Trip Full.
If you wish to be placed on standby,
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$3559
(non-member: $3659)
Single Room–add $634

Activity Level:
 95% Easy;
   5% Moderate
  
 

- WTT Tour Leader and local tour guides throughout the tour.

- Breakfast daily, 4 lunches and 4 dinners

- Sightseeing and admission to all sights described in the itinerary.

 -  Cooking-lessons in a Tuscan country house

 -  Wine and Olive Oil tasting

 -  Chocolate Tasting

 __________________

Air Information
Travelers will make their own air reservations and are requested to arrive and depart as follows:

Airport:
Florence, Italy (FLR)

Arrive: Friday, 10 October no later than 2:00pm. Note: you will depart the United States on October 9th.

Depart: Saturday, 18 October at your convenience but no later than 3:00pm

Early Arrival:
If you wish to arrive a day early WTT can make your hotel reservations for you.  The room cost will be:

     $120dbl  $240sgl

- You will need a valid passport for this trip.  Check you expiration date.  It cannot expire less than 6 months after your travel completes.

- Air from your home and return to your home

- Meals and activities not specified in the itinerary

- Any personal expenses and any guide/driver gratuities.

- You will be responsible for your own airport transfer(s) if you arrive or depart at times or dates other than specified above when transfers are provided.

- Transfers are not provided for early arrival or late departure.

Friday, October 10: Arrive Florence, Welcome Dinner

Benvenuto in Italia.  Arrive Florence no later than 2:00pm.  Upon arrival, you will be transferred to the hotel where you will have a chance to refresh, unpack or explore before getting together for our welcome dinner.  If you arrive earlier in the day, the WTT tour leader is available to provide suggestions of things to do. (D)

Saturday, October 11:  Florence City Tour, Afternoon Free

Today is an opportunity to learn about the art and architecture of Florence during our city tour.   We will visit places such as the 13th century Gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (also known as Duomo), the octagonal Baptistery, Giotto's Bell Tower, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti and Santa Croce Square. We'll have lunch in a traditional “trattoria” followed by an opportunity to visit one of the leather schools and admire this renowned craft. Your afternoon is free to shop or to visit more sights in Florence.  Enjoy time at leisure to visit the Uffizi Gallery, the most important art museum in the city, or other cultural sites, or simply relax at a cafe in a lively piazza of this fascinating city.  (B, L)

Sunday, October 12: Chianti District, Medieval village of Radda; Afternoon walking tour of Siena; Dinner

Today we will depart for Siena, a perfectly preserved medieval town set among rolling hills with Renaissance villas, old farmhouses, and scenic vineyards.  Our drive today will take us down the Chiantigiana road from Florence. We will make our first stop in the Chianti region at Radda  for a visit of the town before stopping at a vineyard to taste the Chianti wine together with a light country lunch.

We will arrive in Siena around 2pm where we will be met by a local guide who will take us on a walking tour for an overview of the town. During our walking tour, we will see the town’s most important landmarks, including the wonderful black-and-white Gothic Duomo, the Palazzo Pubblico with its impressive frescoes and the Torre del Mangia bell tower. Later we will gather and have a light dinner together. (B, L, D)

Monday, October 13: Tuscan Cooking Lesson and Afternoon free in Siena

We will enjoy a late morning departure to a country house for our Tuscan cooking lesson today. Discover the culinary secrets of typical local dishes in this magical area and savor the wonderful lunch that you helped to create.

This afternoon we return to Siena where the remainder of the day is yours to enjoy. (B, L)

Tuesday, October 14:  San Gimignano

After breakfast this morning we will take a scenic drive through the Tuscan hills, carpeted with vineyards, as we make our way to the Medieval Manhattan town of San Gimignano, known as the "City of Beautiful Towers."  The town’s distinctive skyline is comprised of a high number of towers once used for family protection. You will see the Piazza della Cisterna, lined with medieval towers and named after the well in the center of the square, the Piazza del Duomo, the monumental tower in the Palazzo Vecchio del Podestà, and the small but superb Museo Civico, known for its exquisite Renaissance frescoes located in the 13th-century Town Hall.  Our visit to this spectacular town will be followed by a local wine tasting.  Lunch is on your own in San Gimignano where you will have time to shop for pottery if you wish before we return to Siena in the afternoon.  You will have time to relax or do a little more exploring. (B)

Wednesday, October 15: Val D'Orcia - Brunello District, Cooking class with dinner

Our destination today is Val d’Orcia, south of Siena, famous as the Brunello wine area. This is a marvelous landscape of hills, fields, and streams that has enchanted painters and writers. We stop in Montalcino, where we will sample wine and olive oil.  There are numerous acres of vineyards from which some of Tuscany's most esteemed red wines are produced as well as many olive groves. A light lunch follows at a local “enoteca” wine restaurant. Leaving Montalcino, we return to Siena for our cooking lesson and dinner that we have prepared.  (B, L, D)  

Thursday, October 16:  Siena Countryside, Chocolate tasting, Dinner at a Medieval castle

After breakfast, we visit the Castello di  Brolio with its gardens and Chapel. The history of this mighty fortress, the archetypal Chianti castle, is closely linked to that of the Ricasoli family, rulers of the region from the 13th century.  The great dining hall with its Flemish tapestries, suits of armor and family coats of arms is particularly noteworthy.  Here we taste some superb wine.  Our next stop is a visit to a renowned ceramic workshop, followed by lunch in the lovely village of San Sano. This afternoon enjoy a wonderful chocolate tasting with an expert artisan chocolate maker.  Tonight, we enjoy our farewell dinner in a Medieval Castle. (B, D)

Friday, October 17:  Return to Florence

We will return to Florence this morning and visit the Galleria dell’Accademia to admire Michelangelo’s David, a Renaissance masterpiece that became a symbol for the city.  In 1873, Michelangelo's famous statue David was moved to a specially designed room in the Galleria dell'Accademia from his position in front of Palazzo Vecchio, where he had stood since Michelangelo's time.  Remainder of the day is free to enjoy everything Italian. (B)

Saturday, October 18: Return Home

Important Note:
Due to the instability of the US Dollar and the rising cost of oil and fuel, Women Traveling Together reserves the right to apply a surcharge to the price of this tour.

Should a surcharge be necessary, Women Traveling Together will notify those travelers already signed up for the tour.  In the event that the surcharge is greater than 5% the traveler will have the option to pay the surcharge or to cancel their booking with a full refund.