Taste and Slow Italy

Tuscany country roads for Two

DAY 1 | FLORENCE

Arrival in Florence (or Pisa) Information required: International Airport time, Flight number, airflight company Meet your private driver and transfer

Check in, Hotel Calzaiuoli on of our most seasoned and reliable partners, a lovely and romantic hotel

Depending on the arrival time I would suggest the following experience:

Afternoon Private guided Walking Food Tour in Florence with our best food native guides Ido or Giulia. A perfect occasion to familiarize with this enchanting ancient City

On this tour you will have the chance to know Florence through its food, learning about the local culture and gastronomic tradition and tasting several different specialties: cheese and cold cuts, bruschetta, trippa, gelato and -of course! And wine in the buchette… a story to learn along the centuries… We will visit San Lorenzo central market and stop in other places for a very gourmet experience. On our walk we will also see the city’s most significant sights. Food purchase not included

Duration 2 hours

After the tour visit Florence at leisure Having time and good energy…. you can enjoy free time for shopping in the main “SHOPPING DISTRICT”: Via Tornabuoni, Via della Vigna Nuova, Via Strozzi, Via Roma, Via Calzaiuoli.

Then we suggest: Boboli Garden. Find here the possibility to roam around the Italian Renaissance style gardens in Florence centre! In particular Il Giardino dei Boboli. Perfect to do many pictures together!! Moreover is the perfect place to have a rest outdoor on the grass of that enchanting context. The classic Italian Renaissance and Baroque style gardens.

Other Suggestions: Salvatore Ferragamo museum really interesting to understand the Italian fashion design, you will love that small museum. Then Gucci Garden a particular luxury concept of boutique mall inspired to Gucci design.

the STIBBERT MUSEUM, an interesting place that only few knows. It preserves the European history of weaponry from Renaissance up to XVIII century. This museum includes the visit to its Garden Italian style of XVIII century. It is near the city center, easy to reach by a taxi.

MUSEO LEONARDO DA VINCI The history of this Museum began around the year 1960, when CARLO NICCOLAI who courageously decided to transform his workshop of high fashion accessories into a bona fide smithy, where manual expertise produced Leonardo’s machines with the highest standards of craftsmanship. Like a wish began a new adventure, Carlo began-one model after another to form a collection of functioning machines, based on Leonardo da Vinci’s designs. Then Carlo started to replicate Leonardo’s master’s projects in larger scale. Working with wood is not a simple craft, but he was able to give life, through hard manual work, to centuries-old projects that no one had ever executed before.

Lunch and dinner at leisure.

Our tips if you prefer street food: In Italy there is a thin line between junk food and excellence food… we will advice you where to find the most hidden and authentic street food kiosks. I mean to taste Tuscan authentic street food based on: “Lampredotto” (a sort of hot panino complex to define… ), find it at via de Cimatori a front street small restaurant called “ I Fratellini”. Or “schiacciata con la sbriciolona” to “All’Antico Vinaio” Via de’ Neri, near Uffizi Gallery. In this place you can have your self service wines: take your glass and pour by your own. Easy and nice. Finally a sweet: il Bombolone, incredible taste !!!! Hundreds of generations, included me and my family grown eating Bomboloni, it is an authentic institution!! An explosion of synesthetic sensations. You can find one of best bombolone of the city at Bar Cucciolo Via del Corso 25r, near the Duomo. I do not prefer to describe the ingredients of these excellence food, it will be nice for you asking directly to the owners at the moment…

My suggestions if you opt for a local authentic restaurant: Da Sabatino or Trattoria Camillo dal 1945.

I would suggest the restaurant Trattoria 13 Gobbi or Ristorante Buca Mario

DAY 2 | CINQUE TERRE DAY TOUR small group (private day tour on request)

Around 08.00 am, meet your driver for a nice day tour to Cinque Terre, small group

Highlights • Semi Private experience Cinque Terre tour from Florence, by a comfortable van or minibus • Discover the most beautiful villages of Cinque Terre • Enjoy some relaxed escapes from the crowds, through luxuriant panoramic seaside vineyards • Savor a delicious fresh Seafood typical lunch including Cinque Terre wine • Magnificent views of the coast on a romantic hiking trail through vineyards • An amazing boat trip to take the most beautiful pictures of Cinque Terre from the sea • Escort English speaking

