IT'S ALL ABOUT ITALY
Exclusive Tours In Italy For 2013
TravelOnly and Esploritalia Tours Invite You To Tour Italy In 2013
Exclusive to our tours is the distinction to be guided by an expert sommelier, Antonio Mauriello, founder and owner of DiVino Wine Studio in Ottawa. He is a past director of the National Capital Sommelier Guild, and currently a sommelier consultant to the Italian Trade Commission and the Italian Embassy. He is an instructor with several wine & culinary associations and schools in Canada and Italy, such as the Algonquin College Sommelier program in Ottawa and La Mia Pasta in Tuscany, Italy. Antonio also serves as a restaurant consultant, a wine columnist and a broadcaster. On December 6, 2009, Antonio received the prestigious Wine Person of the Year award honoured by the National Capital Sommelier Guild.
Escorting our language tours we are honoured to have Stefania Borrelli join us.
Stefania, an Italian Teacher for Foreigners and the founder of Esploritalia - was born and raised in Rome. She achieved her studies in Modern Foreign Languages and Literature at the University “La Sapienza” in Rome. She achieved her BA at the University of Ottawa, where she studied linguistics, phonetics, second language teaching, French, Spanish and German. In Rome she received the Certificate of Italian Language Training for teachers, at the Centre of Italian language and Culture “Torre di Babele”, officially authorized by the Italian Ministry of Education and one of the founding members of the Association of Italian Language Schools in Italy. She has been teaching Italian since 1994 and has attained great prestige as an Italian instructor for foreigners in Rome by providing tailor-made classes to the Diplomatic Corp of 19 Embassies, introducing newly arrived Diplomats to the beautiful and rich Italian language and culture. Some of her clients in Rome included the Ambassadors of Canada, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Japan and Malaysia.
Come join us in 2013 as we offer 3 exclusive VIP tours immersed in Italian food, wine and culture. We can also help you customize your own private tours or assist with any travel related products in Italy
WALK AND LEARN ITALIAN - A SENSORY JOURNEY
Oct 1- Oct 8, 2013 - 8 days, 7 nights Tour # ESP2013-02
A Sensory Journey beyond imagination
This unique tour combines ‘hands-on’ language lessons in the most spectacular Italian sites as background, relaxing spa, music concerts and a delightful itinerary of taste. Learn how to communicate with locals, learn about history and culture, discover local cuisine and wine.
Rome, Spello, Torgiano, Assisi (Umbria), Chianciano (Tuscany), Amalfi coast, Ischia island, Rome
The tour conveniently starts and ends in Roma and does not include air travel so you can easily extend your stay to visit the marvelous capital, or choosing enjoying one of our Walking Tours or Daily Activities .
DAY 1
ROMA
Meeting of participants at the Hotel in Rome. Our cozy 4-star hotel is strategically located in the historical downtown.
The trip officially starts with a welcome dinner focused on an overview of the tour program.
DAY 2 – First Italian Class
ROMA
Cultural walk in the Eternal City. Visit to some hidden places …unknown by most locals.
Enjoying good homemade food, the best gelato or coffee espresso in the heart of Rome … while starting to practice your Italian with locals. . . It’s just the beginning of an exciting adventure!
DAY 3 – Second Italian Class
ROMA-TORGIANO-ASSISI
Everyone should pack up, have breakfast, check out and be ready to leave by 09:00 for a 2-hour scenic drive to Umbria. First stop in Torgiano.
Torgiano, only 30 km from Perugia, the Capital of Umbria, was the first winemaking area in Umbria to obtain the DOC mark (Denomination of Origin) in 1968. One of the most inventive and progressive winemakers of Torgiano, Giorgio Lungarotti, and his wife Maria Grazie, created the Wine Museum in the early 1970’s: a must-see for all the tourists and wine lovers. Of course, it we’ll be part of our tour together with the Olive Oil Museum, always an initiative of Lugarotti foundation.
Only 30 minutes drive and we are in Assisi , beautiful medieval town, with its delightful narrow alleyways and streets, superb views of the Umbrian countryside and fountain-splashed piazzas: undoubtedly one of Italy’s finest architectural masterpieces. We will visit the stunning three-level Basilica di San Francesco built in the 13th c. to house the body of St. Francis of Assisi (most beloved of all saints for the Italians) and decorated with 10, 000 square meters of the most splendid frescoes of the late Gothic/early Renaissance. As for shopping . . .if you are looking for quality leather goods, a variety of ceramic pottery, embroidered fabrics and lace, good olive oil, and plenty of clothing. . . Assisi is for you.
A five-star Resort&Spa, a17th century building – property of Lungarotti family - will be our hotel for the first night in Umbria, situated within the medieval town centre of Torgiano. It offers an intriguing charm of an aristocratic period country house: it will be a small journey-within-a-journey for an unforgettable travel experience.
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Relaxing and unwinding, in an oasis of beauty and harmony; immersed in the quiet swimming pools or in the tranquil atmosphere of the garden with century-old olive trees.
