Italy 101

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Day 1 - USA - Italy

Depart any US port for your trans-Atlantic flight to Milan, Italy. Meals and entertainment are aloft. Most US flights to Milan (MXP) arrive in the early morning between 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM. For those arranging their own flights, please try to arrange your flight so that you arrive within this range. The motor-coach will depart for Venice at approximately 11:00 AM. Alternatively, you can arrange your flight directly into Venice (VCE) and take a water taxi from the airport directly to the hotel. REMEMBER the tour ends in Rome; therefore arrange your flight from Rome (FCO) to the USA. We are most happy to arrange your flights for you or provide you with assistance to arrange your own flights. We can also arrange hotel accommodations and private transfers for those wishing to arrive early or stay longer in Italy.

Day 2 - Venice

We will be met by our driver and our deluxe motor-coach at Milan’s Malpensa

International Airport to begin our drive to the romantic city of Canals and Gondolas. After check in

and a brief period to freshen up we will begin an afternoon tour of the main Piazza, Europe’s finest

drawing room and most well known sites of Venezia. The city walking tour will bring us to such

places as Saint Mark’s Square, the Basilica, Il Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), the Rialto Bridge

and the Doges Palace. Tonight, dinner is (included) and overnight in Venice.

Day 3 - Venice/ The Islands

Venice seduces, Venice irritates, but Venice rarely disappoints! A golden fairy tale city floating on the sea, today we visit the Venetian Islands. L’IsoleVeneziane. Most tourists visit only the main island of Venice and never discover the ambience of the outer islands which make up the cluster of the Venetian Islands. We will begin with a boat tour of the Grand Canal, its one hundred marble palaces with their front doors on the waters and peppermint-striped posts for their watery vehicles. We will visit Murano, synonymous with glass, the most acclaimed of Venice’s industries. Burano – the Lace Island, where everything is painted in brightly colored miniature. Dinner is (included) and overnight in Venice.

Day 4- Florence

Today we leave the enchanting city of Venice for Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance. Upon our arrival in Florence, we will visit the Accademia to see Michelangelo’s famous David and “Prisoners in Stone”, then onto the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore, one of the largest Cathedrals in the world, the Baptistery, with its magnificent bronze doors and Piazza del Duomo, once the center of religious life in medieval times. We will also visit the Piazza della Signoria. Dinner in a local Florentine restaurant (included) with regional cuisine and overnight in Florence.

Day 5 – Florence/TUSCANY

This morning after a good night’s rest and breakfast, we will depart for the picturesque “Chiantigiana” the Chianti Wine Road in the hills of Tuscany. Our first stop today will be in an Olive Oil plant, “Frantolio Goccia d’Oro” for a short tour and tasting of today’s oil production. Then onto Monteriggioni, a little village in the hills of Tuscany, the magnificent walls, built during the first two decades of the 1200’s and immortalized by the great poet Dante Alighieri, and surrounded by 14 towers today almost intact. We will begin with a short guided tour of the village afterwards a wine tasting and light lunch (included) at a local “cantina”. The wines you will taste are renowned, originating from rich and luscious grapes produced from this land. You will truly enjoy soaking in the sun, the beauty and magnificence of this most treasured region of Italy, this “little bit” of paradise. Dinner (on your own) and overnight is in Florence.

Day 6 – Florence/Sorrento

This morning will be free to shop or explore a Florence a bit on your own. We will depart in the early afternoon to continue our journey southward, leaving Tuscany we drive through the regions of Umbria and Lazio and into the region of Campania. Our drive will become most picturesque as we enter Campania. Our final destination today will be one of the most romantic and picturesque regions of Italy, the Sorrentine peninsula. En route we will pass beneath the awesome and mysterious shadows of Mount Vesuvius, which in 79 AD, destroyed most of the area and created an entirely new coastline with its cataclysmic eruption. As we travel along the serpentine coastal road, hovering over the turquoise Mediterranean Sea called “La Sorrentina”, the views will be breathtaking. Dinner (included) and overnight is in Sorrento.

