La Contadina Travels & Tours Announces New Italy Tour Itinerary, "My Own Private Italy."

Sept. 20, 2009 - PRLog -- La Contadina Travels and Tours is pleased to announce that we have developed a new itinerary featuring some of the places highlighted in Steven Robert McCurdy’s film, “My Own Private Italy,” and we’ve also included some old favorites from the “Postcards from Italy” tour itinerary.  Plus, there are a few surprises included that we just can’t mention ‘til we get there!

This tour begins in Pisa and has us staying in wonderful Lucca, Tuscany for the first four nights.  We enjoy day visits to the Cinque Terre (5 villages clinging to the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean, and famous for their pesto and their wine), to Firenze (Florence), a major art and cultural city in Italy, and to a secret gem of a hilltop village highlighted by Steve in his "My Own Private Italy" film.  

Lucca, founded by the Romans, was encircled during the Middle Ages by a series of pink-brick ramparts (construction began in 1544), which are now a favorite place atop which both locals and tourists like to stroll, gazing down into the city and out over the surrounding mountains.  It's a lovely place to stay for 4 nights, and tour guests will have some free time to explore Lucca your own and find some souvenirs and do some Christmas shopping :-)

Starting this tour in Pisa also affords us the opportunity to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa before we head to Lucca - an added bonus not to be underestimated.  You can see a picture of one of our tour guides on top of the Leaning Tower on her blog: mbitalytour.blogspot.com.  Climbing the marble steps once climbed by Galileo is a very powerful experience.

Then the tour heads to Spoleto, Umbria for the last 2 nights.  Spoleto is where we have our fabulous cooking class.   Spoleto is a hilltop town in Umbria that boasts fabulous restaurants and a lot of Roman sites (an ancient "teatro," or theater, and the famous "Bridge of the Towers," which began as a Roman aquaduct.  More wonderful opportunities for Christmas shopping abound in Spoleto.  Spoleto is featured in another of Steve's films, "Postcards from Italy."  

Following our precious time in Spoleto, tour guests transfer to Rome and the tour concludes upon arrival at the airport.  Some tour guests like to stay on at the end of the tour and explore more of Rome on their own for a day or two.  

The tour includes a wine tasting, the cooking class, all transportation including airport pick up and drop off, all breakfasts, and either lunch or dinner (more dinners than lunches), and wine with dinner.  Tour starts in Pisa and ends in Rome.    Cost is 2300 Euros.

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About La Contadina Travels & Tours: We have been leading small-group tours to Italy for over 18 years and we provides travel consulting services & custom itineraries. To learn more about our tours and tour planning services, please visit: www.lacontadina.com