TOUR EXPERIENCE COOKING AND TASTINGS ACROSS ITALY!
An Original tour for all Italy cuisine lovers.
We will guide you to improve originally your cooking following your preference and expectations. In Florence you will learn to make pizza and gelato just like the Italians do! Make pizza in the oven with our professional pizza chef. After Pizza, it’s time for a Gelato, the original Italian ice cream! The chef will tell you why gelato remains Italy’s favorite dessert while giving you an insight to the ‘gelato culture’ that continues to grow. This original tour package gives you a new way to visit Italy, following your deep inspired tastes. An innovative experience: visit of local district’s market to do some shopping together with your chef/teacher. You will follow the tradition, purchasing all you will need for your cooking lesson. A formidable experience in an authentic local street market in Florence, Rome or Naples. Our chef will show you how to make fresh pasta from the row ingredients and you will have the chance to knead it yourself! You will also cook the sauce (Tomato, Ragù Bolognese or Pesto), “bruschetta” as a starter, a main course (seafood or meat) with a side dish, as well as a dessert! You can add cooking classes in Rome, Napoli, Capri, Puglia or everywhere you want.
The first step to realize your dream travel to Italy is contact us to meet your Taste and Slow Italy private travel Advisor. This is a very easy, smart and positive experience for all our Clients, they confirm. Your travel starts just meeting our Team, telling us your personal tastes and interests. We will guide you to organize your personal travel project with the enchanting perspective to cook across Italy.
But also visit of monumental Amalfi coast, the Baroque Rome, the imperial Rome with a private native guide. Guided visit of the Vatican Museums.
Please consider that we can adjust and customize the tour plan for groups or individuals following your travel expectations and personal interests.
Read the pdf sample itinerary below.
PLACES AND SITES OF INTEREST
► Pisa & Leaning Tower
► Florence & Accademia Gallery
► Pizza & Gelato making class
► Cooking classes in Florence,
► Siena & San Gimignano
► Chianti region with wine tasting
► Amalfi Coast: Positano & Ravello
► Capri with Limoncello tasting
► Imperial and Baroque Rome & Vatican Museum
THE TOUR INCLUDES
- 4 nights in Florence excellent 4 stars hotel
- 2 night accommodation in Positano (Hotel Covo dei Saraceni,
- or similar, room with sea view)
- 2 night accommodation in Ravello (Villa Fraulo, beautiful
- 4 stars sup. Villa in the sea of Ravello, or similar, room with
- sea view)
- 3 night accommodation in Rome Hotel Campo De’ Fiori, or
- similar in bed and breakfast treatment.
- private chauffeured transfers as per itinerary described
- half day Amalfi coast tour in transfer from Positano to
- Ravello
- Tours and exoerience as per tour planning
UPON REQUEST
- Medical-luggage insurance
- Optional tours/experiences
TOUR ITINERARY
FLORENCE, 4 nights
DAY 1 | ARRIVAL & STOP IN PISA!
Arrival at Pisa Airport. Meeting with your private driver and car transfer towards Florence (1 hour and 10 min). During the transfer stop in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower (ticket included).
Check in at your centrally located accommodation in Florence, for 4 nights.
Lunch and dinner at leisure.
Day 2 | ARTISTIC FLORENCE & ACCADEMIA GALLERY!
Breakfast and half day group tour: Florence sightseeing & Accademia Gallery! (9.00am-12.15 pm)
This discovery tour begins from one of the most beautiful and romantic spots in the world: Piazzale Michelangelo, from where you have the nicest panorama of Florence. The tour continues inside the Accademia Gallery, where you will have the chance to see Michelangelo’s David and other masterpieces and unfinished works of art of the great artist. The tour ends with a stroll through the historic streets of the city to arrive in Piazza Duomo, where you will learn the secrets of Giotto’s Bell Tower, and discover the beauty of the Baptistery with its golden and bronze doors (including the famous Porta del Paradiso). Last but not least, there is the breathtaking Cathedral itself).
