A Friend in Italy (August 2009)
God bless the day that Marianne found Fernando and Rosetta on the internet in the spring. I, without knowing it, had stumbled upon them via the website for their B & B Bella Magione in Magione, Umbria, Italy a month before. Their ad claimed custom tours to suite your specific wishes and desires. Great. Sad for them that I had a hell of a lot of wishes and desires that I had coveted for a long time in my heart. Everything I had seen from the time I could remember, I wanted to see and experience.
Marianne just knew that this was the way for us to get to know Italy before we ever thought of striking out on our own. She was impressed by the fact that this Fernando would drive us, and a group of up to eight, anywhere in central Italy. Rosetta, his wife, cooked dinners and would even take guest to the weekly market and an olive oil mill. However, as Marianne was quick to point out, I did not come cheap—about $5,000 a week for two. We started to talk about a trip in mid-June of 2010. She thought they might already be booking for that time and pushed for me to write. I believed that she was right and I eventually emailed them in early June.
The response to our first inquiry was: Conferma del messaggio inviato a <info@italyescortedtour.info> alle 04/06/2009 6.40 Il messaggio è stato visualizzato nel computer del destinatario alle 04/06/2009 12.22 Okay. Italian. I thought I could decipher it: the message about a visit via the computer was received on June, 4, 2009. What it didn’t say was: you have a place to stay. Oh, I see, this auto-response gets kicked-out every time you enquire to most places.
The next day Fernando wrote:
Dear David, thank you for your kind request ! We will get back to you with our tour suggestions for you as soon as possible. Saluti dall'Italia, Fernando.
Score! A week went by, then 10 days. On June 14 Fernando wrote:
Dear David,
thanks again for your kind request for 2010 and sorry if we have taken some days before to send you our information.. we are in this period every day busy with tours.
If what you are looking for is experiencing Italy more as insiders rather than as tourists, it will be our pleasure to get you into the genuine Italian way of living and treat you with all that's enjoyable of our country.
I'll personally escort you through some of the most beautiful Italian sceneries and share with you some historical information, fine food and wine, while Rosetta will spoil you with the traditional dishes of Central Italy...
To have look into our suggestions, budget and booking terms for your trip in Italy please click on Mr David Jones' tour print a copy of it and let us know what you think about.
Saluti dall'Italia
Fernando
I quickly clicked on the link with my name on it and found a web page devoted just to my trip!
SUN: Arrival between Tuscany and Umbria. We will pick you up in Rome airport in the morning and transfer to our Villa. If you are not too tired, after lunch we can have a tour along the way. Relax and Welcome Dinner… Antipasti of Umbria and Tuscany and local wines.
MON: Siena and the Senese Countryside (Tuscany) Breakfast: the "Crostata di Marmellata" hand made by Rosetta. Siena: you will see one of the world’s most unique piazzas del Campo and visit the precious Duomo. Cheese tasting. The heart of the Senese countryside is perfect landscape of enchanting hillsides. Dinner in our villa with a coutryside menu of Tuscany and Umbria…
TUE: Assisi and Spello (Umbria) Breakfast: the "Torcolo Umbro", hand-made by Rosetta. Assisi with its amazing ensemble of masterpieces, such as the Basilica of Saint Francis with Giotto’s and Cimabue’s frescos, represents a unique example of city sanctuary. Lunch in a typical trattoria. Spello, a charming town near Assisi. Dinner in our Villa: "Umbricelli al pomodoro", hand-made pasta.
WED: Gubbio and Perugia (Umbria) Breakfast: the "Ciaramicola", typical local cake. Gubbio: one of the most beautiful medieval towns in Europe, perfectly preserved. Lunch in a typical trattoria and in the afternoon visit of Perugia, the main town of Umbria and promenade in the shopping area. Dinner in our villa: will taste the "minestrone" and “arrosto al forno”
THU: Caprese Michelangelo and La Verna (Tuscany) Breakfast: the "Torta di mele", hand-made by Rosetta. Shopping in the open market in Magione with Rosetta. In the morning a mystic moment for your soul at the Sanctuary of La Verna on St. Francis' tracks. Lunch in a typical Tuscan trattoria at Caprese Michelangelo: Michelangelo’s native village. Dinner in our Villa… we will taste Italian Pizza!
FRI: LakeTrasimeno and Cortona (Umbria & Tuscany) Breakfast: the "torta al cocco e cioccolato", hand-made by Rosetta. Guided visit with Rosetta at an oil mill and extra virgin olive oil tasting at our villa with bruschetta and wine. After lunch Cortona the town of the descendants of Dardanus from Troy, now modern day Greeks… setting of the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun”… Farewell Dinner
SAT: Departure or Transfer to Rome Airport: it takes about 2 and a half hours from my place to Roma Fiumicino.
