Don't miss our fantastic Italy tour, complete with cooking lessons!
Tuscany Culinary and Sightseeing Tour
September 12, 2010 - 7 Nights Land
Day 1 – Welcome to Florence upon arrival you will be transferred to your Villa in Tuscany, Remainder of Day free to Relax.
This evening enjoy a Welcome Dinner at Hotel – Wine Included
Day 2 - TOUR FLORENCE
After breakfast at the Villa, we journey to Florence.
This morning We will meet our guide at the Rail Station of Santa Maria Novella and enjoy a morning walking tour of Florence including the Duomo and Giotto Bell Tower, Signoria Square and Ponte Vecchio Bridge.
We will visit the Accademia to see the famous statue of “David”
Lunch on your own.
Afternoon free to discover the beauties of the city on your own. Stroll down cobblestone lanes, through majestic squares and across ancient bridges. You might like to do a little leather, gold or clothing shopping near Ponte Vecchio.
Dinner on your own.
Day 3 - SIENA & SAN GIMIGNANO
Breakfast at the Villa – Depart to Siena, where after meeting our local guide, we have the possibility to visit this wonderful city. Siena is the city of the blessed Virgins and the “Balzana”, black and white; decisive, just as its heraldic symbol; passionate and contemplative; always climbing and descending; clear and at the same time obscure; steep and narrow streets; the red of the Piazza del Campo appearing blinding and suddenly. In the alleys, in the museums and oratories of the Contrada, the spiritual songs of the Palio evoke very ancient rituals and modern allegories, while during the evening the shuffling of soles on the deserted pavement is in contrast with the peacefulness of the green valleys providentially enclosed within the wall, which ancient administrators had erected hundreds of years before it became common practice.
Stop for a visit, light lunch and wine tasting at a local farm
After lunch on your own, depart for a guided tour of an Gimignano. The towered silhouette of san Gimignano rising from the hills of the Upper Elsa Valley, facing the land of Volterra and positioned right on one of the most important stretches of the medieval Via Francigena, is famous all over the world. A similar renown can also be claimed by its Vernaccia wine, recently awarded the D.O.C.G., the highest acknowledgement and guarantee for quality in Italian oenology. Return in the evening at your hotel in Florence area.
Dinner on your own.
Day 4 – Tuscan Cooking Class
Breakfast at the Villa, – This morning, relax before enjoying a Tuscan Cooking Class
The chef will teach you the execution of 3 dishes and how to pair them with appropriate
Wines.
Later that Afternoon at the Villa enjoy a Fancy Wine Tasting – Dinner on own
Day 5 – Lucca
After Breakfast at the Villa, we will take a trip to Lucca by coach. The Elegant and
Refined Tuscan town.
We will meet our Local Guide, who will take you along the famous sixteenth Century
Walls, then entering into the Enchanting Historical Center. Where you will have a chance to admire the amazing Piazza Anfiteatro, The Torre Giungi, The Duomo Di San Martino and the typical “antique dealers street”.
Free time for Lunch and last minute shopping.
Dinner on own
Day 6 – Bologna
After Breakfast at the Villa, We leave quite early in the morning to visit a Parmigiano Reggiano cheese dairy to discover all steps of its production. In the large aging cellars we can taste different products.
Only by seeing the processing personally, can you realize what Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese's values are. Those who wish to know how Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is actually made, in person, can find all the necessary information to book a guided tour of one of our dairies on these pages.
We continue with the visit of a Traditional Balsamic Vinegar private production located in an amazing 1911 villa where we can taste 12, 25, 30, 50 years old vinegars.
Then we move in a XVIth Century monastery, now a wonderful agriturismo in the middle of nowhere.
There, we can taste local award-winning wines. We finish with a WOW lunch, unforgettable
In the afternoon depart by bus from Bologna area to return to your villa.
Dinner on your own and overnight
Day 7 – Cooking Class -
After Breakfast relax later that day enjoy a pizza making class the rest of the day
Is free for you to enjoy.
Farewell Dinner this evening – Wine Included
Day 8 – Transfer to airport for flight back to the states.
For information about this trip
or to learn more about our Women's Travel Group
Call Kathy Summers at Designed For You Travel
(630) 983-7300
(800) 860-7155
or e-mail Kathy@designedforyoutravel.com
or contact
Kitty Herrmann at Scotland, Ireland and Beyond Travel Agency
1-866-833-4684
or e-mail KittyH@ntelos.net
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