Day 1

Meet & greet private transfer from Rome airport to Hotel

3 double deluxe room, breakfats & taxes included at Hotel Borgo Scopeto Relais****

Surrounded by Tuscan olive groves and vineyards, Borgo Scopeto Relais offers 2 swimming pools and a bike rental service. Rooms have a contemporary design with free Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs.

The hotel’s gastronomic restaurant serves Tuscan specialities and wines produced on the estate and in the surrounding area. You can also enjoy wine and olive oil tasting.

Rooms and suites at the Borgo Scopeto are spacious and decorated in calming colours. They are equipped with satellite TV and a minibar.

From this restored 13th-century hamlet, you can explore the Chianti region or take a wine tasting tour. The historic city of Siena is a 20-minute drive away.

The Relais Borgo Scopeto also has a wellness centre with an indoor pool, Turkish bath and a hot tub, all available at an extra charge.

http://www.borgoscopetorelais.it/

 

Day 2:

Private driver at disposal for the day to go to Siena and San Gimignano where you will meet your local guides

Built on three hills in the middle of the Via Francigena (pilgrimage road), Siena is one of Tuscany’s crown jewels. It has an outstanding Gothic Duomo and another important church, San Domenico, which claims the skull of St. Catherine. Siena also has one of the most beautiful squares in Italy, il Campo, where the famous Palio horse race is held twice a year. Your tour guide will conduct a tour of Siena. Your Siena tour will give you an overview of the city’s most important neighborhoods, squares and churches, before giving you some time to explore them on your own. You may want to skip the sightseeing and head straight for the shops — Siena has many acclaimed specialty stores around the main square and its main street, Via Banchi di Sopra. Local delicacies include Panforte, a cake with dried fruits and sugar; Sapori, marzipan almond pastries; and Pici, a typical pasta from the area.

Later in the day, you will also have a guided tour the medieval walled city of San Gimignano, less than an hour away. You’ll have the first sight of the famous towers of San Gimignano from afar.

There were originally 72 towers, but only 15 remain today. You will explore San Gimignano with your English-speaking guide. You will stop in the main squares, Piazza della Cisterna and Piazza del Duomo. You will have free time to visit La Collegiata church, the civic museum, the fortress, and the unusual torture museum, while you can get your exercise by climbing the big tower called Torre Grossa. Great shopping opportunities await, as San Gimignano is well known for Zafferano (saffron), its great white wine called Vernaccia, among other gourmet treats. Make a point to stop for gelato at one of Italy’s best gelaterias in Piazza della Cisterna.

 

Day 3

Cooking Class with Barbara from Babs Kitchen

Babs cooking school was first born only as a home chef service, now not only we come to your location but also have our own cooking location. The little cozy cooking school is located in the outskirts of Florence.

The school is located in the council of Impruneta, it is very close to a bus stop that connects with Florence city centre.

Chef Barbara, also known as Babs, has studied at Cordon Bleu London achieving the Grand Diplome (Cuisine and Patisserie) and is a sommelier Fisar. She has studied in Italy and London, has worked in Italy and Canada.

Chocolate is one of her passions, she learnt to work chocolate at school but also working in the lovely shop of Stubbe in Toronto.

 

Example menu

Mix of 3 crostini

Cavatelli with zucchini sauce

Chicken fricassea with sautéed veggies in season

Panna cotta with fresh fruits in season

The meats for the dinners and courses are purchased in a boutique butcher shop in Strada in Chianti (Mastrocicciao).
Fruit and vegetables are purchased at a greengrocer in Strada in Chianti. Both shops are family run and they have high quality products.
When possible,  flour from an organic farm in San Casciano where it is ground on a traditional stone mill.
Wines come from small boutique family run wineries in the area and are mostly organic. When possible Babs purchases organic products.

 

Day 4:

Private driver at disposal to go shopping for high designers at a great rate

Shop for prestigious designer brands at a great value with this day trip to two of Tuscany’s top fashion outlets. Departing from the villa enjoy stress-free transportation to Prada Space and the Mall, each offering 30 to 50 percent on high-end clothes and accessories. Try on your favorite names from Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Prada and more, before traveling back to the villa after a fun day browsing.
Meet your driver at the villa and venture to the town of Levanella, home to the Prada Space Outlet. Take your time shopping independently, roaming the array of designer accessories and clothing. Keep your eye out for discounts of up to 40 percent on dresses, shirts and more. After reuniting with your driver, ride southward to the Mall, the largest of Tuscany’s outlets. Showcasing famous names such as Armani, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Stella McCartney and Ferragamo, here you can truly shop till you drop. When it’s time to refuel, check out the Mall’s café for refreshments and food to purchase at your own expense.

 

Day 5:

Private driver at disposal to go to Antinori for lunch and wine tasting

Your full-day Antinori Wine Tour will include a visit to the new Antinori winery, viewing of the cellar and a tasting of three Antinori wines.  After your winery tour

It includes The “Bottaia Cru” tour:  a 2 hours guided visit inside the productive cellar with the tasting of the best wines of their production: Cervaro della Sala, Brunello Pian delle Vigne, Badia a Passignano and Tignanello.

The tasting takes place in the very exclusive and  spectacular tasting room.
The tour concludes with the lunch at their restaurant Rinuccio 1180, located on the panoramic terrace of our winery: you will taste representative dishes of the Tuscan tradition paired with two more great Antinori wines,Cont’Ugo and Guado al Tasso.
With dessert, your will taste their sweet wine Muffato della Sala.

After lunch, your Antinori Wine Tour will continue as your private driver will accompany you to a charming Chianti village where you will have time to experience the local laid-back atmosphere. You’ll certainly want to check out the Tuscan food and wine shops specializing in Antinori and other special Chianti wine producers before heading back to your accommodation.  This is the ideal way to experience the Chianti countryside, innovative architecture and Antinori’s world-class wines!

 

Day 6:

Full day private guided tour to Lucca and Cinque Terre

Founded by the Etruscans, Lucca became a Roman colony in 180 B.C. During the 12th century, it enjoyed a period of prosperity based on the silk trade. Lucca remained an independent republic for over 500 years, until Napoleon came along and created the principality of Lucca.

Everything is contained within Lucca’s wide, well-preserved Renaissance city walls – 2.5 miles around – and you will stroll in search of Lucca’s highlights, from its charming squares to the beautiful churches of San Martino and San Frediano. You will also glimpse the city’s Roman past in Lucca’s market square and medieval quarter.

You will have free time to stroll around this charming town, walk the city walls, climb the Guinigi tower, and enjoy the shops at Via Fillungo. Sites not to be missed include the cathedral of San Frediano, where you can view the body of St. Zita in a glass coffin, and the Ampitheatre, an elliptical Roman colosseum on which houses have now been built.

Then we head to Monterosso, an ancient fishing village considered the pearl of the Cinque Terre, where you will be overcome by enchanting beaches and luxuriant vegetation that surrounds the little village. Here you will have free time to eat a typical Ligurian lunch.

 

Day 7:

Full day tour Pienza with cheese demonstration and tasting at Podere il Casale and Olive Oil Tasting at Pornanino’s tasting room

Your day start with an organic cheese making demonstration

The farms offers a behind-the-scenes look at the fine art of cheese making. During this two-hour demonstration Ulisse, our experienced dairy man and co-founder of Il Casale, will guide you through the entire production process from milking to ageing, stopping along the way to thoughtfully answer your questions. Podere Il Casale cheese has won several awards in the organic sheep and goat raw-milk cheese category.

Then, we will head to Pienza. You will tour Tuscany’s jewel, Pienza, is as complete a Renaissance creation as any in Italy. Pope Pius II conceived Pienza, his birthplace, as a Utopian “new town.” The construction of Pienza began in 1459; architect Bernardo Rossellino worked on its main sites under the guide of Leon Battista Alberti, the great theorist of Renaissance art, building and town planning.

You will have free time to wander through the lovely streets of Pienza.  Note the street names:  Via dell’Amore (Street of Love), Via del Bacio (Street of the Kiss), and Via della Fortuna (Street of Luck). The beautiful Via del Casello has a spectacular panoramic view of the Orcia Valley.  You may also enjoy the great shopping in Corso Rossellino, or visit the beautiful cathedral and the Pope Palace.

Then in the afternoon, you will head to Pornanino. This unique talk on gourmet olive oil, given by one of Chianti’s premier growers, is a chance to learn how the best oil is made and why it requires careful handling at each step of its production.

The talk is given at Pornanino’s tasting room, surrounded by his olive trees. The building is the same as the olive mill, so you will be able to see the stone grinding wheels and press that deliver the oil from the olives.

During the hour-and-a-half talk, you will also learn:
1. How olives are grown . . . and why decisions about pruning, fertilizing, and treating the trees for pests makes a big difference in the olive oil at your table.
2. How olives are harvested . . . and how care at this stage-though it takes a bit longer-preserves the quality of the oil within the olive.
3. How olives are convinced to give up their oil . . . and why extraction, as it is known, is best done the old-fashioned way. (In this case, old-fashioned is more than 2,500 years old).
4. How olive oil is classified . . . and what terms like extra virgin and virgin mean, and how you can tell if chemicals or colorants have been used to produce an oil.
5. How olive oil compares to other (seed) oils . . . and how to use them in your cooking.
Finally, you will have a chance to taste one of Tuscany’s finest olive oils just as it’s drizzled onto rustic Tuscan bread grilled in front of you in the fireplace. And you will have a chance to ask any questions you have about olive oil.

Day 8: 

Private transfer from hotel to Florence airport