A Romantic Getaway - June 2012

Hi Kathy,

Thanks for all of your help, we had an amazing stay!

We loved being picked up directly at our hotel by Riccardo. He was so sweet. He was very accommodating and provided chilled water throughout the day at each stop which was welcomed in the excessive heat. He also stopped at the train station on the way back so our friends could pick up their train tickets which we appreciated. The morning guide in Florence was Helen, who we adored!  Being British made it easy for us to understand her and she is very well-studied and was able to share some very fascinating stories to bring the places we visited to life. Helen also came across as very confident and in charge keeping us on schedule yet allowing us time to enjoy the sights and ask questions and not feel rushed.

The guide in Siena, Costanza, was also very well-versed in her knowledge of the area and she shared some interesting stories. 

The lunch at the organic farm with Silvano's spectacular hospitality and amazing food and wine stole the show as the highlight of our day and trip to the Tuscany region. The vineyard has so much to offer from the organic food, farm fresh eggs with truffle oil, aged balsamic vinegar, wild boar with fresh hand-rolled pasta and his wife's wonderful cooking. Not to mention the incredible wines. We now have a new appreciation for Tuscan wines. We were pleasantly surprised by the simply elegant lunch. We contemplated signing up for the "luxury" lunch and were thrilled to have what we found to be a stellar lunch. I am very curious to know what they would serve for the "luxury" lunch since ours was impeccable! Silvano is definitely a great salesman, but his vineyard and amazing products sell themselves. He graciously shared his wife's Tiramisu recipe and instructed us on how to whip and fold in the eggs for perfection. We are going to try to make it back home.

I have passed your information on to several friends. Hopefully I can send a few in your direction. Thank you again for all of your help in making our Italian vacation a memorable one!

Ciao!

Gwen A. – Philadelphia, PA