DEPARTURE AT 8 AM DURATION Approx. 12 hours

A memorable day spent exploring one of the world's most spectacular coastal areas, the Cinque Terre. Discover a fairytale-like destination where land and sea meet, led by the knowledge and personal attention of your dedicated private. During our Cinque Terre tour from Florence you will unveil the secrets and authentic charm of the area. You will savour a delicious fresh Seafood lunch and you will relish the flavors of ancient typical cuisine and aromas of sensational wines. Travel in full comfort aboard our comfortable minivan, lay back and admire the scenery: sinuous paths run across stunning cliffsides, and a 19th-century railway line cut through a series of coastal tunnels ferries the footsore from village to village. Learn all about the Cinque Terre's history and unique feature from your guide: the steeply terraced cliffs bisected by a complicated system of fields and gardens hacked, chiseled, shaped and layered over the course of nearly two millennia. And all enhanced by the charming villages - Riomaggiore, founded in the 8th century by Greek settlers fleeing persecution in Byzantium, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Monterosso - which look onto the gleaming pristine waters of the sea. Lose yourself in the gorgeous scenery, hike/walk along the famous trails (including the Via dell'Amore - please see notes) and explore a few of the fascinating villages traveling by boat, train and on foot. Crown your day with a memorable typical Ligurian seafood lunch, and exquisite regional white wines, in a lovely seafront restaurant. Learn about the area's one-of-a-kind grape harvesting techniques enjoying an exclusive leisurely hike through luxuriant seafront vineyards: nobody in sight apart from the deep blue sea, verdant vines, your group and guide. Weather and sea conditions permitting you will also admire the scenario from the water during a fabulous cruise. Escape the maddening crowds, roam the coast, discover paradise on earth with our VIP Cinque Terre tour from Florence! Please note that this tour might be ran on Mercedes luxury 8-seater vans or Mercedes luxury 20-seater minibuses possibly varying the size of the group, and always providing the highest possible quality.

Dinner at leisure in Florence

DAY 3 | LUCCA AND THE SIGARO TOSCANO TRADITION

Soon after breakfast Pick up your rental car (not included). Many our clients prefer the rental car company in the garage under the Santa Maria Novella train station (Florence main train station). We suggest a SUV to drive around the peaceful roads of Tuscany. I suggest to rent Alfa Romeo Tonale, you are in Italy after all…! Remind to reserve a car GPS equipped English speaking. As delivery final garage I would suggest the Florence airport. You are ready to start driving around Westside of Tuscany and Chianti Hills.

Full Day Lucca, tour

Lucca is undoubtedly among the richest cities in the world for their architecture and history: it is an unmissable destinations for those who want to go deep inside Tuscany and its artistic background.

Around 10.00 meet our native guide in Lucca centre In Lucca, famous for its still-intact walls with huge gates and ramparts, our local guide will lead you to the enchanting old town center walking along a section of the walls and enjoying a breathtaking view over the rooftops. You will admire the main attractions of the city, such as the Anfiteatro Square, the Guinigi Tower, San Martino Cathedral and a stroll along the picturesque streets of antique shops. After the tour I suggest asking your guide where to taste a Buccellato cake, it is a typical Lucchese cake - a famous saying of the Lucchesi (people from Lucca) is: "those who come to Lucca without eating the Buccellato is like they have never been there!"

I suggest a quick lunch based on local sweets at Pasticceria Taddeucci open all day 8.00-21.00

At 14.00 Reach Manifatture Sigaro Toscano site, the only surviving traditional cigars factory in Tuscany. Meet your guide and start an interesting tour in the factory. Starting from around 1853 until June 2004 the main Lucca factory was based in a former convent for Dominican nuns. Since then, production has been moved to a more modern and functional building in Mugnano, on the outskirts of Lucca. One day in August 1815, in the Tobacco Manufacturing plant in Florence, a batch of tobacco – left to dry in the summer sun – was drenched by a sudden downpour. So it was decided that all that tobacco would be used to make cheap cigars to sell to the people of Florence. It was immediately a great success. The water, as it turns out, made the tobacco ferment, endowing it with a completely “new” flavour. This was the birthday of the TOSCANO cigar legend, that entered regular production in 1818. Lunch and dinner at leisure

DAY 4 | SIENA

Breakfast at your hotel and Check out

We will reserve a nice and wide apartment or loft in one of the most authentic and perfectly located Country House in the area.

The location is in a strategic point from where you can reach in about an hour / hour and half: - thermal baths, - villages like San Gimignano and Monteriggioni - very important wine villages like Montalcino e Montepulciano.

