Our Fabulous European Holiday

We arrive in Milan, Italy on the 28th of September where we are staying at the Four Points by Sheraton for 2 nights; it is in an ideal location - situated in the heart of the business district near the Central Railway Station and steps from the city’s main attractions, including the Duomo, Teatro alla Scala and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.

Milan highlights - we are looking forward to visiting Milan’s Duomo Cathedral - Very few churches in Italy took such a long time to build as Milan’s towering Gothic Cathedral. To complete the magnificent “Duomo” took more than five centuries and necessitated resolving many vicissitudes.

Also, Leonardo’s Last Supper, Santa Maria delle Grazie - The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is one of the most striking monuments of Lombard Renaissance. The Church was built between 1466 and 1490 under the direction of Guiniforte Solari, only subsequently in 1492 the apsidal part was added by Bramante. In the refectory of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, ancient premises of the Court of the Inquisition, one of the absolute masterpieces of history is kept: Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper.

We also understand there is a fabulous Museum that features Ferragamo Shoes in Milan so we will also be in search of the Museum as well as a new pair of shoes!

30/Sept - We have 1st class train reservations from Milan to Perugia, arriving in Perugia (in the Umbria area of Italy) at 4:19pm. 1st class is the only way to go on the train as you will then have reserved seating and its not much more then 2nd class seating. We will then be taking a taxi approx 5 miles to a small bed & breakfast - www.cooking in umbria.com where we will be enjoying a cooking class, dinner, wine and an overnight in their farmhouse. NOTE - A great read is “Living in a Foreign Language” by Michael Tucker (formerly of L.A. Law) - I am searching out his recommendations in the area.

1/Oct - We have a car and English speaking driver reserved to tour us around the area, specifically to visit the town of Assisi (St. Francis of Assisi) and then deliver us to our villa in the country where we are living for the next 5 nights - www.casabetti.com.

Casa Betti is a 2 bedroom country villa with all the amenities of home. It is centrally located to many nearby towns and villages. I understand we are closest to the town of Todi where we will be able to find a vespa for rent as well as access to high speed internet. The town of Orvieto is located approximately 30 minutes away and is a charming old hill top town known for its Duomo (church) and its pottery. We plan on catching the train on the 3rd of October to Florence for a day of shopping and visiting the Ufizzi Museaum.

6/Oct - Today we head out on another adventure to the quaint hillside town of Lettomanoppello - population 3,000. Lettomanoppello is located near the larger town of Pescara, located on the Eastern coast of Italy near the Adriatic Sea. We have decided to visit this town as Barbara - one of my traveling companions - family originates from this town. We have scheduled this visit to coincide with a yearly festival. We will be staying in a Monastary nearby - it will be an adventure!

7/Oct - We will be taking the train to Rome where we will be staying in a cute little B & B www.evasroom.com very well priced and located near the Spanish steps. I am looking forward to staying here as it looks incredibly charming.

8/Oct Tour the Vatican - we have heard the Pope welcomes visitors on Wednesday mornings so are heading to the Vatican in hopes of having an audience with him.

After visiting the Vatican, we will return to our hotel, pack an overnight bag and will head south to Pompeii! We have a car and English speaking driver reserved to pick us up and drive south to the town of Benevento where we will stay the night. www.provincia_benevento.it

9/0ct We are meeting Nicoletta di Rubbio from the Society of Stregheventum which is a cooperative between various businesses within the region that will be providing our private tour and a nights’ stay at The Grand Hotel Italiano http://www.hotel-italiano.it/.

We will then be driven to PompeiI where we will be guided to all the sites that Pompeii has to offer its visitors which includes the famous archaeological site where the town became frozen in time. We are looking forward to this excursion!

9/Oct Later in the day we head back to Evas Room in Rome

10/Oct We have scheduled a private walking tour with Ms. Love of www.love4adventure.com
You’ll see the best of Rome in this all-inclusive, small group tour of the city. Join us as we admire some of the most important archaeological ruins on the planet and discuss what life was really like for the emperors, senators and gladiators of ancient Rome.

After our visit to the Colosseum and Roman Forum, we’ll show you how modern day life mixes with the ancient world here in Rome, as we explore the historic city center. When we’ve finished our morning explorations we’ll sit down to lunch at our favourite neighborhood restaurant where you can sample Roman cuisine at its best.

Last, but definitely not least, we’ll bring you to Vatican City where you will see the beauty of Bernini’s Baldacchino, Michelangelo’s Pietà and of course, his Sistine Chapel.

10/Oct Our last night in Rome at Evas Room and off to Spain to catch our Windstar cruise
Oct 11 IB Air 5814 Rome - Barcelona dept. 12:40pm arrive 2:25pm

I must make a note here and state alot of these little excursions we have reserved are due to the hard work of Toni O with www.navi360.com; he is absolutely fabulous! He worked on my itinerary while in the middle of the last hurricane in Houston!

Stay tuned - this is just the itinerary for the first 2 weeks - after touring the country we will be relaxing aboard the Windstar Sailing ship - arrividerci! Gotta go catch my plane!

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The TravelGal is heading to Europe!

Buon Guerno! I’m outta here! I am currently sitting in Chicago awaiting my Air One flight to Milan, Italy. Yes I specialize in travel to the South Pacific but its time to expand my horizons. I am also conducting an experiment - how easy is it to really work and travel? I may need to build a site called The Business Hobo! I have the laptop, Iphone, Skype setup and international converter so I should be good to go!

I am on a month long tour, spending the first 2 weeks in the countryside of Italy, with some of the highlights including a small town festival and an overnight in a Monestary on the Adriatic Sea, a tour with the Archeological Society of Pompeii, walking tour of Rome, day in Florence and a cooking class in Umbria.

I will be spending the last 2 weeks cruising the Western Mediterranean aboard a Windstar cruise. The Wind Surf is cruising as it was meant to be - with only 314 passengers, gourmet meals, no formal nights, just casual elegance at its best. I will be posting the full itinerary shortly and will be updating the site as I find time and wireless internet service. I hope you follow along….feel free to email me as I should have access in most areas of the country - Teresa@Luxuryhideaways.net - Arrivederci!

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