Tour highlights: an incredible panoramic view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo; Piazza Duomo and its unmatched masterpieces: Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistery, Brunelleschi’s Dome and the Cathedral itself; Accademia Gallery skip the line ticket; The outstanding David by Michelangelo; An art-lover local guide.
Afternoon (5.30pm-8.30pm) experience: Pizza & Gelato Making Cooking Class!!! (small group – max 12 people)
Go learn to make pizza and gelato just like the Italians do! Our chef will be happy to introduce you to the history of these Italian glorious creations! Make pizza in the oven with our professional pizza chef, the so-called pizzaiolo. You will learn how to make a tender and flexible yeast dough that stretches to almost paper-thinness and even the trick for a flavorful yet light tomato sauce. Even if you bake pizza in your own oven, these techniques are universal and using them really makes a difference. Together with the pizzaiolo, you will have the chance to make your very own pizza, stretch it, sauce it, bake it and slice it. It will be the best pizza you have ever tasted .. and you made it yourself!
After Pizza, it’s time for a Gelato! The chef will tell you why gelato remains Italy’s favorite dessert while giving you an insight to the ‘gelato culture’ that continues to grow. You will get to know the basic raw ingredients, how to select the best products available according to specific principles and you will have a presentation and tasting of some of the flavors used in gelato making. You will learn about the development and application of natural colors, the heating and freezing techniques and how they have different effects on ingredients. It is always a great day to discover the recipe of the world most loved dessert!
Lunch at leisure and dinner included with Pizza and Gelato experience!
Day 3 | FLORENCE COOKING CLASS AND SAN LORENZO MARKET!
10.00 am -3.00 pm Join our professional cooking class!
You will gain unique techniques and the best tips to make a perfect Italian meal! The class will start with a visit to the San Lorenzo market: our Italian chef will help you choose the best ingredients and how to recognize the authentic raw materials. Once you got everything you need, we will move to the unique location where the class will take place: a 15th century building in the heart of Florence. During the four hour lesson, you will prepare a full Italian meal, from the appetizer to the dessert. We will first prepare all the needed ingredients by washing and cutting them. Our chef will show you how to make fresh pasta from the row ingredients and you will have the chance to knead it yourself! You will also cook the sauce (Tomato, Ragù Bolognese or Pesto), “bruschetta” as a starter, a main course (seafood or meat) with a side dish, as well as a dessert! Our chef will show you how to decorate your plate and you will finally have lunch with the amazing dishes you made. Lunch will be accompanied by a local wine, water or soft drink as you prefer. At the end of the class you will also get a Graduation Certificate signed by the chef, as well as the receipts for the dishes you made, in order for you, to try them again, back home.
The tour includes: all necessary ingredients; Lunch with drinks included (wine or soft drink); Graduation Certificate
Afternoon time at leisure to stroll around Florence.
Lunch included in the cooking class, dinner at leisure.
Day 4 | SAN GIMIGNANO, SIENA AND CHIANTI WINE TOUR!
Breakfast and Full day tour from Florence (8.45am-7.45pm) to Chianti Region with Wine Tasting and Lunch in an authentic Winery farm, San Gimignano & Siena !!
The village of San Gimignano, the Chianti Area and the Medieval town of Siena are situated in the heart of our beautiful Tuscany. They are all compelling stops for those who want to learn about the region history and traditions. The first stop will be San Gimignano, a magnificent example of a Medieval town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here you will have free time to visit the village and its splendid squares, palaces, churches and the magnificent towers. The tour continues to the splendid area of the Chianti Classico wine.
Here you will stop by a typical Tuscan winery where you will visit the cellars and vineyards and taste the wine produced. Your wine degustation will be accompanied by a delicious lunch consisting of typical Tuscan food such as pasta, cold cuts, cheeses and local pastries.
