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Farm Cooking & Wine Long Weekend Tour in Tuscany
Check out of modern life and recharge your soul, as you visit farms and homes and cook and eat with friendly families in Tuscan hills and towns south west of Florence. Relax in an elegantly restored, three star farm inn in scenic hills near Castelfiorentino. Get to know the very hospitable owners. Relax in the gardens or by the swimming pool.
Visit three farms and learn Italian cooking with excellent home cooks and an innovative restaurant chef and experience every day life. Explore classic Tuscan towns like San Miniato, San Gimignano famous for Vernaccia wine and Volterra well known for its fine Etruscan museum. In the fall, take part in a real truffle hunt in the forest with a truffle hunter and her dog.
Includes:
- 3 nights accommodation with private bathroom
- daily breakfast
- 3 hands-on cooking classes
- 3 abundant lunches, 3 full menu dinners
- daily guided excursions
- round trip transfer to San Miniato and from Castelfiorentino train station
- taxes and service
Not Included:
- wine with meals
- transfer from Florence or Pisa airport to the inn at 20 Euros per person
3 Night Itinerary
Thursday
Private transfer from Castelfiorentino train station that’s on the railway line from Empoli and Siena.
Arrive from 5 pm onward with private transfer to a three star county inn in a stylishly restored 200 year old farm house that sits on a panoramic ridge with sweeping views.
Welcome dinner at home.
Friday
With your guide, explore Volterra, a fascinating 3000 year old hill town, famous for its Etruscan art and museum, alabaster as well as its Roman and Medieval history and art. Lunch in a typical restaurant in town.
Afternoon visit to an excellent winery for a tour and guided wine tasting of their best wines.
In the late afternoon, return to your farmhouse inn for a hands-on cooking school class with Chef Swan on historical and traditional Tuscan cuisine. Dine on your delicious creations like guinea fowl with figs or roast pork loin seasoned with sage, accented with a good bottle of Tuscan red wine.
Saturday
Morning hands-on cooking class by excellent home-cook Emanuela, based on traditional recipes and saffron specialties in her ancient home on the edge of San Gimignano. Lunch of your creations around her dining table.
Explore San Gimignano, famous for its medieval towers and white Vernaccia wine and lovely countryside. The beautifully preserved medieval centre has a variety of piazzas, churches with frescoes by Ghirlandaio (Michelangelo’s teacher) and Gozzoli, palaces and cafes where you sit back with a glass of Vernaccia and watch local life go by.
Dinner at your country inn. Another treat in store!
Sunday
Morning cooking class with Loredana at her organic farm in hills on hand-made pasta and mediterranean sauces. Lunch of your creations at the farmhouse.
Explore the pristine hill town of San Miniato. On the road between Pisa and Florence, San Minato was once home to emperors in the 12th century, so is steeped in history with its old palace, cathedral and narrow cobbled streets.
Departure with private transfer to San Miniato train station (on the Pisa to Florence line) around 5:00 p.m.
