Italian Connection | 1.800.462.7911 | www.italian-connection.com
Great Escapes
Our Cooking Great Escapes celebrate Italy's glorious culinary traditions and feature cooking classes, wine tastings and food-related tours. Learn to taste food like an Italian, discover the hidden corners of town where the locals go, and cook with fresh regional ingredients. These short tours may be part of an independent trip or linked to one of our scheduled group departures.
Click below for details:
Cooking and Tuscan wine tasting in the heart of Florence.
Minimum 2 people, available Mon-Fri all year except August, Christmas and New Year period.
Day One: Morning transfer from Florence train station to your lovely centrally located 4-star hotel. Check-in and time at leisure. Lunch with a convivial chef who will guide you through a classic Tuscan pranzo. Afternoon visit to a wine cellar and guided tasting of 4 Tuscan wines.
Day Two: Meet your guide for a walking tour of the colorful food market and rub elbows with the locals as you pick the freshest seasonal ingredients for today's cooking lesson. Stroll to a historic palazzo where you prepare lunch with a local cook, taking time to quaff appropriate Tuscan wines with each course.
Day Three: Transfer to the Florence train station. Arrivederci!
Price*: €1130 Euro ($1795 USD/CAD, £895 GBP, $1895 AUD) per person. Includes 2 nights accommodation in double occupancy 4-star hotel in town centre, daily buffet breakfast, transfers, meals and activities as per program.
Cook and explore the coast from the luxury of Positano.
Minimum 2 people, available Mon-Fri, April-November, except August.
Day One: Transfer from Naples to the dramatically beautiful Amalfi Coast, with a stop for a tasting of the locally-made mozzarella di bufala. Check-in to your 4-star hotel in the centre of the flower-filled town of Positano. The rest of the day is at leisure to explore the town.
Day Two: Morning transfer to our cooking venue, located in the hills above town. Enjoy a hands-on cooking lesson with the chef of a well-known restaurant, using the best local ingredients, including tart fresh lemons you can pick from their trees. After a leisurely lunch with plenty of local wine, drift back to town and your 4-star haven.
Day Three: Choose your activity today: Take the ferry to Capri and explore this beautiful and romantic island on your own. Lunch, in one of our favorite spots, is included. Or, tour the Amalfi Coast with a private car and driver. Visit Ravello, famous for its magnificent panoramic gardens, and stop in Amalfi for a stroll before returning to Positano. Dinner tonight in an intimate ristorante where you dine on delectable fresh fish with a view overlooking the sea.
Day Four: Transfer to Naples. Arrivederci!
Price*: 1380 Euro ($2195 USD/CAD, £1095 GBP, $2315 AUD) per person. Includes 3 nights accommodation in double occupancy 4-star hotel in Positano, daily buffet breakfast, transfers, meals and activities as per program.
Rustic to Sublime. Traditional breads & cheeses, Sicily's top chef.
Minimum 6 people, available Mon-Fri all year except August, Christmas and New Year period.
Day One: Meet in Catania and transfer to a converted dairy farm, our cooking headquarters near Ragusa, where we'll be greeted by our chefs. We'll prepare the rustic pasta and breads that are made from the locally grown hard-wheat flour, as well as seasonal dishes based on the freshest produce. Lunch is complemented by an excellent Nero d'Avola wine. Transfer to the lovely Baroque town of Ragusa, and check into our centrally located 3-star inn. Take the evening passeggiata through the beautiful piazza, then dine with the locals at a favorite trattoria.
Day Two: Watch the preparation of ricotta from this morning's milk, followed by a tasting of Sicily's amazing array of cheeses, including the award-winning Ragusano. Each cheese will be complemented by an appropriate Sicilian wine. In the afternoon we head to the best pastry shops in Ragusa, and sample the creamy cannoli and tramp through Modica, in search of the best dark chocolate. This evening we move from rustic to sublime as we dine in a renowned ristorante feasting on a dinner prepared by Sicily's top chef Ciccio Sultano. Each exquisite course will be enhanced by a Sicilian wine, finishing with a sweet zibibbo, perfumed with the soul of Sicily.
Day Three: Transfer to Catania. Arrivederci!
Price*: 1130 Euro ($1795 USD/CAD, £895 GBP, $1895 AUD) per person. Includes 2 nights accommodation double occupancy in 3-star inn, transfers, meals, and activities as per program.
*Our prices are guaranteed in all currencies, with no surcharge for currency fluctuations.
Don't see what you are looking for? Want a longer trip?
We can customize a Great Escape just for you!
E-mail us at: info@italian-connection.com