In the afternoon the tour continues with Siena. Here our official guide will lead you throughout the city centre. Admire the magnificent Cathedral and the Town Hall in the Piazza del Campo, scenery of the world famous Palio horse race. The tour will end at the marvelous Monteriggioni Medieval fortress.
The tour includes: Self-guided tour of San Gimignano; Visit to a famous wine estate with wine tasting; Self-guided tour of Monteriggioni fortress; GT coach or minivan with air conditioning; Expert multilingual tour leader; Lunch consisting of typical Tuscan dishes; Guided Tour of Siena.
Lunch at leisure. Dinner at leisure.
POSITANO - AMALFI COAST, 2 nights
Day 5 | YOUR AMALFI COAST, POSITANO!
Breakfast and private transfer from your Hotel in Florence toward Florence train station. Direct train transfer from Florence to Naples the mythic bullet train Frecciarossa or the elegant Italo riding at more than 196 miles/h (about 3 hours). Private transfer from Naples to Positano
(about 1 hour 30 min).
Check in at your centrally located accommodation in Positano, room with sea view.
This afternoon I would suggest to relax and enjoy Positano, or if you prefer you can take a taxi on the spot or a private transfer and have a walk in Sorrento!
Lunch and dinner at leisure in Positano.
Optional a professional cooking class to learn more about the recipes of Campania region. You will attend the lesson in a welcoming professional environment.
Day 6 | CAPRI BOAT TOUR AND LIMONCELLO
Breakfast and Full Day Tour – Private Capri & Anacapri with Hotel pickup.
No holiday on the Amalfi Coast would be complete without a trip to the evocative Island of Capri.
Round trip transfer from your Hotel in Positano to Sorrento port; Round trip hydrofoil from Sorrento to Capri. Time at leisure in Capri.
The tour includes: Round pick up from your Hotel in Positano to Sorrento; Round hydrofoil ticket from Sorrento to Capri.
Optional a private guide. Visit the Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto)
Lunch at leisure, dinner at leisure
RAVELLO - AMALFI COAST, 2 nights
Day 7 | BEST OF AMALFI COAST: AMALFI, RAVELLO !
Breakfast, meeting with your private driver and car transfer from Positano to Ravello, with stops in Furore and Amalfi! (around 4 hours in total).
The Amalfi Coast Drive is said to be the most famous scenic in Europe and from Sorrento, the winding cliff top road offers breathtaking panoramic views at every bend. You will pass by and stop in the jewels of Praiano, Furore and Amalfi, reaching Ravello in the afternoon! At Pansa in Amalfi you will have the chance to taste hand-wrapped chocolates, candied citrus chocolate, pralines of different tastes, and other great products of the area! Tour in an air-conditioned minivan, with English speaking driver.
Check in at your accommodation in Ravello, in a beautiful 4 stars superior. Villa front the sea of Ravello, room with sea view.
Late afternoon at leisure to explore Ravello, a refined, polished town boasting impeccable bohemian credentials – Wagner, DH Lawrence and Virginia Woolf all spent time here. You can for sure visit its ravishing gardens and enjoy the stupendous views, certainly the best on the coast.
Lunch at leisure, dinner at leisure.
Optional a visit to a local dairy farm to learn more about mozzarella and other local cheeses.
Day 8 | VILLAS IN RAVELLO, DAY AT LEISURE!
Breakfast and day at leisure around Ravello.
If you wish to relax and stay in Ravello I would suggest a visit to the wonderful Villa Rufolo, a favorite haunt of musicians, artists and poets, where Richard Wagner saw the living image of the garden of his imagination or Villa Cimbrone, with a fabulous view from the delightful gardens. They’re best admired from the Belvedere of Infinity, an awe-inspiring terrace lined with classical-style statues and busts. ,The villa was something of a bohemian retreat in its early days and was frequented by Greta Garbo and her lover Leopold Stokowski as a secret hideaway. Other illustrious former guests included Virginia Woolf, Winston Churchill, DH Lawrence and Salvador Dalí.
