If you recently followed my trip to Italy with Bookings For You. You may be interested in the process that went into arranging such a trip. Well that’s certainly one for another post as I imagine it with be quite lengthy. However, what I am ready to share is the full wonderful itinerary carefully planned by Jo from Bookings for You and myself with the assistance of some wonderful companies. So let’s break down the Italy trip.
Location:
For an Italy lover like myself, there are two parts of Italy that really stick out when it comes to looking for relaxing breaks. Firstly, the Lakes, which if you’re interested, you can find a post round up from my trip last year here. Secondly, Tuscany. Home to Florence, Siena, Volterra, natural springs, tremendous art and of course wonderful culture. I first enquired about Tuscany because this place holds a special place in my heart. My family and I have visited for many years and it’s where my sister got married. It’s home to some of my favourite art pieces and in my opinion the best wine region (hello Chianti). The choice was simple.
Jo arranged for us to stay at Villa Le Tornaie. A beautiful, spacious villa placed in the middle of Siena and Arezzo. Perfect for exploring the Tuscan hills, yet secluded and quiet enough for us to relax. Car hire is absolutely essential for this place and luckily for us, I had a team of 4 drivers up to the challenge so we hired 2 cars and made our way around this area.
Villa Le Tornaie, which can host up to 16 people, is owned by Mansalto. Mansalto as a company, not only have the most beautiful villas but also own 2,000 hectares of land made up of beautiful rows of grapes for wine making, olive groves to make olive oil and of course, chestnuts and cluster pines.
Villa Le Tornaie is perfect for large groups. It has a huge dining area for hosting, spacious kitchen space, numerous bedrooms with their own bathrooms, a steam room, sauna, gym, hot tub, and of course a large swimming pool. This means that all invited to stay can find their own space and relax in their own way.
A selection of wines from the vineyards we could see from our poolside were left for us to sample upon arrival.
Invitees:
I initially put a call out to this trip on my Twitter and Instagram. Just to see who would possibly step forward and presented this list onwards to Jo. I did it at a first come first served basis and after a few people’s planned changed the finalised list was as follows:
Amy: https://www.callmeamy.co.uk/
Ashton: https://ashtonjade.co.uk/
Emma: https://emma-picks.co.uk/
Em: http://www.theemedit.co.uk/
Becky: https://www.beckybarnesblog.co.uk/
Charl: http://gingergirlsays.com/
Stephanie: http://www.stephaniedjl.com/
Jenny: https://jennychat.co.uk/
Liv: https://www.oliviajphotography.com/
Liv kindly stepped in to be on hand for photography for the trip and I thought it added a lovely niche to our group. Although, I’ll argue for her that she’s a fantastic blogger in her own right so you should definitely check out her work.
Itinerary:
Arrival Day:
After our flight and adventuring onto the roads and across the Tuscan region, we settled ourselves, just a co-op run (of course) and awaited our first activity. We’d been kindly presented with a Pizza Party held by Paolo. Here we tried rustic fried pizza, as well as pizzas with more traditional toppings and a celery based pizza.
Day 2:
Our first full day!
We had plans for an art tour and paper making class in the afternoon but a totally free morning. Half of our group headed to Siena for the day whilst the other half relaxed by the pool and caught up on some much needed rest!
Come 1pm we were all heading to San Gimignano for some food and a tipple. Whilst here I received a phone call from Lisa (who was making her way up from Rome) asking us to meet her in Certaldo and take the Funicular to the top of this quaint place to begin our tour.
Lisa, who was one of the most enthusiastic Art Lovers I’ve ever met quickly filled our heads with information on traditional crests, the history of this beautiful place and told us about the activities her company undertake. Her company, Arte al Sole, specialise in offering tailor made excursions for multi-generational groups based on their interests. They can show you the Colosseum, undertake art classes or football games, all whilst giving you the quintessentially Italian experience. After a tour of Certaldo she asked us to meet her at nearby Renai for a appertivo and Florentine paper making class.
We arrived at Chiosco ai Renai, one of the most cool places I’ve ever visited. With chairs, hammocks, cocktail vans and lights strung around every tree it was one of the coolest places I’ve visited in Italy. All whilst overlooking the beautiful rolling hills of this area (not sure I’ve mentioned them enough yet). After some wine and Bruschetta we began our art making.
Jennifer Ler, our artist in residence talked us through the process of making Florentine Paper making and then let us loose on the equipment. Very quickly their walls were being filled with colourful designs from each of the girls. It was a wonderful evening I won’t forget.
Day 3:
What is a trip to Tuscany without a visit to Florence? 8 of us headed to Florence for the day for a Florence Food Tour Courtesy of LivItaly Tours. We arrived at Piazza della Signoria and met our guide Raffaela (who lived locally) to sample everything she suggested. Well… WHAT A TOUR. We started with a wine tasting experience and tried different cheeses, meats and sandwiches. We were talked through each delicious item and given a tour of the wine cellar. This store was absolutely insane and a MUST visit for any trip to Florence.
After this Raffaela continued to walk us through her neighbourhood and tell us about her local shops. She stopped at an Lampredotto stand for us to try Tripe sandwiches. I’ll add here that thankfully in every location they were accommodating of our vegetarians and completely catered to them. Raffaela told us that it’s so important for groups to communicate any needs prior to a tour as they assign a guide that suits the needs of the group on an individual case.
Anyway… on with the tour! After sampling the most delicious, garlic-y, melt in the mouth sandwich we proceeded to our next location.
A beautiful, quiet restaurant: Acqua Al 2 Restaurant hosted us and we got to try a whole host of delicious foods including Pappa Pomodoro (essentially a dish of tomatoes stewed with a few days old bread DELISH) and much more.
Of course, we finished off the full tour with some gelato and some pictures in the square with our new friend Raffaela. She made us all feel like part of her family and was a warm host to guide us around this bustling city.
Day 4:
Mansalto kindly offered to host us for wine tasting and lunch. At 11:30 we met Francesca (our wonderful host) who talked us through each of their wines produced and gave us a full insightful tour of their vineyard. It seems that their values lie with quality over quantity, care and detail over mass production. This is something I can get on board with. Each glass was served to us with palette cleansers such as their olive oil (the best olive oil I’ve ever had) on crusted bread, strong cheese and pickles.
We were given a tour of the wine making facilities, and shown the wooden barrels in which the wines were kept.
After this, we went to La Scuderia (just down the road) where we all shared a wonderful lunch and spoke about this region.
On the evening, we were invited by Massimo at Ristorante Belvedere to undertake a pasta making class. After being given 2 instructions most of us were “winging it” but everything turned out delicious. We made lasagne with wild boar, ravioli with ricotta and spinach filling, tagliatelle as well as other forms of pasta before sampling our efforts. Massimo was a funny, welcoming character who was passionate about his work. After eating enough pasta to feed an army we made our way home.
Day 5:
Departure day! We made our way home!
It really was a wonderful 5 days in Italy and I’m already planning my return. I love you Italy!
*This post is inspired by a recent Press Trip where my excursions and accommodation were provided for.
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