Hi Kathy,
I want to thank you for planning such a terrific Tuscan
experience for our milestone birthday celebration. It’s not easy to please the
varying tastes of 40 year old city dweller, 50 year old suburbanite and 80 year
old Vermonter (who my kids have dubbed “the extreme grandma” for her activity
level).
All of our accommodations were superb: Well located B&Bs
in the center of Florence and a stone’s throw from the most desired attractions
as well as a meticulously appointed apartment villa in Montalcino with a
beautiful garden, Turkish bath and pool that were beautiful to look at even if
the weather didn’t cooperate for a dip. Thank you for scoping these all out for
us.
Our guides in Florence (Ann Sophie and YOU) were excellent,
knowledgeable and great company. In addition, Ellen, our guide for the beautiful
hill towns of Tuscany, was a life saver. She was an expert driver, interpreter,
historian, hiker & sommelier – something for all of us! She was able to
easily rearrange our itinerary for weather, health and mood swings. Thanks to
her flexibility we were able to get in 3 hikes, 2 wine tastings and see every
town you recommended - San Gimignano, Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano,
Cortona, Pitigliano, Sorano and Sovana - including a beautiful dinner at La
Porta in Montichiello, a dip in baths at the Bagno Vignoni, a hike and wine tasting at Le
Prime Donne Winery (we loved that this was the only all woman winery in the
region and bought several bottles of Brunello to bring home…only one remains :)).
Our last 2 days in Florence were beautiful and sunny and we
sought out the rooftop bar Sesto for our last lunch only to be surprised by an
encounter with Dan Brown (I was reading his newest novel, Inferno, on the trip
since it takes place mostly in Florence). A perfect ending to a perfect trip
thanks to all your planning and advice!
Hi Kathy,
Your advice to stay there and enjoy the city was exactly right. Our daughter loved the park and access to kids. We ventured to Florence and were so pleased that we did not stay there. We liked all of your recommendations on what else to see and do. Mostly we just enjoyed the family time without the craziness of trying to do too much.
