Bella Italia – Girlfriends Get-Away in Tuscany

Montestigliano, Italy

September 24-October 5, 2012

From the hills of Tuscany to the Mediterranean – come discover the beauty of the hilltop towns to the spectacular villages of Cinque Terre on the sea. This new tour for Changing Gears Journeys will take your breath away!
Montestigliano is located in the Tuscan hills just south of Siena. It is in the heart of Chianti wine country, so the tour includes visits to two wineries – Dievole and Verrazzano. The Verrazzano winery produces an excellent Vin Santo and the best balsamic vinegar we have ever tasted. You will take day trips to Montepulciano, Pienza, Siena, Greve, San Gimignano, and Florence. There will also be a 2 day overnight trip to the Cinque Terre area with a stop at Lucca on the way back to Montestigliano. There will be an olive oil tasting and it may be possible to adopt an olive tree right at Montestigliano. You can also take part in a hands-on cooking class in the kitchen of our estate. On the final night of the tour, we will gather for a grand Tuscan dinner prepared by the chef of Montestigliano and served on the Grand Piazza!

Montestigliano is a working farm. The estate is composed of a group of 18th century houses and farm buildings which have been carefully restored to retain the original features common to Tuscan architecture, such as exposed beam ceilings, whitewashed walls and terra-cotta tile floors. The villa you will be staying in was the principal house on the estate. With its generous proportions and fine architectural features, the house still gives a feeling of nobility as it is furnished with many beautiful pieces of antique furniture and decorations. There is a large entrance hall, dining room, living room and a kitchen with a large open fireplace. The backdoor opens into a large garden filled with fruit trees and glorious views of the Tuscan hillside. The villa has 7 bedrooms with 4 bathrooms (2 of the bedrooms have sinks in the room). The immediate surroundings of the 2400 acre estate provide a glorious setting for hiking. There are 2 beautiful swimming pools for your use also.

Itinerary

Day 1: Pickup at Florence Airport. Antipasti party at Villa Donati, your home away from home in the heart of Chianti wine country.

Day 2: Montepulciano and Pienza. A guide will take you to a working winery just outside Montepulciano, followed by a walking tour of this wonderful hilltop town, home of the famous Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Then you will have lunch in Pienza, the birthplace of Pope Pius II, and a great Renaissance town.

Day 3: Day trip to Siena with a guide. Siena is defined by its Gothic architecture, built in a namesake shade of reddish brown. You will start your tour at the famous fan-shaped Piazza del Campo. Shopping is great here, especially ceramics and pottery.

Day 4: Travel over to the Cinque Terre area where you will spend 2 days. Cinque Terre means five lands and it is a series of villages clinging to a remote stretch of the Italian Riviera coastline.

Day 5: Walk between several Cinque Terre towns. Plenty of time for the beach and shopping.

Day 6: Depart the Cinque Terre area. Stop at Lucca for a few hours on way back to Montestigliano. Lucca is the only town in Italy entirely surrounded by walls. You can walk around the city on the wide shaded walkways atop the walls.

Day 7: Wine tasting at Dievole Winery. This winery is located in a valley close to our villa and is a producer of Chianti Classico wines. After the wine tasting, it is back to the villa for an olive oil tasting.

Day 8: All day in Florence with a guided walking tour of the city. Take in the spectacular Duomo and its orange-tiled dome, Florence’s most famous symbol. Great shopping for leather goods and clothes.

Day 9: Visit a local market and then back to the villa for a hands-on cooking class.

Day 10: Wine tour at Verrazzano Winery with stop at Greve. You will have lunch at the fabulous Castello di Verrazzano. After the wine tour, it is on to Greve, a pretty little village with an unusual triangular piazza lined with porticoes.

Day 11: San Gimignano, known as the City of Beautiful Towers, is a classic medieval walled hill town. Originally there were 72 towers, but now its 14 surviving medieval towers create a beautiful skyline visible from the surrounding countryside.

Day 12: Depart for home from Florence Airport