Unique Ideas for Tuscany Trip?

Tony:

Just being in the Chianti area is fabulous. We were last there in fall 2007. We too were looking for something a little different. We arranged ahead of time to have a private tour and wine tasting in Volpaia. Volpaia is a very small hill town between Panzano and Greve right off of the Chianti Road (S222). The whole village is the winery. Just google it and you will find it. The village and its history are charming. The wines are excellent (the Balifico super tuscan is out of this world). Our host and guide Marja (a Finnish ex-pat who wanted to be in Chianti) made the experience so wonderful for the six of us. The tour and tasting was also combined with a delightful dinner. The price was very reasonable and left us with smiling faces and happy memories. Have fun.

It's Umbria instead of Tuscany, but I suggest you check out the tours that are offered by Anne Robichaud. We have taken two tours with her and each time we got to see and do things that we could not have done on our own. On our last tour, we spent half a day in Assisi, then went to Spello for an incredible wine tasting. The wines were paired with food. Anne suggested that we hire Salvatore to come play Neapolitan folk songs on his guitar and we did. It was so much fun and a highlight of the trip. Afterwards, we went to the town's church and met Brother Paul. He is a Franciscan friar who lives very simply, but produces some interesting art.

We stayed in Greve last October and loved it. One thing we enjoyed was taking short walks in the hills above the town. We also arranged to take an all day bike tour with www.tuscany-biketours.com. The ride itself is not super hard-they have many people do it who don't bike a lot. My husband and I are mountain bikers so it took us awhile to get used to a group ride-but we had a great time. The price included a wonderful lunch and after lunch we were able to bike at our own pace. There is one "killer" hill, and most people chose to load their bike and drive up it. 5 of us opted to bike it and it did live up to its reputation of "killer". The views and scenery were spectacular. This is the review I posted on graffiti wall: I first heard about www.tuscany-biketours.com on this web site. We took one of their tours October 3rd and it was great. We had Mary and Erin as our tour guides and there were about 10 of us. You meet in Florence and are driven out to a castle where you take a tour and do some wine tasting. Then they fit you for your bike and your are off! The price includes a fabulous lunch at a local restaurant and a free water bottle you can take with you. It was my dream to ride in the tuscany area and doing it with a group was a lot of fun. Spending the day with everyone and getting to know our guides made for a memorable experience. I would recommend it to anyone. I personally think that you see and experience so much more from a bicycle than you do a car. The scenery was fantastic. It took a whole day, but it was worth every minute. (We left Florence about 10:30 and returned about 5:00) Check out their web site and consider joining them for an experience you can't have just anywhere. I had to talk my husband into it (spending the money-he loves to bike) but he thought it was worth every penny.

We did the exact same tour as Sherry with Anne Robichaud. I highly recommend it. Anne can give you so many recommendations of places to eat--where to shop, and the wine tasting was so much fun. We also met Brother Paul, a very interesting man. We also did the Rural Tour with her, and visited many farmhouses, and drank their wine! At the very last house we ate dinner with the family--wild boar that they had shot, plus their homemade wine, bread cooked in a wood burning stove outside. It was very enjoyable.

Rendola Riding --Jenny's horses are the best. I think beginners would be fine on her horses. Seeing this beautiful country from horseback is great. The pick you up from the train station in Montivarchy and you get tours with Jenny,a Brit who has lived in Tuscany most of her life. A great way to really BE in Tuscany. Trainride away from Florence, great help in getting to the sights, great meals with the farm's wine and olive oil, wonderful stories of the area with local introductions, Italian lessons if you like. Website is Rendola Riding.

You could check out Il Giardiano dei Tarocchi (www.nikidesaintphalle.com). We did not make it on our trip last summer, but I have had a few friends really enjoy it.

I know that this is something that a lot of tourists do, but I loved the cooking class that I took while we were in Cortona last summer. I know that there are several places in the Chianti area that offer them.

There is a wine tasting trip from both Siena and Florence, called the "wine train." Very unique way to see the countryside and try some wine. They were easy to communicate with via email. Here is the website: http://www.winestation.it

two options. Stay in a beach town or at an agriturismo/farm stay. I've done both and really enjoyed being the only American around.

Best part of our Italy trip was the 1/2 day cooking class offered by www.accidentaltourist.com

It is more of an experience than an actual cooking class. IT WAS FABULOUS! And, it was one of our best meals in Italy.

This would be perfect for a family and is cheap. We went to someone's house (100+ year old house) and had lunch in their kitchen...it doesn't get more real than that. We helped make the pasta.

Also, the best restaurant we went to was in Radda in Chianti called La Perla. I still dream about the delicious food!