judydw52

Two girlfriends will be in Italy from June 25 thru July 1. I am trying to decide how many days to spend where. We are trying to decide if we should spend of of our time in Rome. I am a wine lover and love to cook, we definitely want to go on a wine and olive oil tour. I 've heard about cooking classes but havent been able to locate a class. while in Rome will will do the traditional tour, but would also like to have fun. We are both single and would like to have fun both day and some nightlife. We are thinking that with luggage it may be too much trouble going to more than 2 cities in 6 days.I am trying to decide where to go- Florence, Tuscany, Venice0r...
Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

andreak

Hello Judy,
Just returned from two weeks in Italy.
One of our best days was a wine, olive oil tasting and cooking class from the Accidental Tourist. They pick you up in nice vans in a spot near the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. The guides are english speaking and very knowledgeable. The tour is a small group. Half of the group left after t

andreak

Sorry. I got cut off by accident.
Anyway, 6 people went on to the cooking class. We drank wine, made our own pasta and fillings. The women who owns the house in the countryside where we were cooking made our pasta along with a complete delicious lunch. It was very reasonable and one of the best meals of our trip.
So, I guess you may want to consider a couple of days in Florence.

mary09

Andrea, thanks for your post! From the accidental tourist site the cooking class appears to be an all-day event (9:00am pickup-5:00pm return). Do you know of any other cooking classes that last half a day? I'd love to do this but don't think we have a full day to give to it. Thanks for any advice!

judydw52

Andrea

Thank you for the referral of Accidental Tours, i just made a reservation with them, their prices are great. Thanks a lot, we are going to spend 3 days in Florence, we are open for more suggestions. Thanks

AntInNewYork

Judy post back on Accidental Tourist when you return, if you don't mind. I was supposed to take their walking tour through a vineyard but the weather was cold and rainy, so we cancelled. The woman I was e-mailing with was a sweetheart though. I think you save 10% if you become a club member online.

sequess

If it were me I'd split the days between Rome and Florence. I have also used Accidental Tourist before. They are great!
I'm also a major Venice lover but you'd be pressed to fit it in. Although I have done it before, but I'm a "speed" traveler.

judydw52

Are the tours with Accidental to different vineyards, it looks like all the tours are to the same place, does nyone know or has anyone taken more than one tour with this company. Does anyone have reccomendations on places to eat and must see in Florence. Maybe another tour

dgg

If you've never been to Italy before, I would suggest you spend 4 nights in Rome. You could easily spend all 6 nights in Rome. If you want to get away, you can take a day trip to the countryside, or even Florence for that matter.

andreak

As far as I know all the Accidental Tourist uses the Grignano Winery. The place where the cooking classes are is going to be split between two locations. We had our meal at Christines and it was great. I think one place is good enough for wine and olive oil. I really regret not buying some as it was the best olive oil I have tasted.

ira

Hi Judy,

>...it may be too much trouble going to more than 2 cities in 6 days.<

I agree.

With only 6 days, and Rome as a must, I suggest staying in Rome.

You will have more than enough to do.

If you get bored, take a daytrip to Orvieto and another one to Ostia Antica, or Hadrian's Villa.