In booking the arrangements for a wonderful trip to Tuscany for three women and myself, Gina at Villa Vita International (Phoenix, AZ; 866/590-8181) was most helpful.
We stayed for a week, Oct. 12-19, 2011, at Il Borgo di Vila Bossi-Pucci (Via Romita 2/a, Loc. Montagnana, Monstespertoli, 50025, Firenze, Italy; UK phone +44 [0] 203 006 4980), about 24 kilometers southwest of Florence. The villa grounds overlook a valley and have walking paths, a swimming pool and a library.
Il Borgo is a group of apartments, some privately owned, others run by the Il Borgo management. They range in size from one to three bedrooms, and each has a kitchen/living area, bathroom and balcony. Our group stayed in two 2-bedroom apartments.
We’d booked a 7-day program called “Lessons of Tuscany.” At €1,850 (near $2,300) per person (plus we each paid $500 to get our own room), we had the apartment, breakfasts, dinners at family-owned restaurants in the area, daily sightseeing with a driver, a cooking lesson and a wine-tasting.
Fresh rolls, meats and coffee were delivered each morning. Around 9 a.m., Danielle would drive us to, usually, some small village for about 45 minutes, then to a town like Pisa, Pienza or Lucca. We would arrange to meet later.
Arriving back at the villa, Allesandro (the manager) would be waiting with goodies, like candy. There was always wine for our afternoon happy hour.
Around 7-8 p.m., Danielle would drive us to dinner, where we could order anything on the menu. A 4-course dinner was too much, so we started splitting some things.
At week’s end, we said good-bye to Danielle when he dropped us off at the Grand Hotel Minerva (Piazza Santa Maria Nevella 16, 50123 Florence; phone +39 055 27230, fax 268281) in Florence for a 4-night stay, Oct. 19-23. The cost was $600-$700 per person.
Our guide here, Giovanna Bossi Rosenfeld (phone +39 335 678 18 31), took us to the Uffizi, the Accademia and some Jewish sites. She was excellent.
Another outstanding private tour was one of off-the-beaten-track sites with Freya Middleton. Her tour was filled with interesting facts.
I didn’t keep my receipts, but I know that our meals, shopping and tours in Florence totaled about $1,000. Including $1,083 for airfare, Washington Dulles/Frankfurt/Florence, we each spent about $6,000 for 12 days.
BARBARA CAPLAN
Rockville, MD