My love of Tuscany in the Fall lead me to create the Harvest Italia tour. (Dates for Harvest Italia 2012: October 30 - November 6, 2012) The cornerstone of the tour is picking olives at Casa Faclioni -- a magnificient property about 30 mins south east of Firenze.
We know how much fun it is to be with friends and family olive picking in the outdoors which is why it is a part of the Harvest Italia itinerary. So, we were very excited to get this testimonial from some travelers who couldn’t book the tour because of date conflicts. We sent them on their own to go olive picking at Casa Falcioni and they came back with these rave reviews!
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"We were so thrilled that Jim found you through Spirit of Italy Tours. We did not know what to expect from our olive picking experience and I was losing sleep thinking I might have to climb a ladder! When we pulled into your lane and you greeted us with your wide smile and welcoming embrace we knew we were in for a real treat. Then you presented us with the iconic green farmers' smocks and we were in heaven!...it all felt so REAL. Our brief instruction on the ins and outs of using the olive rakes and the nets more than put us at ease and knowing it's best not to climb the ladder at all was a relief. We reveled in the thrill of being a small part of your 2011 olive harvest. Then came the lunch...what an unexpected and delightful time we spent with you and Silvano, all the while eating at your gorgeous table- fabulous sausages, cheeses, olives and breads. We could not have asked for a more "Tuscan" experience and the most exciting part of all is that we feel we have made life-long friends in the Falcionis and we WILL be back for another harvest." (Guests from South Carolina)
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If you are looking for a once-in-a-lifetime Tuscan experience, contact me now to book a reservation on Harvest Italia 2012!
by Vicky - Spirit of Italy Tours on Thursday February 02, 2012
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Have you ever longed to meander? In my daily life, meandering is just not something I typically have time for. That is why I designed the Harvest Italia tour to be slower-paced so that guests can get into the Italian mindset where a leisurely pace prevails. Casa Falcioni is located atop a rolling hillside on a 10-acre property that boasts nearly 600 olive trees. The property is surrounded by cypress and chestnut trees and affords spectacular views of the Valdarno. Olive picking in the countryside in Tuscany is a really soothing activity that allows you to be outdoors and quietly get lost in thought, chat with friends or listen as the church chimes break the silence. Tour guests will learn how to pick olives and about the traditional olive oil making process, as well as enjoy a guided tour by the Casa Falcioni proprietors to a local olive pressing facility to see self-picked olives turned into olive oil.
According to Afar Magazine (voted one of the top travel magazines in the U.S.) “…Today’s travelers want to get beyond the superficial, the mass-produced, the mass-consumed, and the mass-experienced. They look for the authentic in people, places, and products. They long for meaningful connections with the places they go and the people they meet.”
Harvest Italia is presented as a once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunity for guests to experience the olive harvest and a chance to enjoy the Tuscan countryside in the Fall when the climate is moderate, as well as an opportunity to get to know the locals without hordes of tourists, savor extraordinary Italian cuisine made with the freshest ingredients, meander through outdoor markets and historic sites, or simply relax in il dolce far niente (carefree idleness).
Please check the itinerary on this site and contact me to register for the tour.
Andiamo!
Vicky
by Vicky - Spirit of Italy Tours on Saturday January 14, 2012
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People seriously love the olive picking experience in Tuscany. Here’s another testimonial quote that was sent to our friends the Falcioni’s who are the proprietors of Casa Falcioni – the olive grove where our Harvest Italia guests will be picking olives."I wasn't sure what to expect, but the experience far exceeded any possible expectation.
It was such a joy to experience an olive harvest using the traditional techniques--spreading the nets, picking and raking by hand. One friend after we returned said, "Don't they just shake the trees?" No they definitely do not!
Working in an olive grove on the side of a gently sloping hill with a beautiful view over the valley below--it was magical! I wondered if it would be tiring, but it was actually very relaxing.
Tanya and Silvano Falcioni’s farm is marvelously situated in rural Tuscany, with an unspoiled view and a beautifully up-dated old farm house. They were a delight and made us feel so welcome, showed us what to do, and graciously answered all our questions in excellent English.
We spent over a week in Tuscany, and our olive-harvesting visit with the Falcioni’s was the highlight of our trip--even for one of our travelling companions who hadn't been so sure about this olive adventure to begin with.
We saw a lot of beautiful sights in Tuscany, but the olive harvest gave us our best taste of the "real" Tuscany.
(Sent from Steve from Florida)
by Vicky - Spirit of Italy Tours on Wednesday January 04, 2012
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by Vicky - Spirit of Italy Tours on Wednesday December 21, 2011
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Spirit of Italy Tours wishes everyone happy holidays and a new year filled with Italian travel!Buon natale e felice anno nuovo ~
Vicky Gray-Clark
Founder
Spirit of Italy Tours
by Vicky - Spirit of Italy Tours on Tuesday December 06, 2011
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Spirit of Italy Tours is excited to announce the dates for next year's Harvest Italia tour to Tuscany will take place October 30 – November 6, 2012. Why not give the gift of travel this holiday season!
Take a look around the site for details.
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