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Tuscany, Northern Italy | May 2010

Salute! Join us for an unforgettable journey in Tuscany, one of the few places in the modern world where you can experience the past while enjoying the conveniences of the 21st century. Our adventure includes exploring the fascinating local history and culture of the northwest region, while enjoying the famous and delicious local cuisine along with beautiful Tuscan sunsets.

Summary of our Tuscan Adventure:
We have created a very special trip for you, full of culinary and cultural adventure. Our home for the week is a beautiful 500 year old Tuscan farmhouse overlooking the Pescia river valley, about 25 minutes outside of Lucca. The property has been lovingly restored to retain its old-world charm, with comfortable rooms and plenty of gathering areas, while providing all the modern conveniences, including fabulous kitchens both inside and outside, wood burning ovens, organic gardens and a large pool.

Our itinerary has plenty of choices, allowing you to participate in as much as you want each day – visiting local markets, medieval villages, and wineries, with plenty of time to relax in the grounds of the farmhouse or at the poolside, or to take walks through the surrounding olive orchards, or perhaps to walk up to the local village. Highlights of the trip include a very exclusive visit to a Super Tuscan estate & farm, a bicycle tour of the medieval walled city of Lucca, and a visit to the unique marble mines of Carrara.

In addition to having our own chefs prepare our meals, our voyage includes two cooking classes, both of which will be held at the farmhouse under the instruction of guest chef Cathy Pavlos, chef-owner of the restaurant Lucca in Irvine. Mid week we’ll have a pizza party, using a traditional stone wood-burning oven! As a special treat, our guest chef Cathy Pavlos will also be the featured chef for those traveling in our second week.

All meals, wine, accommodation, activities and local transportation are included.

	Sunday: Group transfer from Pisa (airport or train station). Relax after your journey with a sumptuous lunch at the farmhouse, followed by a tour of the grounds. Free afternoon to settle in, followed by aperitif, introduction to the regional wine and buffet dinner.
	Monday: Breakfast at the farmhouse. Local market visit followed by picnic lunch at the farmhouse. Afternoon garden tour, followed by cooking class, aperitif and dinner.
	Tuesday: Breakfast at the farmhouse. Visit to Bolgheri, the heart of the Super Tuscan wine movement, followed by private visit to Castello del Terriccio for a tour of the estate, wine tasting and lunch. Dinner at the farmhouse.
	Wednesday: Breakfast at the farmhouse. Bicycle tour of Lucca, visit to the weekly market, followed by lunch in Lucca. Afternoon gelato class and games, followed by dinner at the farmhouse.
	Thursday: Breakfast at the farmhouse. Visit to the medieval town of Pietrasanta, a town perched on the edge of the Alpi Apuana, for market day and a marble carving demonstration. Lunch in Pietrasanta, followed by a visit to the marble mines high above the city of Carrara. Dinner is a pizza party at the farmhouse!
	Friday: Breakfast at the farmhouse. Late morning cooking class followed by lunch. Free afternoon. Early evening wine tasting in the historic wine region of Montecarlo, followed by our farewell dinner in a nearby restaurant.
	Saturday: Breakfast at the farmhouse, followed by group transfer to Pisa airport or train station. Buon Viaggio!

Terms & Conditions

Fees: $4,200 per person, double occupancy. Your fee includes 2 hands-on cooking lessons (you may also join the chefs in the kitchen at any time while they prepare our meals), accommodations, food and wine at the farmhouse and at other restaurants as scheduled, admission to local venues as scheduled, local transportation, and group transfers to and from the Pisa airport or train station. The price is quoted on a double occupancy basis – a single supplement of US$800 is charged for single occupancy, if available.

Deposit: A non-refundable deposit of $750 per person, made payable to “Laguna Culinary Arts Adventures” is required to secure your booking. Reservations will be confirmed by email once we receive your signed copy of the booking form, together with the deposit.

Final Payment: The balance of the fee is due March 31, 2010. If this balance is not paid on time, we reserve the right to regard your reservation as cancelled and retain your deposit.

Discount for Early Booking: 10% discount for booking by January 15, 2010. To qualify for the early booking discount, a non-refundable deposit of $1,000 per person must be received no later than January 15, 2010, with full payment due by February 28, 2010.

Cancellations: If we receive written notice of your cancellation prior to April 22, 2010 (and have also received payment in full for the program), we shall refund 50% of your total fee excluding the non-refundable deposit. There will be no refund for cancellations received after that date, unless we are able to fill your place with another participant; in this instance, we shall refund all fees received less your original deposit.
In the event that Laguna Culinary Arts Adventures must cancel a trip for any reason, all fees, including deposits, will be returned in full. The costs of any travel arrangements you may have made will not be reimbursed.

Travel Insurance: We recommend that you purchase separate insurance in case you have to cancel your trip, as well as accident, heath and baggage and personal effects loss or damage.

Waiver: All participants will be required to sign a Release of Liability Agreement prior to embarkation. Please review this document carefully before signing.

Trip Dates: Week 1: Sunday, May 23 to Saturday May 29, 2010
Week 2: Sunday, May 30 to Saturday, June 5, 2010
Week 3 option: Sunday, June 6 to Saturday June 12, 2010*
* Week 3 shall occur only in the event that weeks 1 and 2 sell out

Meet the Team

Megan, Nancy and Laurent