We were overwhelmed and suddenly full of emotions. Almost everything we possibly could have wanted was in this package. Well, at least I was. Marianne was just happy he responded. As I examined the itinerary more closely, I realized I didn’t know some of the places Fernando had scheduled. I also didn’t see places I had originally suggested to him. Places like Orvieto, Spoleto, and the Tuscan triumvirate—Montalcino, Pienza, and Montepulciano. I most certainly didn’t know places like Spello and Gubbio and I wondered why he hadn’t taken my first suggestions into consideration. I thought better of just firing off an ill-conceived email that would strain a young relationship. It took several days for me to craft an email that I hoped would not offend our future hosts.
Dear Rosseta and Fernando:
Thank you so much for getting back to us. Marianne (my wife) and I think the tour package that you have put together looks wonderful. There are a few things on our “wish list” that we have always wanted to do and are not listed. That being said, we understand if tour packages cannot be changed. Please, I hope you don’t take offense if we have a few requests if our week with you is flexible.
First, we could be in Rome as early as June 13, 2010--more information to follow later. There are so many things we would love to see and experience, but time is a factor. Just sitting by the pool at your villa, would be great. Also, Marianne has some mobility problems.
I am an amateur painter (want to sketch & watercolor while there) and want to see the art, architecture, and the country. Marianne also wants to see museums, find fabric, and shop. We love live music, theatre, opera, eating and wine. Cooking lessons with Rosseta would be wonderful. Wine tasting and seeing the process of wine making also interests us. We are especially interested in the wines of Montalcino (brunello) and Montepulciano (vino nobile), and your suggestions, of course. We are curious about Pisa and Lucca, but not in high tourist season (?).
Fernando’s Tour with Jones’ Wish List:
SUNDAY--Perfect (piu espresso, per favore!)
MONDAY--Siena--Wonderful! Is wine tasting in Chianti possible this day?
TUESDAY--Our Umbria list is 1) Oriveto, 2) Civita di Bagnoregio (if possible), 3) Spoleto, and 4) Assisi (if there’s enough time).
WEDNESDAY--Gubbio sounds fascinating, but we would like to see (and taste) Montalcino, Pienza, and Montepulciano. Perugia—I don’t know.
THURSDAY--More Umbria or up to Arezzo (shopping)? A trattoria?
FRIDAY- Olive oil & Cortona--si! This sounds absolutely great! Too crowded?
SATURDAY-Departure—sad, but true.
Scusi. Please don’t be offended. If it were possible for us to stay a couple nights in Firenze, could you drive us there on Saturday? Do you think that trains and busses are reliable enough to get us back to Rome on our own (via Lucca and Pisa maybe) for our flight home? Let us know if this is pazzo.
Molte grazie
David and Marianne Jones
Roseburg, Oregon
USA
A week later, he responded:
Dear David and Marianne,
thanks for your suggestions, they are very useful for me to plan a right tour for the two of you.
Next week we will send you a new programme considering your suggestions but also the real possibility to realize day by day what you suggested.
We will also send you train information a.s.o.
Thanks again.
Fernando
And Later:
Dear David and Marianne,
we are working to the new plan and taking into account your suggestions...
We would like better understand some aspect of your wishes:
About excursions:
you wrote that Marianne has some mobility problems... as the medieval towns in Tuscany and Umbria are up on the hills, we would like to know if there are problems if you have to walk up and down...
We can organize a plan to visit the different places you suggested but this means also to walk a lot...
We don't have museums in our itineraries for a question of time and also because we give more importance to the real life with people, trattorias a.s.o. but if Marianne has an idea of what she would like to see, it could be useful to know it..
About wines:
We generally use to visit a place in the morning, have a typical lunch with local good wine and then another short visit in the afternoon before to go back home.
We offer you an experience and know like Italians generally do and for you we organize everyday a different visit a different flavour of food and a different wine. We naturally drink good wines (as we have an offer very large and good quality) but not Reserve every day.
Therefore we would like to know if you would like to have professional wine tasting with: Brunello, Nobile of Montepulciano, Chianti Riserva, Sagrantino a.s.o. or if you mean just to have the opportunity to taste them as "tourist" in local wineries and perhaps by a bottle to drink at home.
What we suggest is a mix of a different aspects of our life with some general information about our history to help to understand the expression of character between Umbrian and Toscan people.
