who showed up, trusted me, laughed with me, traveled with me, and shared space in community — you made this year truly magical. 🤍

Seed & Rooted continues to grow because of you — your openness, your courage, your joy, and your willingness to show up for yourself and for one another. I’m so deeply grateful for every retreat, every hug, every conversation, and every memory we created together this year.

As we step into a brand new year, I’m wishing you health, happiness, peace, adventure, and so much joy. May 2026 bring you moments that light you up, nourish your soul, and remind you just how worthy you are of a beautiful life.

I can’t wait to welcome you back — whether it’s on a retreat, at an event, or somewhere new we haven’t even dreamed up yet. 🌲✨

With so much love and gratitude,
Toni
Seed & Rooted ♥️

Start the New Year off right with a Seed & Rooted Smudging bundle for $12 each.
Includes 2 Branded all Natural Palo Santo sticks and 1 Organic White Sage Smuck Stick!

Makes the perfect hostess gift, stocking stuffer or gift for yourself! 🌲🕯️🌲