TUSCANY & CINQUE TERRE
LIGURIA Vernazza
Monterosso al Mare
CinqueTerre Portovenere Lucca Florence TUSCANY ITALY Carrara Colonnata
Savor scenic beauty in Portovenere... and a taste of perfectly prepared, freshly made pasta at a Tuscan cooking school
Hands-on learning
Tuscany & Cinque Terre is all about slowing down to really experience la dolce vita. It’s about exploring with a small group averaging 20 like-minded travel lovers. It’s laughter at the enoteca while tasting the flavors of olive oil – and sharing likes and dislikes. It’s a lesson in key Italian words to get you comfortable ordering gelato on the piazza... or choosing your lunch at a local market. It’s walking, jogging, bicycling, or even rollerblading on the walls of Lucca. It’s kicking back and sharing vino made from grapes in the vineyards you’ve just walked through. It’s about sight doing, not sight seeing... new friendships... and new views on life.
1. ARRIVE IN FLORENCE Tour begins: 3:00 PM at Gallery Hotel Art, Florence. Look for us at the Peretola Airport for your included transfer to the hip and hot Gallery Hotel Art. Tuscany’s “al fresco” museum, Florence itself is a work of art... get a fresh look at Florence through the eyes of our local guide; walk along the Arno, mingle with memories of the Medici in the San Lorenzo area and see the massive duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore. Cocktails and canapés follow back at the hotel. Meals D
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2. THE HEART OF ART Meet a Florentine art history scholar who shares stories as she provides a “tell all” on Michelangelo during an exclusive insider lecture. Then it’s off to the Uffizi to see works by Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and more, including Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo, nestled in a frame he also designed. The star-studded parade of head-turning art continues during your visit to the Galleria dell’Accademia, where the statue of David reigns as a study in artistic perfection. Look around the city on your own before joining us for a lesson in some basic Italiano. Buona giornata! Meals B
3. LIVING THE FLORENTINE LIFE By special appointment, go inside two working restoration studios in the old San Niccolò district to meet the people behind the art. Art Restoration Specialist Bettina Schindler-Pratesi, a teacher and a talented artist, gives new life to antiques dressed in ivory, bone and mother-of-pearl; next door, see a multitude of locals at work. Accompanied by a local guide, visit Basilica of Santa Croce – then... Colorful Mercato Centrale entices with traditional Florentine street food... lampredotto sandwiches… fresh fruit... porchetta… gelato; sample as you please, then spend the afternoon exploring on your own. At day’s end, the grandson of a former Florentine mayor, concert pianist Gregorio Nardi, and his wife Annegret, invite you to join them at Palazzo Bargellini. Your private evening affair includes a personal tour, a recital on a Steinway Grand piano, lively discussions on history and politics, and an aperitivo. Meals B
4. THE WAY TO CINQUE TERRE Take a road trip that twists and turns its way to the Mediterranean Sea; en route, see the huge mountains of white marble at Carrara. Snow-like stone dust blankets these hillsides where the finest marble in the world has been quarried since Roman times; ride aboard a 4 x 4 vehicle to view them up close on a guided tour. Drive through changing Ligurian landscapes along the coast to Portovenere on the
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