TRAVEL TO ITALY
with
PAULETTE MITCHELL and JUDY WITTS FRANCINI
WEEK OF MAY 31, 2009
Come with us to the heart of Italy for a feast of the senses. We have planned a perfect combination of touring, cooking, shopping, learning, and relaxing. We'll savor incredible food and wine, visit lively markets, and smell the cypress and olive groves while enjoying spring in one of the most beautiful parts of the world.
No trip to Italy is complete without time in Florence, so the week will begin and end there. We will stay at the 4-star Hotel Santa Maria Novella, conveniently located and overlooking the cathedral and piazza.
Our nights in the countryside will be spent at Villa Il Leccio, an 18th century aristocratic private family home, now turned into a guest house with frescoed bedrooms, a beautiful Italian garden, and pool. Our private driver will transport us in a comfortable van through the countryside for the other days and nights. Each day will be an adventure with off-the-beaten path side trips as described below.
May 31 - June 6 • CHIANTI REGION OF TUSCANY
explore, cook, savor, shop
- Meet the group in Florence on Sunday for our welcome dinner.
- Monday morning walking tour of the Mercato Centrale, where Judy will introduce you to her friends and favorite merchants. Taste the best olive oils, cheeses, and balsamic vinegars in the world and learn Judy’s tips on how to create an Italian pantry. Savor a trattoria lunch before leaving for Chianti. We’ll visit Greve in the heart of Chianti, with its fabulous shops and lively piazza. Check in at the villa. Relax. Dinner at the villa.
- On Tuesday, visit a state-of-the-art organic farm, owned by cookbook author Susan Grant McKenna and enjoy an Italian cooking class and delicious lunch at Petraia (www.lepetraia.com) with breathtaking views of the famous Gallo Nero vineyards, Siena, the Arno River Valley, and the Casentino Mountains.
We'll enjoy an al fresco lunch. We can wander through Nora’s picturesque cashmere goat farm (chianticashmere.com). Pet the baby goats, if you’d like. And take a look at her incredible hand-woven shawls and baby blankets, as well as her unique goat’s milk body products.
Visit Radda, one of Judy’s favorite cities in Chianti. This was a Florentine fortress in 1415 and is still a very active village with locals and tourists mingling in the small streets. - Wednesday is Market Day in Siena. Our guide Stella will show us the magnificent Duomo and the Piazza del Campo where the Palio is run in July and August. We’ll stroll through the contradas. After a relaxing lunch, time for shopping and wandering on your own.
- At our Thursday cooking class at Collegalle, we’ll prepare an Italian feast with Bea in the beautiful and well-equipped kitchen. The results of our efforts will be served to us in the casually elegant dining room, and the Collegalle estate wines will make the delicious meal complete.
Stop in Panzano to see the artisan custom shoemaker and visit Dario the Famous Butcher. Dinner at the local trattoria. - Friday - Stop at THE MALL outlet for designer shopping on the way back to Florence.
We’ll return to Hotel Santa Maria Novella. Our final day in Florence will allow time for you to venture out on your own to visit museums or shop, or you can wander through the city with Judy and Paulette. In the evening, we’ll savor a memorable multi-course farewell dinner at Cibreo. - Depart Saturday morning. The hotel is about 20 minutes from the airport.
Dress is casual. Bring comfortable walking shoes and an umbrella, just in case we encounter a spring shower.
We can dress up for the farewell dinner, if you’d like.
Judy has planned an incomparable week
featuring the best of Chianti.
The price per person is $4,800, based on double occupancy.
Single supplement is $500.
This includes:
- 2 nights hotel in Florence, Hotel Santa Maria Novella
- 4 nights hotel in a Tuscan villa, Villa Il Leccio, Strada in Chianti
- All meals with the group - delicious breakfasts at our hotel and villa, festive lunches at trattorias and wine bars, and dinners at carefully selected restaurants, including wines
- 2 hands-on cooking classes with meals
- All ground transportation
- Airfare is not included.
- If you are coming early, or staying after, we can help with hotel reservations.
Sign up soon. Maximum of 10 guests.
$1000 deposit is due by November 30, 2008.
(Refundable only if space if filled.)
Balance of $3800 is due by February 28, 2009.
Cancellation policy:
50% refund up to one month before trip begins.
Less than one month notice - no refund.
We require Travel Insurance, which is always a good idea when planning ahead. Ask your travel agent when purchasing your airline tickets.
Here are a few companies offering policies:
Credit cards accepted through Paypal:
www.divinacucina.com/code/payment.html
OR
Send your deposit to:
Divina Cucina
2130 Comistas Drive
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
If you have questions, please email:
Paulette: italy2009@paulettemitchell.com
OR
Judy: divinacucina@gmail.com
Paulette Mitchell
Paulette is known internationally for her quick-to-prepare recipes with gourmet flair. She is a
cooking instructor, lecturer, television personality, and the author of
13 award-winning cookbooks.
Her upcoming book, The Complete 15-Minute Gourmet: Creative Cuisine Made Fast and Fresh will be published in October, 2008. Paulette lives in
Minneapolis. She travels and cruises widely for culinary inspiration.
Judy Witts Francini
Judy has made her home in Tuscany for the past 25 years. She speaks fluent Italian and conducts walking
tours of the market in Florence as well as weeklong programs in Florence and Sicily. She writes a monthly
column "Diva's Kitchen" for the American Magazine, an English language magazine in Italy. Originally trained as a pastry
chef in a 5-star hotel in San Francisco, Judy travels through Italy meeting new chefs and gathering
recipes to share on her website www.divinacucina.com and
her blog divinacucina.blogspot.com. Stop by
the site for a TASTE of what's to come with the recipes online.
