Italian language course and holiday in Tuscany
| country: | Italy |
| location: | Tuscany |
| departures: | 2009: 3 Oct |
| price: | From £1050 (9 days) excluding flights, including half board accommodation. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Based in one of the most picturesque provincial capitals of Tuscany, this 9 day trip combines morning Italian lessons with afternoon guided visits to places of local interest, a cookery class with dinner to follow, a full day trip to the Cinque Terre and plenty of time for tutored food and wine tastings throughout the week! Lucca is famous as the birthplace of Puccini and has many historic churches, towers as well as city walls dating from the Renaissance period.
Homestay accommodation, single room, half board. Hotel accommodation available on request. Accompanying persons not doing Italian lessons pay just £900. Our bilingual tour leader will be with the group from start to finish.
Homestay accommodation, single room, half board. Hotel accommodation available on request. Accompanying persons not doing Italian lessons pay just £900. Our bilingual tour leader will be with the group from start to finish.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive in Lucca, transfer to homestay accommodation. Evening meal in a local trattoria with other holiday participants and our bilingual tour leader. Wine and coffee included. Short briefing meeting after dinner. |
| Day 2: | Guided orientation walk of Lucca to find locations of useful places such as the bank, post office and local shops. Rest of day free. |
| Day 3: | Italian language classes in the morning. Afternoon guided walk ‘Lucca from medieval to modern day’, including the Renaissance city walls, the Duomo, Tore Guinigi and other famous towers and churches. After the tour there will be a welcome party at the language school. |
| Day 4: | Italian language classes in the morning. Afternoon: Evaluating wine, compared wine tasting in a local enoteca. How to choose a wine. The label as source of information. How to use your senses to understand, interpret, and enjoy the wine. Discover your own wine preferences. |
| Day 5: | Italian language classes in the morning. Guided visit to the 16th century Villa Reale and its gardens. This is possibly the most spectacular of all the villas in the Lucca area, with extensive gardens with grottoes, summer houses, lakes, topiary and streams. We then go to a typical country bar to sample local food such as salami, cheese and olives. |
| Day 6: | Italian language classes in the morning. Guided trip to Villa Maionchi located in the hills outside Lucca. We will have a guided walk conducted by the owner around the estate and farm and then will have an early evening meal to taste their homemade produce including hams, salamis, olives, crostini and, of course, the estate’s own wine. |
| Day 7: | Italian language classes in the morning. Free time to explore Lucca and to go food shopping in one of the many delicatessens in the city. Late afternoon cookery class using fresh local ingredients and then we will eat the final results together for dinner. |
| Day 8: | Guided full day trip by train to the Cinque Terre on the Lugurian Coast. The Cinque Terre comprise 5 former fishing villages which cascade down to the sea from the cliffs and which are linked by a beautiful coastal path. We will walk along the path (approx 45 mins) and have a lunch stop on the way. Return to Lucca. Farewell drinks in a local bar |
| Day 9: | Morning departure after breakfast. End of trip. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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By working with local suppliers at all levels we try to ensure that money is going into local pockets as much as possible. All our language tutors, guides and cookery instructors are local people and they are treated and paid fairly. All food provided by homestay hosts is purchased locally and for our cookery classes we use food products with as little packaging as possible, and encourage cooking with local products.
Accommodation is provided by local homestay hosts which provides a personal and genuine cultural insight into the lives of local people. All meals are taken either at the homestay accommodation or at local restaurants and farms near Lucca. Transport is provided by a local bus company. We encourage learning about the country we are visiting, the local culture of the people we work with and the areas we pass through. In the Italian classes, our local teachers hold informal talks to discuss all aspects of local life. This helps understanding of the area and appreciation of the people who live there. By learning Italian, everyone should be able to communicate with local people, even at a basic level. In our office we use recycled paper where possible, and try to limit the amount of paper used and rubbish produced. We recycle whenever possible. We also make available our Responsible Tourism advice to all our clients. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |