The Sweet Life
The Italians call it La Dolce Vita...and "The Sweet Life" it
is! 
Join
The Shaw Brothers, internationally known singers/songwriters,
as they experience the essence of
Italy
- October 3-10, 2007!
In
addition to exploring the wonderful sights of Italy, we have
arranged some very
special events just for our group:
-
Unleash your inner chef in a gourmet cooking class, with dinner
including the dishes we have prepared during the lesson! -
Witness how olives are harvested and pressed for olive oil!
-
Enjoy a wine tasting and lunch with the winemaker at Verrazzano Castle!
-
Visit a local producer of ham & salami in Bologna!
Following dinner on two evenings, the Shaw Brothers will entertain us with their own unique blend of traditional & contemporary music interspersed with humor, poems and stories!
We hope that you can join us on this extraordinary adventure!
Click here to learn more about the Shaw Brothers!
A trip to Italy sometimes feels like traveling
through a museum, and sometimes like living
in a dream. What other country has three cities as captivating and culturally
important, and yet so utterly different, as Rome, Florence, and Venice?
You
will have the opportunity to visit all three!
With a history stretching from
the dawn of time through the Roman Empire, the middle Ages, the Renaissance, and up to the new
Europe...Italy offers it all!
You will find the Italian people warm and
welcoming and ready to help
ease you into LA DOLCE VITA!
Your Italian adventure begins as you depart your hometown and
take an
overnight flight across the Atlantic or in Rome where you join our group.
Wednesday, October 3—Board your overnight transatlantic flight.
Thursday
- October 4 -- Arrive Rome!
Upon your arrival in
Rome, Italy
you will join our group and realize that there is no better way to explore our world! We will
be met with a warm welcome from our tour director and
will board the
motorcoach for a transfer to our hotel. After some time to rest and get
settled in our rooms, we will meet for a night tour of Rome, including some of
the city's fountains and majestic squares: Piazza Barberini, Triton
Fountain, Via Veneto, Villa Borghese, and Trevi Fountain. Our evening will
finish with a meal in a typical Roman restaurant with wine and music included.
(D)
Friday -
October 5 -- Rome - Florence
After a restful sleep and great breakfast we will take a tour of
this
Eternal City of Rome,
where both glorious
success and shameful defeat have left visible traces throughout.
Sightseeing with your local guide starts with a
visit to the VATICAN
MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo's ceiling
paintings and The Last Judgment.
Begin your visit with the Corte della Pigna where you will be introduced to the history and beauty of the Sistine Chapel.
As you continue your tour you will see the hall featuring Greco-Roman
sculptures, the Hall of Tapestries and the Maps Gallery, a 120-foot long
gallery, hung with interesting ancient maps. The completion of the tour
occurs in the Sistine Chapel, the Pope’s official private chapel where election
conclaves are held. We will then
continue on to monumental ST. PETER'S SQUARE and BASILICA. From there we
will proceed across the Tiber for a stroll along the Via Sacra in the ROMAN
FORUM, where Roman Legions marched in triumph, and will visit the
COLOSSEUM and hear about gladiatorial combats.
Its monumental
size and grandeur as well as its practical and efficient organization for
producing spectacles and controlling the large crowds make it one of the great
architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans. This afternoon we
will travel on to Florence. (BB, D)
Saturday
- October 6 — Florence
This morning we will enjoy a city sightseeing tour of Florence, a
city of artistic wealth and beauty and the birthplace of the Renaissance!
Our guided sightseeing includes the magnificent CATHEDRAL, Giotto's Bell Tower,
the Romanesque Baptistery of St. John with the exquisite bronze doors by
Ghiberti (referred to as “The Gates of Paradise” by Michelangelo), and
sculpture-studded Signoria Square. Next we visit the ACADEMY OF FINE
ARTS,
one of the best-known museums in Florence. Founded in 1784, it hosts a
collection of sculptures and paintings. One of the most important works on
display at the museum is “David” by Michelangelo (completed around 1504), and
moved there in 1873. The gallery is also home to another remarkable work
by Michelangelo, the unfinished piece entitled “Slaves”. There are large
picture galleries as well as other works of sculpture to be seen. This
afternoon we will drive to
"Azienda Agricola Marzalla", near
Pistoia, where we will
visit an estate producing olive oil
& wine. An English speaking guide will explain all secrets of olive growing, oil
making etc to us! We will then visit a "coppaia", the place where the oil
just pressed is kept and will have dinner at a nearby local restaurant.
