For those arriving in Italy today, we offer a free 11:30 AM shuttle service from the Rome FCO airport to our hotel in Rome for the next two nights. Our time together begins at 5:00 PM, when we will have a welcome cocktail reception at the hotel, get to know one another, and go over questions and answers about the week ahead.

Afterwards, we will head out for a welcome dinner together at a traditional Roman trattoria, where we will have the first of our incredible regional meals together.

Day 2 (Monday)
Highlights of Rome

Today we will meet our expert guide of Rome and start off with a private tour of the Vatican Museums (including the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms), followed by a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s Square. After our tour, you will have time to explore Rome on your own, for the better part of the day. Later in the afternoon, join us for a ‘Gran Caffe’ espresso at “Il Caffe’ Sant’Eustachio”, which is considered among Romans to the best coffee in the city. After our espresso, we will have a private walking tour of many of downtown Rome’s highlights, starting with the Pantheon, then on to the Trevi Fountain, and onward to the Spanish Steps. After our visit to the Spanish Steps, you will have time to stroll and shop on Via Condotti, Rome’s center of fashion with shops such as Valentino, Armani, Hermès, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo and many more.

Day 3 (Tuesday)
The Colosseum, The Roman Forum & Cooking Class

After breakfast this morning, we check out of our hotel, join with our expert Rome guide again and proceed to take a private tour of the Colosseum and the ancient Roman Forum before we leave Rome and make our way toward Umbria, the green heart of Italy by way of the breathtaking country roads through the chestnut forests of the Cimini mountains. Along the way we will stop in the breathtaking castle-topped village of Soriano nel Cimino, which is our company’s home-base. This village was once the summer home of the popes in the middle ages, and will be the site of our cooking class today.

Our class will be held in an ancient monastery that has been converted to a local trattoria in recent times. As we begin our class, we will sample local salames, cheeses and various local specialties, then get to work making fettuccine from scratch, with our family recipe of Bolognese sauce. The wine will be flowing freely this evening as we move on to our second course: a truly delectable recipe for Tuscan Roasted chicken with Tuscan roasted potatoes and Porcini mushrooms harvested locally in the chestnut forest just outside of town. Finally we will have Tiramisu for dessert with locally made Limoncello to cap off this incredible evening together.

As we leave Soriano behind us, we will make our way to the beautiful Umbria town of Orvieto, home to many wonderful shops, one of Italy’s greatest gothic cathedrals, and our home for the next three nights.

Day 4 (Wednesday)
Orvieto, The Olive Harvest & Castiglione Winery

This morning take it easy or browse the wonderful shops, the cathedral, and so much more in Orvieto. In the early afternoon we will take a drive to an olive grove where we will take full part in one of Italy’s greatest country traditions: The November Olive Harvest. As we harvest the olives, we’ll make sandwiches with local cheese, prosciutto and mortadella. Naturally the wine will flow once again during this festive experience. After a while, we will make our way to the tiny village of Castiglione in Teverina, home of the family-run Madonna delle Macchie Olive Mill and Winery. This is a truly special olive mill that still uses the ancient traditional cold-press stone mill to make some of the best unfiltered extra-virgin olive oil in the world.

When we arrive, we will unload our baskets and actually watch the entire process as our olives are loaded into the mill, get ground into olive paste by the giant millstones. The paste will then be spread on layers of fiber discs, which will then be taken to the large press that will extract the liquid from the paste. Finally, the liquid will be fed into a centrifuge that will separate the oil from other liquid and we will watch our olive oil drip into a canister. When it is all done, you will bring home an equal share of the extra virgin olive oil from the very olives that you harvested.

As our olives are pressing, we will also visit the wine cellar and take part in an extended wine tasting of these fantastic wines. Finally, we will have dinner with the family, which will consist of Porchetta (roasted suckling pig), Fagioli all'uccelletto (Tuscan Beans), locally produced Ricotta cheese and salad harvested from the garden outside and drizzled in olive oil right from the press and balsamic vinegar.

Day 5 (Thursday)
Assisi & Deruta

After our morning breakfast we head to the Umbrian city of Deruta, which is known for its world-famous ‘majolica’ ceramics. Deruta is home to a centuries old ceramics tradition that is unparalleled anywhere in the world, and is among the most valued Italian ceramics internationally. We will have a factory tour, and those that are up to it can try their hand at the pottery wheel. If you are interested in purchasing any pottery or ceramics this week, this is the place with extremely deep discounts compared to what you will find elsewhere... a fraction of the costs back home.

As we leave Deruta, we will make our way to Assisi, the hometown of St. Francis. Still surrounded by its ancient walls, is sits on the slopes of Mount Subasio with beautiful rose stone buildings, winding narrow streets, noble palaces and balconies full of flowers.

You will have the afternoon on your own to visit the Basilica of St. Francis, browse the many beautiful shops, and do some sightseeing.

Upon leaving Assisi, we will head back to Orvieto for dinner together in a local family trattoria, where we will dine on specialties of the house tonight.

Day 6 (Friday)
A Day of Wine & Cheese in Tuscany

After our morning breakfast we will head out for a day full of wine, cheese & more in beautiful Southern Tuscany.

We’ll start by visiting the village of Montepulciano, known for its Vino Nobile wine, a competitor for the Brunello wines. Here we will tour the town’s ancient 14th century cellar that was built underneath the Palace of Cardinal Ricci and is widely considered to be the most beautiful wine cellar in the world. After the cellar tour, we will participate in a complete tasting of Montepulciano’s fantastic wines. Those that have seen the 2009 film 'New Moon' (The sequel to 'Twilight') will recognize this wine cellar and other areas of town from the movie.

Next we will drive the world-famous Orcia Valley Wine Trail, which is considered to be one of the most picturesque drives in Tuscany as we make our way to Montalcino, home of what is arguably the best of all Italian wines: Brunello. Instead of going to the big wineries for impersonal tastings like other tours, we have something truly exclusive in store for you today. We will visit the small, private Croce di Mezzo winery in Montalcino which shares a fenceline with Biondi Santi and Fattoria dei Barbi.

We will be hosted to a wonderful lunch with the owners of the estate, as we sample their Brunello wine with our meal. As we have lunch together, they will share their family history with you and answer any question you can imagine. You are sure to fall in love with this gracious family. It is always one of the major highlights on our vacations, and provides for a truly exclusive and unique Brunello experience. After lunch, they will treat us to a private tour of their cellars and vineyards before we move on.

Next, we’ll take the short drive to beautiful Pienza, known for its incredible Pecorino cheese. You will have some time to walk around this charming village, do some Pecorino cheese tastings and some shopping before we head out for Florence, where we will be sleeping for the next two nights. On our way to Florence, we will make a stop at one of Italy’s famous Autogrills if you have any room left over after all of today’s food!

Day 7 (Saturday)
A Day in Florence

After breakfast this morning, we head over to the famous morning market in Florence, where you will browse the wonderful food stands in interesting shops. After our visit, enjoy the rest of the morning to explore Florence at your leisure. In the early afternoon, we will meet up with a local expert guide, who will take us on a private tour of the Academia gallery, home of Michelangelo’s David. Next he will take us on a walking tour of the city’s highlights, and a private leather craftsmanship demonstration.

For dinner tonight, we will head outside of the city to a lively restaurant in the Tuscan hills for a wonderful night of incredible food and music for our farewell dinner.

Day 8 (Saturday)
Goodbye :-(

Unfortunately, our time together comes to a close this morning. Breakfast at the hotel is included this morning, followed by a morning shuttle to the Florence airport.