Tours:small groups: Italy VIP Tour 7 days: France VIP Provence 7 days
Umbria and Tuscany magical castle one week
WHEN: May 10-17 and May 17-24, 2010
June 18-25, 2010
September 20-27, 2010
Cost twin share: $2950 Single supplement: $560
Day one : Transfer from Rome Fiumicino airport late morning to your
castle near Perugia, about 3 hours .This will be your comfortable quiet home for the
next week. Check-in, unpack, welcome drink and nibbles. Tour of castle.
20.00 Gastronomic dinner at castle.
Day two: Enormous breakfast buffet from 7am. As you are surrounded by
superb chestnut woods, it is the perfect place to have an early walk.
Visit Perugia, transfers in same coach, with local guide, about 2
hours gentle walking. Perugia is the capital of Umbria and a magnificent example of a medieval town with its fifteenth century crenellated buildings in main square.
Simple lunch at leisure, then on to the famous chocolate Baci factory and
museum.
Back to the castle to change for dinner, in a typical restaurant in centre of
Perugia.
Day three: To Deruta, a whole town dedicated to the ceramics. We will
learn about the production and visit a few places, perhaps even have
time to paint a simple plate for yourselves. There are numerous
outlets where you can buy anything from ceramic earrings to outdoor
furniture, goods can be shipped back to Australia.
Lunch at leisure along the road to Trevi, the olive oil capital of
Umbria. We will then see a small cooperative of olive oil production,
then stop at a valleverde shoe, mens and womens, outlet before
heading up the mountain for a truffle dinner, truffles are natures most expensive food stuff, some say it tastes like wild mushrooms
Day four: We go to Assisi, San Francis’s home town from 1300’s. Picturesque town built in white local stone that glows. Short stop at Santa Maria degli Angeli to see the golden madonna. You will see the basilica with not only 13th century allegorical frescoes by Giotto, who changed perspective in art in his time, but works by some famous Sienese painters of thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries. Possibility to visit a few different churches
and temples as we walk through the centre, about 30 minutes. Lunch at
leisure. Even though Assisi is full of religious churches, it seems like a young peoples place and has some wonderful boutiques to buy clothes and ceramics also.
On to the lovely small town of Bevagna and wine tasting.
Return to Perugia for some shopping or passeggiata, a stroll. Dinner
in a local restaurant.
Day Five: Long day as we will see Siena in the morning and continue
on to San Gimignano in the afternoon, hopefully when most of the
tourist buses have departed. The local guide will explain why these
towers were originally built and the rivalries of medieval times.
Dinner in a local restaurant here. Return to castle late.
Day six: Cortona , made famous by Under the Tuscan Sun, and still a
lovely small town, see one of the oldest medieval houses still
standing. Optional visit to Etruscan museum. Lunch at leisure.
Continue on to Montepulciano to taste some of their famous vino
nobile, a rich red wine. Dinner here.
Day seven: Corciano has won the title of smallest charming town in
Umbria, so we will walk around this small treasure. Maybe a short
stop in a cashemere and cotton outlet. Then continue on to
Lago Trasimeno, the enormous lake which separates Tuscany from Umbria.
Simple lunch on the lake in restaurant. Optional boat trip in the
afternoon for those who want to visit the small islands in the centre
of this lake made famous by Hannibal.
Last minute shopping before back to castle and your farewell meal.
Day eight: Transfer to Perugia or Florence.
Cost includes all transfers and castle accommodation on twin share
basis, 4 star. Possibility to upgrade to a suite in castle, if
available. All breakfasts and dinners are included and lunch where
specified. Bilingual tour leader and guides. Winery and museum visits
included, some basic Italian language lessons and any personalised
assistance with shopping and bargaining. Tour leader used to live in
Italy so is adept at guiding you through intercultural mysteries.
France VIP Provence 7 days, small group tour.
WHEN: May 26-June 2nd, 2010
June 11-18, 2010
September 10-17, 2010
Cost twin share: $2990 Single supplement: $620
conspire to deliver those magic ingredients of history, picture
postcard countryside of sunflowers and cherry blossoms, blended with
fabulous food and wines.
It is easy to see why so many artists, chefs, designers found their
inspiration in Provence.
Day One: Arrive Nice airport or station and transfer to 4 star hotel . Welcome
gathering and unpack.
Short walking tour of Nice cobble-stoned old town and Promenade des
Anglais, market and Musicians quarter. Museum of Jules Cheret and
visit villa des Massena, which belonged to one of the Nicois oldest
families.
Meal in a local restaurant.
Day two: Visit Monaco and see the famous Formula One racing circuit.
Time to visit this small principality, the richest in the world, and
admire the stunning harbour.Weather permitting, vist stunning Rothschild Villa and gardens, Ephrussi.
Lunch at leisure, visit of villa and gardens.
Dinner.
Day three.: Just out of Nice, a tiny old medieval town with the old
Grimaldi castle, the rulers of Monaco. This is a picturesque hamlet
with very steep roads. Then on to St Paul de Vence, a whole town
dedicated to art galleries and stunning vistas.
Lunch at leisure.
In the afternoon we will go to the Renoir museum and house where he
spent the later years of his life.
Dinner in a special restaurant.
Day four: After breakfast we will go to Cannes, home to the very VIP
international film festival every May. You may decide to purchase
something in the local market there. Lunch before continuing another
2 hours to our next hotel near the town of Isle sur la Sorgue. We
will be travelling through hillside villages, olive groves and
stately vineyards. This will be your home for the next 4 nights, in
the heart of the Luberon, made famous by the Peter Mayle books.
Charming villages every five minutes, a market in every town and
plenty to keep your camera at close hand. Walk around this famous
town full of antique shops and art galleries in the afternoon.
Day Five: Visit Avignon, ancient city of Popes in the fourteenth
century. This wonderfully larger-than-life town is full of history
and of course the famous Pont d’Avignon, which you can walk across,
half-way. Lunch at leisure.
In the afternoon we will go to the gardens of the place where van
Gogh spent many years and see some of his works in their original
setting where you can still admire them with the backdrop of nature.
Time to relax and perhaps have a dip in the pool before dinner.
Day six: Lavender museum and factory, learn a little about this
versatile and aromatic plant. Then a stop at several breathtaking
smaller towns in the Luberon, Gordes covered in imposing white
sandstone, the Cistercian Abbey of Senanque nearby where we will hear
Gregorian chants, the ochre town of Roussillon for lunch overlooking
the red/orange/yellow valley. More leisure time to look at art
galleries or just marvel at nature, picture postcard settings around
every corner.
Back to the hotel, relax and change for dinner in a tranquil river
setting.
Day Seven: Provence is famous for its aromas and colours, not to
mention the numerous impressionist artists who have lived and found
inspiration here. We will visit an outlet that embodies all this in
another small town, Manosque.
Lunch at leisure then to a small wine producer to sample the local
drop.
Afternoon at leisure in Isle sur la sorgue near our hotel.
Farewell dinner in unforgettable scenic restaurant.
Day eight: transfer back to Avignon station or Aix en provence .