After dinner we
will have
a great show by the Shaw Brothers! (B,
D)
Sunday
- October 7 — Florence -- Siena & Chianti Excursion
Today we will visit
VERRAZZANO
CASTLE. Traveling along the picturesque
wine road, its silhouette can be seen in all its ancient grandeur on the
horizon, lined at regular intervals by the characteristic cypresses that create
the road that leads you into one of the most famous and typical wineries in the
whole of Tuscany.
Here we will enjoy a WINE
TASTING and hear about the fine art of blending four types of grapes
to obtain the famous Chianti Classico. Also included is a special lunch
with the winemaker.* This afternoon we travel to Siena for a brief
orientation tour and later today you will have an opportunity to unleash your
inner chef as we attend a special gourmet COOKING
CLASS and prepare dinner for our group with the dishes we cooked during the
lesson!
As we return to Florence notice
the ocre or terracotta hue that the streets and roofs take when seen from the
various panoramic view points above the city.
(BB, L, D)
Monday,
October 8 — Florence -- Venice Area
We depart
Florence this morning and make a stop in Bologna where we will visit a local
producer of ham &/or salami (samples included!)
Bologna is a university town with a reputation as Italy's
culinary center.
Later we will take the relatively short drive to Venice, a city of myth and magic, a city of indolence and pleasure, a
world half real and half dream, attracting with its picturesque carnival,
colorful pageants, musical festivals, theaters, gambling houses and visitors
from all over the world. Upon arrival in Venice check into your hotel and enjoy
some time to relax, settle in and do some exploring on your own before meeting
our group for dinner. This
evening we will enjoy another
great show by the Shaw Brothers!
(B, D)
Tuesday,
October 9 —Venice
It's
really more like a marvelous film set than a real live city, with its criss-crossing
canals, gondolas and water buses, arched bridges, palaces and little quiet
piazzas. Our included tour starts with a boat ride and is followed by a
visit to ST. MARK'S BASILICA. Admire the beautiful
‘Campanile’, it’s simple lines contrasting sharply with the sumptuous décor of
the church and the Clock Tower whose famous ‘Moors’ have been striking the hours
for over 500 years. Next visit DOGES PALACE, or Palazzo Ducale, a Gothic
palace, which was the residence of the Doge up until the fall of the Venetian
Republic in I797. Enjoy the splendid Renaissance paintings by Titian,
Veronese and Tintoretto. Also watch Venetian glass blowers fashion their
delicate objects as they did centuries ago. Don't miss out on the optional
gondola trip, gliding along the picturesque canals with a local troubadour to
serenade you. Tonight we will enjoy dinner with the group in our hotel as we prepare to say Arrivederci to charming Italy. (B, D)
Wednesday, October 10 -- We will transfer to the airport for our flight back to the U. S. with many fond memories of our time together in enchanting Italy! (B)
Included in Tour:
Transportation: Motorcoaches are fully air-conditioned everywhere while touring.
Hotels: Accommodations will be provided in superior tourist-class hotels, or best available tourist-class. Twin-bedded rooms with private bath or shower, based on double occupancy. Hotel taxes, service charges, state and local taxes, tips to baggage porters and hotel staff are all included in the tour prices.
Meals: 6 Buffet breakfasts (B); 1 Lunch (L), wine included; 6 Dinners (D), wine included.
Sightseeing: Sightseeing as outlined in the itinerary with inside visits (including admission charges) shown in UPPER CASE in the tour description. Sightseeing with local guides where applicable.
Tour Director: The services of a professional, multilingual Tour Director will be provided throughout.
NOT INCLUDED IN TOUR PRICE:
Airport taxes (where
applicable), excess baggage, meals not included in itinerary, all items of a
personal nature such as laundry, cleaning, telephone, telex or fax expenses,
beverages including tea and coffee (except at breakfast and at hotel dinners),
wines (except where listed), liquors, soft drinks, etc. and tips to the
motorcoach driver, tour director and local guides.
Please note: Airfare to Italy has been listed as an option as many
times people like to use their miles, etc.
Call today! Space is limited!
Click here for pricing and
reservations (printable form)
Or.....Call Lynette for more information and to reserve your
place now at
1-800-584-6724
©2007 Traveling Troubadour, L. L. C.