Trip to Northern Italy
February 10, 2007
Location: Florence, Italy
See our photo gallery of this wonderful trip!
We began our journey in Florence, leaving on February 10 and returning on February 25, 2007. I was in Tuscany two years ago at this time and the weather was stunning: 70 every day with clear skies. (Although I have been told that it does rain in February sometimes.) It did, but we had mostly beautiful weather. There was hardly a tourist in the city and there were sales in all the shops.
We resided with my friends, Sonia and Alessandro Pini, in their Bed & Breakfast in Piazza della Signoria for half of our stay. Do not mistake the name for a quaint but somewhat rough-around-the-edges hostel. This is one of the nicest places that you will find in Italy. They also have apartments and suites adjacent to the inn, in case you would like more room for family or friends. We ventured to Venice, Padova, Sienna and Chianti.
Itinerary items included:
∑ Food Lovers tour of Florence with Faith Willinger’s talented assistant, Jennifer Schwartz
∑ A train ride to Venice for Carnivale (Mardi Gras).
∑ Lunch at Al Covo, in Venice, one of my favorite restaurants in Italy, with the owner Cesare Bennelli.
∑ Two or three days in Chianti, staying in an 11th century castle with friends, Luca and Tiziana Baldi. The castle has been converted to a luxury inn and winery, but it maintains its historical charm and authenticity. It has a pool where there once was a mote.( http://www.castelloditornano.com/)
∑ Winery tours in Chianti
∑ Tours of palaces and art museums
∑ Shopping! (February is Sale month. There are no tourists. If you have the wallet for it, you can pay for your entire trip with the savings;-)
∑ A night of dining in Padova at, Le Calandre, a Michelin 3 Star (only 50 in the world)
o Street markets
o Frisbee in the gardens and piazzas
o Gelati
o Walks along the Arno
ß Note: The Pini’s have 3 children and the Baldis have 4, some of whom are teenagers (along with our eldest, Connor) so we will be arranging child care and alternate activities during some events
This was both a structured and non-structured trip. We had guides, interpreters, child-care when necessary, private tours, transportation and custom experiences that you could not duplicate. We traveled as a California winery in Italy among friends. We were treated very specially. But we were all on vacation, so people included themselves or not of any of the activities.
If you express interest in joining us, I will call you and we will discuss who will be coming, your interests and the amount of time you have to join us. I hope that you will consider the entire trip.
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