Ciao Bellissime! Well, it’s been pretty full on here down in Tuscany and I’ve really not had time to get my fingers clacking on the keyboard with a newsletter. So I thought I’d save all my thoughts up and regale you with the Best of the Best at the end of the season.
Firstly, I wanted to say a massive thank you, to the gorgeous, gallant Lasses who got it together and booked with us for this, as we embark on our WoWSunTours journey. What has made it more memorable for us however, and with absolutely NO EXCEPTIONS, is the bevvy of absolute Smashers we’ve had the pleasure to have welcomed on our tours. As with our winter ski breaks, our clients have ranged from retirees and chefs to housewives, teachers, high flyers, PAs to salespeople, from media gurus to foragers; our groups have certainly been a diverse mix. It’s an interesting process, witnessing the dynamics of the groups over the week we spend with you. Thanks to our WhatsApp pre-arrival group chat, where you all get a chance to say HI to each other by text and share travel arrangements, our Ladies do not arrive completely blind about their fellow travellers. We’ve found it’s a real ice breaker and helps soften any initial nervousness about the Solo Travel Experience. The transfer journey too, gives an opportunity to chat gently, to share that little bit more, before you arrive at the accommodation. Our accommodation allows each of our clients to have, by and large, their own space entirely, so we fill your little kitchen up before you arrive with coffee, tea, honey, milk, jam, fruit and all the other breakfast essentials, so that morning gives you some freedom to relax, to wander idly in your jammies, to sit on your own private terrace in the sunshine, and contemplate the day. We also supply a healthy supply of local wine and prosecco, so that you can repeat the experience at sunset, when you’ve had a few hours at the pool and are changed and heading out for dinner. Solo travel often has the reputation of being slightly intense, so we try to balance the necessary togetherness of each day’s itinerary, with a little daily ME time, where you can take time on your own, to get used to, or escape, the group dynamic. As the week progresses and our clients begin to bond, a new empathy emerges, and we have been delighted to know of lunches between you, or even weekends spent together, as a result of the friendships that have been established during our WoW holidays.
Our itineraries have now been tried and tested, and we can look back with a critical eye and see what was a supreme success and what we could improve. We’ve also asked our Ladies for suggestions, and hope to incorporate some of their more brilliant ideas into our next Summer’s programme. Our season’s highlights have been have been numerous, but amongst them were the endless sunflower fields and the beady eyed peacock during our woozy picnic overlooking the Crete Senese, those quintessentially golden, undulating Tuscan hills, the Live Like A Local Festival at the local Olive press, complete with raffle – all prizes being based on ham legs or wine, the open air chalk pool spa bathing in the forest at Bagni San Filippo, the cocktail class, the super pro Wine tasting with the ‘Easy on the Eye’ Massimiliano at our local Michelin mentioned enoteca, and of course, the end of week cooking class and eating fest at our home, with the effervescent Cecilia, the smiliest person in the world, who will make an Ottolenghi out of the most scarily bad aspiring chefs. Even when your eggs overflow the little ring of flour on your chopping board and slither down the kitchen drawers, Cecilia is there, to scoop it all back together and magic up perfect pasta for your ricotta, spinach and nutmeg ravioli. Oh, and to show you what you ACTUALLY do with those zucchini flowers. We giggled, whooped and danced round the kitchen, and made friends for life. Personally speaking, I’ve had a ball. We hope you have too.
To add to next year, we have mooted personal chefs, to prepare dinner at least one night at your accommodation after a full day out, or a Gardens Day a la National Trust, or even an Italian Fashion Tour. Our itineraries are entirely flexible, and it may be that you choose simply to have more free time to sit by the bluest of pools and chill with a book. We have so many ideas stuffed up our sleeves. Now all we need is YOU. Our new dates for summer 2023 will be out soon. Take a peek and Reserve your week. In the meantime, keep cooking, dancing, drinking and laughing. And if skiing’s your bag, you know where to find us. Be WOW. Join our family NOW.
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