A place where everything evokes grapes and wine offers as well winetherapy treatments: wine not only as a pleasure for the palate but also a precious ally for heart, health, life.
DAY 4 – Third Italian Class
SPELLO – CHIANCIANO – TORGIANO
After breakfast we drive to Spello, where sights from more than three millenia can be found ! It incorporates an extraordinary blend of Roman, Early Christian, medieval and Renaissance architecture. Some of Italy’s best preserved city walls, many of them Roman, some medieval, are situated here. Lunch or dinner in one of the best local restaurant with panoramic view, to enjoy some of Umbrian specialties: the traditional pastas of Spello, such as taglierini (thin, ribbon-shaped) and strozzapreti with porcini mushrooms or trufles … and the famous Sagrantino wine.
Chianciano, the little Tuscan village, close to Montepulciano, will be our next stop. The so-called “Town of Well-being”, surrounded by hills with woods of oak, beechwood and chestnut, is considered no doubt among the finest health resorts in Europe with its water, and enormous parks.
Its spas are famous from Etruscan time.Of course in our tour we cannot miss a visit to the The Sensory Spa, a true Thermal Temple, which integrates state-of-the-art architecture and technology with the most ancient wellness practices and traditions. A unique experience to regain the harmony of your senses: swimming pool with whirlpool, saunas, Turkish bath, beauty mud treatments, chromotherapy, aromatherapy, and much more.
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DAY 5 – Fourth Italian Class
AMALFI COAST – RAVELLO
Everyone should pack up, have breakfast, check out and be ready to leave by 09:00. The pearls of Mediterranean Sea are waiting for us!
John Steinbeck rhapsodized in 1953, “a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there but becomes beckoningly real after you are gone. Amalfi Coast seem to belong solely to the angels in their otherworldly beauty. When you visit Costiera Amalfitana you cannot help succumb to its transcendental nature. Surrender to its beauty and be seduced. Sublime combination of peace and spectacular beauty has attracted painters and poets, musicians and film stars: DH Lawrence and Richard Wagner all found inspiration here. . .It was in Ravello – the Town of Music – our first stop in Amalfi Coast , where Wagner wrote part of his opera Parsifal .
We wanted to choose the best for our guests: a 4 star hotel with a stunning panoramic view on the divine coast. Overlooking the beautiful Gulf of Salerno sea. What a better place to have an Italian class.
DAY 6 – Fifth Italian Class
ISCHIA ISLAND – POSITANO
After breakfast we take the ferry-boat and in few minutes we will be to another jewel of the coast. Ischia‘s history is as rich and as varied as its climate and natural properties, beginning with the Greeks, who colonised the island in the eighth century B.C. In 6 A.D., after his visit to Capri, the emperor Augustus, desperate to obtain the Island, swapped it with Naples for Ischia. The list of invaders is daunting . . .The Talended Mr. Ripley and Cleopatra were filmed on the island.
The island of Ischia, in the Bay of Naples, has long been a refuge for artists, musicians, writers and screen personalities. Immediately after the second world war William Walton, one of the greatest English composers of the twentieth century,came to live on Ischia with his Argentinian wife Susana, and over the years they entertained in their property many illustrious guests, including Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and Maria Callas. We will visit this spectacular, hidden Paradise: the Garden for Nature, Art and Music lovers. The Greek Theatre dominates the upper garden, with audience seating cut into the slope of the hillside and a stage that overlooks the panorama of the Bay of Forio. It is in this evocative theatre, surrounded by China roses and aromatic herbs, that the summer season of Youth Orchestra Concerts takes place.
As we go back to the Coast, a visit to Positano will offer thousand opportunities for shopping: walking along the narrow little streets of the little town “blesseds by Gods”, one can’t resist the charm of the many beautiful shops where you can find the famous handmade sandals and embroidered tablecloths and dresses or wonderful ceramic pottery!
The famous Auditorium “New Energy” designed by Oscar Niemeyer is located just besides our hotel. What a nice coincidence! It’s LifeStyle Lounge Bar is not just a bar, but an elegant and unique place to meet, linger over a good glass of wine, attend cultural events, music, food and wine, enjoying at the same time, a breathtaking view over the landscape of Amalfi Coast.
DAY 7 – Sixth Italian Class
AMALFI – RAVELLO
Our tour continues to Amalfi: another pearl of the coast. A lot of time to relax! Everyone is free to walk in the town and going for shopping.
DAY 8 – ROMA – End of the tour
Everyone should pack up, have breakfast, check out and be ready to leave by 09:00. In about 3 hours drive we will be back to Rome, packed with wonderful memories . . . !
$2,950 + HST ($500 single supplement)
Registration Deadline: July 15, 2013
Minimum to run: 8 people, Maximum 12
More details to come.
Not included in the Tour is:
- Air transportation
- Transfers to and from where the tour originates and ends as specified in the program.
- Any item of service or personal nature.
- Travel insurance, cancellation and health insurance.
Travel documents needed
- A valid passport is required.
TRAVELONLY & ESPLORITALIA TOURS - ITALY 2013 - Exclusive VIP Tours
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