CORTONA Day
Get your shorts, comfy shoes and your sun cream on for our Cortona Tour. After a leisurely breakfast, we’ll be taking you up to the beautiful and historic town of Cortona to get you orientated and allow you to soak up the beauty of your Tuscan surroundings. We’ll work from the outside in, walking round the medieval walls and up to the Fortezza where you can gaze over the entire ValdiChiana, far across to Montepulciano and over Lake Trasimeno. We’ll wend our way down through the cool alleyways, ending up on the main street where we’ll be stopping at THE true local hangout for an informal lunch, tables outside on the cobblestones, with platters of local hams, cheeses and breads. In the afternoon, we’ll drop you back at The Villa for a rest and a swim, before we take you out for a wine tasting and dinner at one of the local ( and famous) restaurants where we’ll also firstly throw in a quick Italian lesson so you can practise your new found lingo whilst sipping your poison! Buon Appetito!!
​
​
PIENZA Day
Our Pienza trip is about an hour from Cortona. It will take you through quintessential Tuscan countryside of hilltop towns, cypress and Umbrella pines and into the Val’d’Orcia, known for its gentle undulating landscape and mouthwatering produce, including the pecorino cheese and Brunello wines. We’ll allow you a tourist moment and a wander round the gorgeous streets of Pienza, stopping off for a coffee and a chat before heading off for a top notch lunch at an organic Podere (farm). You’ll be drooling over the view, as well as the food, served discreetly at the farm’s white table clothed restaurant, under shady umbrellas, serving home made pastas, hand reared meats and local crisp wines. True gourmet bliss. In the afternoon, just in case you are feeling remotely stressed, we’ll take you to a forest spa pool where you can relax under the trees and listen to the babble of the river. Back at home, showered and relaxed, we’ll be pizza-ing in the garden. A low key ending to a peaceful day.
LAKE DAY
Everyone loves a market and that’s what starts our Lake day trip. After breakfast, we’ll be off to a lakeside medieval gem town half an hour away to the local market, awash with locally made food stuffs, honey, salamis, jams, olive oil, wine, as well as clothing and leather goods. The whole town opens up for the weekly Market day; cafes are busy, ice cream sells fast, children rush around, and there are shouts and calls from stall to stall from the local stand owners. It’s a gorgeous spot, overlooking the lake, and after you’ve spent a few hours rummaging and haggling, we’ll stop for coffee and a regroup. We’ll head down to the lakeside where we’ll be boarding the little ferry to one of the small lake islands for our restaurant lunch spot. A walk, a wander, and then back to base, where after a rest, you’ll be cocktail making your own aperitivo before dinner. Bring your ear plugs: the restaurant is jam packed with Italians, loud, busy and Napolitan. The food is sublime, the wine crisp, the owners attentive and expansively FUN!
Your Self Guided Day
We like to give you a day off during your week, to allow you to assimilate your new found Italianess and to spend the day doing as you choose, be it relaxing by the pool, exploring locally or taking a self guided trip a bit further afield. Whatever you decide to do, we are around all day to take you to where you need to get to and give advice. We have also drawn up itineraries for suggested days out, which may include a train trip to and self guided tour of Florence, a walk up into Cortona or a trip to Arezzo. If you fancy a spot of tennis, a gym session or some horse riding, we can arrange it, or if a bit of pampering is your thing, then nails, hair and a dash of retail are just a 5 minute trip away. We know all the good value and local haunts for the best results, so just let us know so we can make appropriate appointments.
Landscape Day
Our Landscape Day takes you to get the best views over Lake Trasimeno and to get some sun on our faces. The area above Cortona is a well known and much loved local spot for people of all ages to get out of ‘town’ and into nature. You’ll meet gentle strollers, kite flying kids and ramblers of all ages. You’ll also meet women in groups, just like you. It’s a very Italian thing for women to do, walk in a group of friends, chat, catch up, laugh and share stories. Round lunch time, we may opt for a well prepared picnic on the hillside, or in a vineyard, blankets on the ground and some fine local fare: hams, breads, oils and salads, or stroll over to one of the local restaurants, famous for its sunny balcony overlooking the hazy lake. You’ll be able to take photos, read your book or just doze in the sun until its time to get you back to the Villa. In the evening, aperitivo will be in Cortona, with dinner overlooking the main piazza on the Romeo and Juliet style balcony terrace, where quite apart from the exquisite food, you can watch the rich layers of Italian life unfold below you.