After the check in, reach an old wine farm specialized in Chianti Senese wines Organic certified In this farm you will have the opportunity to taste the most authentic souls of the Chianti wines: the Chianti Senese with a light lunch included based on local typical food. They produce an excellent Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG, cultivars Sangiovese and Canaiolo. Method on field: guyot and cordone speronato. As white wine I suggest the Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG, local cultivars Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia Bianca Lunga del Chianti

Tuscany has the highest number of thermal baths and wellness centres in Italy. Since Roman times, "wellness pilgrims" pay a tribute to the many hot pools scattered in the region.Visitors are spoiled for choice: Tuscany is packed with free baths, magnificent spas surrounded by greenery and more luxurious resorts. Rich in minerals, Tuscan thermal waters flow at high temperatures (up to 50°C) and are used to treat skin and respiratory diseases. You can spend a relaxing day at the hot pools.

Soon after lunch transfer to the thermal baths in Rapolano only 20 km from Siena.

In the evening you will celebrate the Wedding promises renewal ceremony, or Marriage Proposal cerimony. We will provide all the required services: the location (castle, old manor, old country church, unique terrace), photographer, musicians, officiant, flowers, atmosphere.

Dinner at Leisure I suggest Da Divo Osteria

DAY 5 | TUSCANY HISTORY AND ENCHANTING SITES

In the morning meet your private native guide: Romantic Walking tour in Siena.

Immediately ravishing yet endlessly mysterious, and all on a far less daunting scale than Florence, the glorious medieval city of Siena cradles within its ancient walls a majestic Gothic ensemble that can be enjoyed without venturing into a single museum. The physical and spiritual heart of the city, and arguably Italy’s loveliest square, is the sloping, scallop-shaped piazza Il Campo, the setting for the thrilling Palio bareback horserace. Siena’s Duomo and Palazzo Pubblico are two of the purest expressions of Italian Gothic architecture, and the best of the city’s paintings – collected in the Museo Civico and Pinacoteca Nazionale – are in the same tradition. The finest example of Senese Gothic is Duccio’s Maestà, on show in the outstanding Museo dell’Opera, while splendid frescoes adorn the walls of Santa Maria della Scala, the city’s hospital for over 900 years and now its premier exhibition space.

In the afternoon Transfer to San Galgano abbey selfguided tour. 40 min driving from Siena. An enchanting and religious medieval story to hear in an enchanting context… perfect to bring with you at home unique memories and photos Local guide optional

St. Galgano was born in 1148 in Chiusdino from a family of small local nobility, and died December 1181. Galgano lived as libertine knight and addicted to wildest entertainment, until something changed his life and turning it into a true Knight of God. It happened that one day dedicated to lust and debauchery, suddenly Galgano had a vision of the Archangel Michael. Galgano followed the Archangel, crossed a bridge and a flowery meadow, reaching Monte Siepi, finding a round building and the Twelve Apostles. This event converted him permanently. The tradition tell a second episode. In a quiet day his horse led him back again to Monte Siepi, in the same place where he had previously met the Twelve Apostles. Galgano had no doubt, it was a sacred place and, as such, deserved a Cross. He decided to take his sword and drive it into the rock. Then he heard a voice that invited him to stay in that place, Galgano accepted the invitation, and began his real life as hermit. Four years after his death was sanctified by Pope Lucius III. The atmosphere of the places where this legend is magical, fascinating, full of energy. The story of Saint Galgano is very similar to that of St. Francis, both abandon a world of entertainment empty and corruption, to devote himself to the next and to prayer. There are several points in common with the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, in which the protagonist is just the sword in the stone, as well as the knight named Gawain, very similar to Galgano. Probably the author of the narrative of King Arthur had been in Tuscany and absorbed the legend. You can see the sword already is right there yet, fixed in the rock. Recently a team of scientist did the geoscanner analysis to study this singular relic.

Lunch and dinner at leisure.