Lunch at leisure, dinner at leisure.
In alternative, for the same day:
COOKING CLASS AND FOOD TOUR IN RAVELLO!!!
Three hours group cooking experience.
In the magical stillness of Ravello, in the shade of lush and fragrant lemon trees, on a wonderful panoramic terrace overlooking the sea of the Amalfi Coast, Nonna Orsola - defined a “force of nature” explains to the students the secrets of her art, made of simple tastes, traditional, wholesome, organic products. The day will include: nice welcome and lunch preparation demo with a wonderful final homemade lunch all together! (3 hours, in group)
To continue your focus on a culinary atmosphere, I would advise you to visit:
-Ettore Sammarco winery, raising the indigenous grapes of Biancolella, Falanghina, Pepella
-Caruso winery to try the best Rosè wines.
-I giardini di Ravello
-the best Limoncello producer, where you will understand how this fabulous product is made!
-Staiano, a great dairy factory that produces mozzarella cheese.
Lunch at leisure, dinner at leisure.
ROME, 3 nights
Day 9 | ROME, VATICAN TOUR!!
Breakfast and private chauffeured transfer from your Hotel in Ravello towards Rome (about 3 hours and 30 minutes). Check in at your charming accommodation in Rome Hotel, in bed and breakfast treatment.
Afternoon group tour of the Vatican Museums (01.45pm-5.00pm) mini group, max. 16 people, Sistine Chapel and Basilica of St. Peter. A fascinating itinerary with a private professional guide to the discovery of art, history and religion of the Vatican City, the smallest state in the world.
Lunch at leisure, dinner at leisure.
Day 10 | YOUR ROME AND ANCIENT ROME, THE COLOSSEUM!
Breakfast and free time in Rome. Afternoon, Private tour Coliseum and Ancient Rome – tour starts at 2.00 pm
Join a small group (MAX 11 PEOPLE) tour of Ancient Rome and explore with a passionate guide the most extended archaeological area in the world about the Romans. With our Semi private tour of the Coliseum and Archaeological area of Rome, in three hours, you will see the outstanding residences of the Emperors on the Palatine Hill, the Forum, with its Pagan Temples, the site of Julius Caesar’s funerals, the Capitol Hill and the Coliseum, discovering the great achievements of the Romans in architecture and their perfect organization of public and private life
Lunch at leisure, dinner at leisure
Day 11 | CLASSIC ROME, FOUNTAINS AND SQUARES!
Breakfast and morning guided tour of Classic Rome (9.00am-12.00), an itinerary by GT coach and on foot to visit the classic monuments of Rome and its Baroque Squares. Crossing Piazza della Repubblica with the fountain of the Nayads, our local guide will take on a pleasant stroll through the historical centre, where you can admire Trevi Fountain. It is the most majestic of the Roman fountains and according to tradition if you throw a coin in it you are sure you will return to Rome again. We will see the column of Marcus Aurelius, Palazzo di Montecitorio, designed by Bernini, and we will reach Piazza della Rotonda where is the best preserved monument of antiquity, the Pantheon, dating back to the II century a.d. (visit inside).
Passing Palazzo Madama- seat of the Italian Senate- we reach Piazza Navona, the most Baroque of the Roman squares, masterpiece by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, with the fountain of the four Rivers. Passing alongside Castel S. Angelo our coach will take us to the Basilica of St. Peter, where you can admire one of Michelangelos’ magnificent works of art , “la Pietas”.
Afternoon at leisure to enjoy Rome!
Lunch at leisure, dinner at leisure.
I suggest: Armando al Pantheon or Marco G. Osteria Barberini or Da Enzo al 29.
DAY 12 | SEE YOU SOON ITALY!!!
Breakfast and car transfer from your accommodation towards Rome Fiumicino airport, on time for your flight.