Cooking Day
On your cooking day, you will be staying local. After a relaxed and easy breakfast at the local Pasticceria on the main street, shaded under gazebos, we plan to take you to see just where the locals go to source their produce. We’ll be taking you to an orto, literally an allotment, where, under the watchful eye of our favourite nonno contadino ( grandad farmer), you will actually pick the vegetables that are going to be used in your cookery class that afternoon. If there’s anything missing, we’ll pick it up at the local greengrocer and butcher, and we’ll be taking you to choose your own wine at the local emporium of traditional Italian fare!! We’ll be going for the best of local lunches at one of the town cafes, where for a fractional cost, you can choose from a vast array of fabulous food, with no charge for seconds, and there won’t be a tourist in sight!!
Olive Picking
Enjoy the hazy days of Tuscan October in Olive season madness, and try your hand at picking your own. With nets and an olive 'rake' in hand, you'll have to clamber amongst the branches to get to the best crop.
We'll show you how to scoop up the nets, stack the crates and take you to the Pressing, at the local frantoio, where you'll witness the moment when the 'green gold' emerges, and get to take a litre or so home yourself!!
​
Grape Picking
The Vendemmia, or grape harvest, is the perfect way to unleash your inner student, and return to the days when grape picking in the sunshine was all the rage. In early September, when the heat from the sun has calmed, you can get handy with your secateurs as you cut the fresh grapes from the vines. We'll try varying days in some of the best cantine, where you will be treated to a late lunch in the vineyards and a sing-song as the grapes are thrown into the trailers at the end of the day.
Oh, and you'll also get to take some wine home as testimony to your experience!!
Beach Day
Let us whisk you off to the beach for a day scooting round otherwise inaccessible coves and bays. We'll take you on a journey through the most quintessential of Tuscan Countryside, until we reach the Big Blue of Argentario, off the Tuscan coast. Gaze out to Elba and Giglio, enjoy a splendid seafood lunch or picnic right on the shore, we may even rent a speedboat!!
We'll wend our way back through the Tuscan hills, stopping for a pizza en route, accompanied by a glass of local wine.
OUR TUSCAN ITINERARIES
WHAT YOUR TUSCAN TOUR INCLUDES
​
√ No single supplement
√ Full Board 6 nights – inc. Breakfast, lunches and evening meals/ drinks included (see conditions below)
√ Prosecco, wine, and water supplied at the agriturismo
√ Free airport transfers – From & to both Pisa and Florence airports
√ 5 days guided & 1 Free day – Can vary depending on weather and conditions
√ Customized tour each day, within the enchanting Tuscan and Umbrian countryside - all costs covered in your holiday price
√ Native English speakers – Bilingual – All tours
√ Complementary daily transport
√ Cooking class
√ Cocktail class
√ Swimming Pool - towels provided
√ Free Wi-Fi
√ Free parking – If travelling by your own transport
√ No maps required – We do the planning. You do the Dolce Vita!
Guaranteed Smiles...
And a Lot of Fun.
​
EXCLUSIONS
​
√ Flights, Insurance, Additional Drinks, Snacks, and Coffees (whilst out) and any extra activities
​
(a glass of wine and water is included with all lunches and dinners out. Any additional drinks will be at the guest’s expense)
​
N.B.:
​
√ Normally 5 days touring and 1 free day but this could vary depending on weather and conditions.
√ We recommend clients dine together to create that inclusive group experience!
√ Great choice of local restaurants for both lunches and evening meals out
AGRITURISMO IL BORGO​
Full Board 6 nights – inc. Breakfast, lunch and evening meals
​
Double rooms – single occupancy
No single supplement charged
Full access to kitchen, dining area, living area, bbq area and swimming pool