Or alternative day program Breakfast and departure towards the beautiful Chianti country roads to move towards Certaldo for a truffle hunting experience with our truffle expert Simone

Its time to go Truffle Hunting!! At 10.00 arriving at the estate and meet Giuseppina and Simone. He will be waiting for you for an unique experience based on truffles! You will learn everything about this gem: how to hunt it, clean, preserve, prepare and eat! Being summer you will find the summer black tartufo a specialty of these areas. Visit to the farm, with explanations of everything connected with truffles; you'll learn further also about some famous Chianti wines from the beautiful surrounding vineyards! Final light lunch based on truffles, matched with wines, pasta fresca handmade and other products of this land (bruschetta with extra virgin olive oil, cheeses and more!). Lunch included

Around 14.00 Time at leisure in the beautiful Certaldo, a fascinating medieval hamlet in the heart of the Elsa valley. Certaldo is without a doubt one of the most charming towns in Tuscany; its name comes from the Latin term “cerrus altus”, which means “a rise covered in oak trees” and its origins date back to Etruscan times. The old center is located within medieval defensive walls and entrance is gained through the ancient gates, known as Porta Alberti, Porta al Sole and Porta al Rivellino. In the Middle Ages, the main square was home to the town’s major buildings and local powers. But Certaldo is surrounded by steep hills, so the religious, political, civil and commercial powers are spread along Via Boccaccio. The Palazzo Pretorio can be considered as the symbol of Certaldo, with its brick façade, a clock tower to the right and the coats of arms in glazed terracotta, marble and pietra serena stone (some of them were made by Andrea Della Robbia). Each coat of arms represents the families of the vicars that lived and governed here.

DAY 6 | TUSCANY HISTORY AND ENCHANTING SITES

drive to San Gimignano. 30 min drive

private guide 2 hours visit of the village center San Gimignano famous for its white wine, the world renowned Vernaccia, and its skyscrapers, also declared a World heritage Site by UNESCO! You will stroll around the narrow streets, admiring the relaxing landscape and learning everything about Tuscan history and culture! My Suggestion in San Gimignano is to stop at I Macchiaioli Vineria or La Buca Di Montauto to taste the best Vernaccia Wine matched with cantucci biscuits! San Gimignano owes its fame mainly to its countless noble towers. In the past a symbol of power and prestige of the rich bourgeois families to which they belonged, today make this country with an ancient flavor one of the most evocative and characteristic of Tuscany. A place where time has stopped, which has kept intact its structure of a fortified village whose urban and architectural layout still contains to this day a treasure of history, art and culture subjected today to monumental constraint and declared a World Heritage Site. The history of San Gimignano is very ancient: the first records date back to the III-II century a.C. Its foundation would seem to be of Etruscan origins and its name is a tribute to the Bishop of Modena who, in the tenth century, freed the city from the invasion of the Goti.In this period, San Gimignano was a small village dedicated to agriculture, located on the stretch of the Via Francigena that connected Lucca to Siena and under the authority of the Bishop. A free municipality since 1199, it was divided, like many Italian cities, by the conflict between Guelphs and Ghibellines. However, internal conflicts did not limit its expansion, so that some castles in the surrounding area were incorporated into the town. In 1229, the consequences of the conflict between Siena and Florence decreed the annexation of San Gimignano to the latter. A hard and long period of decadence begins, caused by the clashes and guerrillas within the region, by the famines but above all by the plague that scourged the village in 1348. The recovery was slow and only a few centuries later there was a clear recovery of the economy, such as to allow, in 1772, the appointment by the Grand Dukes of Lorraine as the Seat of the Vicariate. Testimony of its past splendor are its city towers, around the thirteenth century there were 72. Currently there are only 13 left, but this does not detract from their evocative grandeur that gives a marked medieval imprint to the town.

On the way back to Siena, a quick break in MONTERIGGIONI is mandatory…. This is one of the few fortified villages with all the rings of walls still intact. You can have a nice walk around it…

DAY 7 | SEE YOU SOON ITALY

Breakfast Information required: Departure time, flight number, Firenze Airport where you can leave your rental car and say Arrivederci a presto Italia!

NOTE: we remind you to check with the rental car company the delivery timing.

Package Includes

· 2 nights in hotel in FLORENCE · 3 nights in agriturismo in SIENA · Private and group guided tours as per description · One Lunch in Cinque Terre · One Dinner in Siena · Entrance tickets where indicated · Experiences, tastings, as per itinerary · Private transfers if specified

Package Policies

We suggest to reserve at least 6 months in advance. Cancellations, effective upon receipt of written notification, are subject to the following penalties of the full trip price: • 30% non-refundable deposit due at the time of confirmation • 60-46 days prior to arrival: 50% penalty • 45-31 days prior to arrival: 75% penalty • 30 days or less prior to arrival: 100% penalty

Destinations

Romantic Add-Ons