As we can see in your email here under, you know very good what you want to see so, are you sure that you would need our services ? Sorry but we don't like that people could be disappointed.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Saluti
Fernando
Our response:
Dear Fernando and Rosetta:
Thank you for returning our request email with suggestions and cautions. First, we want you to know we trust you on everything, especially Italian culture, food and wine. Disappointed? We will be in Italy—how could that ever be disappointing?
Our dates can be June 13 to 20, 2010. Does that work for you?
Marianne’s mobility problems stem from chronic arthritis and bursitis. She is used to a more active lifestyle. Although she is retired now, she had a long career as a theater director and working with non-profit organizations. She still directs plays when possible. She looks forward to the trip and will say when she has had enough. David should be fine walking, etc. almost anywhere.
We totally understand about museums, and would prefer to “meet and taste” the region. We see now that trying to do Orvieto, Civita and Spoleto all in one day is just too much. We have been told Assisi and Spello are really worth the visit. Maybe focusing on Orvieto and Assisi might be enough. Visiting Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano would be great, but if it’s too much, just say so. Yes, Gubbio looks wonderful, but this might be our only trip to Italy.
As for wine and wine tasting—we are tourists. Whatever you let us sample will be wonderful. One wine we are unable to buy locally is “Brunello” and would very much like to sample it, if possible. We are sure that your own wine cellar will be more than adequate.
The week following our visit with you, we are trying to book an apartment in Florence or Siena/Chianti area, reachable by train, and do day trips to Pisa, Lucca, etc. and focus on churches and museums there. David met a teacher from Milan in a class he just took who wants to help us ‘experience’ Tuscany.
We are concerned about what happens after our visit with you. Maybe you can answer some of our questions: Will the trains get us there and to our other day trips? Pisa, Lucca etc. Are the buses reliable? Finding food, etc.—all daunting tasks in a foreign country. Oh, is driving in the Tuscan country-side even an option?
We are both very anxious to work out an excursion schedule that seems most manageable for you. Thank you again, and we hope that all our planning pays off beautifully.
David and Marianne
Dear Marianne and David,
We thank you for understanding!
If you follow our programme we are sure you will be satisfied... if we have to follow you we can not guarantee...
If you go in a nice restaurant and you want to eat something that is not included in the chef's specialties or you want something new outside of his knowledge, you have to know that you risk to eat bad ...
So, if you will arrive two or three days before and start visit Rome on your own, you will be our of jet-lag and we will pick you up at your hotel on Sunday morning and start visit as following:
Sunday 13th: Civita - Light lunch - Afternoon Orvieto (this town isn't crowd)
Monday 14th: Siena - Light Lunch - Afternoon Montalcino
Tuesday 15th : Spoleto - Light Lunch - Afternoon Assisi
Wednesday 16th: Gubbio - Light Lunch - Afternoon Perugia
Thursday 17th: Montepulciano - Light Lunch - Afternoon Pienza
Friday 18th: Oil Mill on Lake Trasimeno - Light Lunch - Afternoon Cortona
Saturday 19th: Departure for Florence at your Apartment or nearby if it's not possible to reach it by car.
As you can see we start our tour on Sunday and ending on Saturday and we cannot change the dates as we have to pick up other people on Sunday again a.s.o. so, we suggest you to reserve one day earlier in Florence (19th - 25th ?).
In this case you will be charged with our basic budget for an exclusive tour for two people and we will include a couple of wine tasting, a cheese tasting and an extra-virgin olive oil tasting.
If you agree, we will send you the final proramme including budget and booking terms.
Saluti
Fernando
We responded ecstatically—finally letting them know about our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. They wrote back:
Dear Marianne and David,
happy to know that you like our proposal.
Once you are here and touring with me, if it will be too much we will stop early, no problem!
The ideal for us is a mini-group of 6 persons arriving in Italy at the same time at the same airport, so if your friends would like to join you, we would be very happy and you would benefit of a better price (see: http://www.italyescortedtour.info/prices.html
About an Hotel in Rome:
http://www.hoteldiocleziano.it/en/reservations.htm Hotel Diocleziano (near Train Station - 4 stars)
http://www.hotelmadisonrome.com/it/index.htm Hotel Madison 3 Stars at train station Termini - Via Marsala 60 - Contact: Anna Maria: aana@phh.it TEL. +39.06.445-4344 FAX: +39.06.445-6993
Please, as Rome is a big town with thousands of hotels, fell free to search through all search engines that you prefer like www.booking.com a.s.o.
Congratulation to your 25th Anniversary, we will open an extra bottle at you arrival.
Saluti
Fernando
TRIMUPHANT SCORE! GLORIA DEO! Hot diggity dog! It looked like everything we could possibly want was there, plus a little Rome thrown in to boot.
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