Day 7 -- Sorrento/Amalfi (Costiera Amalfitana)

Today after breakfast we will embark on one of the most memorable days of the entire trip, “La Costiera Amalfitana”, the Amalfi Coast Drive. Traveling south from the Bay of Sorrento to the Bay of Salerno along the Mediterranean, its time to experience the most spectacular and scenic coastal drives in all of Europe, if not the world! The 40 mile trek of cliff road consists of over 1000 curves and turns, each one with a new and fantastic view of the mountains which seem to lean down to kiss the crystal clear turquoise sea below. There will be panoramic stops along the way for photos - have your camera ready for this one!!! Our main stop today will be in Amalfi, a beautiful seaport city, once an ancient Empire, with its magnificent Arab/Norman Cathedral of Saint Andrew’s (9th - 12th Century). The cathedral houses the relic of the head of Saint Andrew taken in the sack of Constantinople in 1204. There will be some free time for shopping and meandering in this beautiful seaside village. Dinner (included) and overnight is in Sorrento.

Day 8 -- Sorrento/ Capri

Today will be a full day excursion to Capri,

the Isle of Lovers. Those of you who have never been there you will soon realize why it is so called

one of the most Romantic places in the world. We leave from the port of Sorrento by hydrofoil, about

a 20 minute crossing. We begin our tour with Capri — its streets lined with boutiques famous for

perfume making and lemon products of every sort imaginable. YES IT’S TRUE!!! Lemons on Capri grow

as large as grapefruits. And you haven’t lived until you’ve tried the “Limoncello”, lemon liquor so typical

of the area. Later we will continue to the summit of the rock — Anacapri. Here in Anacapri, where the streets

are lined with shopping amidst Roman Villas and beautiful garden paradises, you will have some free time.

Dinner (included) and overnight is in Sorrento.

Day 9 -- Rome

This morning we will depart the romantic city of Sorrento and head north for the Eternal City of Rome. Upon our arrival we will check into our hotel. Late this afternoon we will tour St. Peter’s Basilica, seat of the Roman Catholic Faith. Dinner will be (included) after the Basilica tour, followed by a Roma by Night tour of the city with a stop at Piazza Navonna, an artists haven. You will have some time to meander through the square and watch the artists at work or try one of the famous “tartufo” gelatos invented here. Overnight is in Rome.

Day 10 – Ancient & Monumental Rome

This afternoon we will continue our visit of Rome, visiting such sites as the Capitoline Hill overlooking the Roman Forum, Coliseum, the Pantheon and the Fountain of Trevi. Dinner (included) and overnight is in Rome.

Day 11-- ROMA / FREE DAY at LEISURE or OPTIONAL TOUR

Today will be your day to relax shop or re-visit some of the sites of Rome. Today breakfast

will be included and all other meals will be on your own. Rome is a very easy city to move

about. The mass transportation system and taxis are readily available. Our hotel is close to

the main train station, the hub for taxis, buses and metro lines. Romans are very

hospitable and always willing to assist, you need only ask. Your tour manager can also

assist with a walking map of the city and info on transportation. Alternatively, you may

want to join us on an excursion to a medieval walled village in south central Italy, about a

2 hour journey from Rome. There you enjoy the regional cuisine of the “Ciociaria” or Lazio

region of Italy. Lunch will be a full course meal in the quaint village of Lenola in the small

family owned “Hostaria ai Pozzi”. The restaurant, located in what was once a working farm,

now an “agriturismo” has been owned and operated by Salvatore and Rosanna since the

early 1990’s. All the produce are locally grown and meats are locally raised. The wines,

olives, cheeses, olive oil, cured meats etc. are prepared or produced by the owners and

their families. All the pastas are homemade on the premises. Dining at “I Pozzi” is truly a magnificent and memorable experience. You truly feel as though you are dining with family. There will be time to visit and explore the walled village and to take in some of the sights in this spectacular and hidden corner of Italy also known as the Ulysses Coast. The price for this “optional excursion” is available upon request. Time of departure from Rome to be announced.

Day 12 — Roma/USA

Today, we bid not farewell, but Arrivederci (see you again) to Roma as we transfer to Leonardo DaVinci Airport in Fiumecino. Upon boarding our flight homebound, not only will we be carrying many kilos of Italy in our luggage, but many memories of fun days, wonderfully interesting meals shared with friends, a bit more culture to add to our already cultured consciousness, but above all the recollection of an impressive and wonderful journey on the ITALIAN PENINSULA. Dinner aloft and overnight at HOME!!!