Round Travel Tours of Tuscany 2018
In May 2018, Round Travel’s director Maria personally hosted a Tour of Tuscany, including 7 glorious days touring around Tuscany with the addition of 4 nights in Rome and 3 nights in Venice. We had a small intimate group, which made the experience even more special!
Our trip started in Rome. We all flew in on various flights and met at Fumicino Airport. From here transfers picked us up, and took us to our gorgeous Hotel in the heart of Rome - The Colonna Palace Hotel. It was centrally located, which made it easy to explore the beautiful historic city on foot. During our 5 day stay, we took numerous day tours exploring all the main attractions, experienced the local food and enjoyed some shopping. A trip to Rome is not complete without a visit to the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. We were all so thrilled to be at the Vatican whilst the Pope did an open air mass. You didn’t have to be catholic to enjoy this.
One of the highlights in Rome was a trip to the Colosseum and a walk back into Rome, with a guide explaining all the amazing monuments and history behind them all. We took a day trip out to Tivoli and Villa Adriana (Hadrian’s Villa). Some of the group did a food walking tour; while the others did a Bike tour to the Catacombs. Our time in Rome was a wonderful experience, with all of us wishing to return to this eternal city.
We then took a train to Cortona to meet our hosts Ines and Monique from Tours of Tuscany. We were taken to the most amazing Tuscan Villa, where we were all given our own rooms stocked with delicious local produce for breakfast. We spent the next 7 days touring around Tuscany, with the wonderful guides of Ines, Monique and Erica. We visited Cortona, San Gimignano, Siena, Montepulciano and Chianti. Experiencing marvellous towns, food, wineries & shopping. It was the most relaxed way to admire and enjoy Tuscany. On a tour free day, some of us took a cooking class with Donatella, where the group learnt how to cook some delightful Tuscan cuisine. We had so much fun during this day. Some others that day, decided to go horse riding through the Tuscan countryside which sounded magical. During our stay we were given a train ticket to go to Florence for the day, where we spent all day discovering and enjoying Tuscany’s main city. It was here where we had the best Porchetta rolls, which the Tuscany region is famous for.
After seven glorious days we said farewell to our Tours of Tuscany hosts and headed to Venice. Getting off the Train at Venezia Santa Lucia train station and making our way to our private boat was the most amazing experience. To walk off the train and walk out to see the most beautiful Grand Canal, we were all awestruck! It was the most beautiful sight we had seen. After checking in to our Hotel, we made our way to our Gondola ride. Getting lost in the narrow streets of Venice was an interesting experience, as was being asked by tourists for directions - they thought I was a local. The following day was a walking tour of Venice including a visit to the Doges Palace entering the Venetian Prison and crossing the Bridge of Sighs. In the afternoon we visited the Island of Murano and Burano which was beautiful.
Some passengers flew home after our tour and others extended their stay through Europe.
We all had the most wonderful experience, exploring one of the most picturesque parts of the world!
