Travel to Italy with
October 11 - 21, 2010
Click here for the Gooseberries Italy brochure
Dear Friend,
Exciting news, and we want you to be among the first to know!
As a valued customer, you know that Gooseberries is all about fresh food, quality wines, and outstanding service that combine to give you a whole new concept in grocery shopping.
Now we are about to embark on something new – travel – and we have incorporated this same concept and philosophy of a different way of doing things into our plans.
We invite you to join us for a 2010 journey to a place where food and wine is the very
essence of life. We’re going to Italy, with a focus on the stunningly beautiful Tuscany
region. Our departure date is October 11, 2010.
Our journey begins with our overnight flight to the “Eternal City”, Rome, where we’ll spend our first two nights. If this is your first visit to Rome, you’ll not want to miss our optional “Classical Rome” tour, during which you’ll behold the Piazza Venezia, the Roman Forum, and Circus Maximus. At the renowned Colosseum, you’ll marvel at the ingenuity and scale of this world-famous structure. One more sight is a must…the beautiful Trevi Fountain, where legend says that if you toss a coin over you shoulder into the fountain, you’ll return to Rome someday!
Our welcome dinner in Rome will be the perfect beginning to our Italian dining experience,
complete with regional specialties, traditional opera music, and fine Italian wines.
Rome is just the prelude to our true destination – Tuscany. Traveling north from Rome, we’ll visit the medieval walled city of Assisi and its magnificent Basilica of Saint Francis. Continuing through the lovely Tuscan countryside, we’ll arrive at the famous spa resort town of Montecatini.
Here is what sets our tour apart from others that have you constantly packing and
unpacking, and checking in and out of hotels every day or two. Montecatini will be our
home for the next six nights. Unpack and relax!
At Montecatini, we’ll enjoy a blend of free time to explore this lovely town on our own and day trips to some of the most interesting and picturesque places in the region. Here are a few examples:
- We’ll drive through the low-lying hills and olive groves to Siena and visit a family owned leather shop, then take a walking tour through the narrow Gothic streets of the town.
- At the hilltop village of San Gimignano, we’ll view magnificent vistas overlooking the Tuscan vineyards, then visit a local winery to sample a selection of the wines that have made the region so famous.
- In Florence, we’ll visit the Academy Gallery, home to Michelangelo’s famous statue of David. This will be just a part of your day in the city known as the “Cradle of Italian Renaissance.”
- A return trip to Florence focuses on the amazing Pitti Palace and its collection of the works of famous artists such as Rubens, Raphael and Caravaggio.
- An optional excursion takes you to Pisa to see the world-famous Leaning Tower, and to one of the most charming old towns in Tuscany, Lucca.
While we’ll enjoy fine Italian cuisine and wine throughout the tour, no meal will be better remembered than the dinner prepared by a special celebrity chef – you! We’ll don souvenir aprons and enter the kitchen of a local restaurant for a hands-on lesson in the secrets of traditional Tuscan cuisine. Then, we’ll sit down and enjoy the excellent four-course dinner that you have helped to prepare! Following dessert, you’ll receive recipes for the dishes prepared so you can show off your new Italian cooking skills to friends back home!
Following our stay in Montecatini, we’ll return to Rome for our final night, including the opportunity for an optional tour of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica.
Our 11-day Discover Tuscany tour is priced at just $3,599 per person, double occupancy complete (single travelers add just $660 – limited availability) and includes the following:
- Roundtrip economy-class airfare from Chicago*
- Arrival and departure airport transfers in Rome (if group flights are included in your package)
- First-class hotel accommodations
- 14 meals: 9 breakfasts, 5 dinners
- Sightseeing by deluxe touring coach as specified in the itinerary
- Services of a professional Collette Vacations tour manager
- Expert local guides
- Complete pre-departure information and assistance
- Complimentary travel accessories
- Services of our Cruise & Tour escorts
Not included in the price:
- Sightseeing, tours or activities listed as optional
- Meals not listed in the itinerary
- Phone calls, laundry or other personal expenses
- Passport-related expenses**
- Travel insurance
All arrangements for our Discover Tuscany tour are being coordinated by Cruise & Tour, which is in its 35th year of international travel planning. We have traveled with Cruise & Tour and know company owners Peggy and Dennis Crull personally. We’re delighted to tell you that the Crulls have agreed to accompany us on the tour and oversee every aspect of our trip, so we’re in the best of hands.
We are delighted to be your hosts for this trip. Our tour is limited to the comfortable capacity of one touring coach. If you have questions or would like to hold your place, call Cruise & Tour at 1.800.383.3131. An early sellout is possible, so call today.
We hope you’ll join us as we…Discover Tuscany!
Warm regards,
Steve & Arlene Spiegelhoff
P.S. While we expect that most of our travelers will come from this area, your family and friends in other parts of the country are welcome to join you. Cruise & Tour can coordinate travel from anywhere in the USA.
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