Fall in Umbria & Hidden Venice TOUR

Our tour convenes late morning in the lobby of our hotel. If you’re flying into Venice’s Marco Polo Airport on the first morning of the tour, a driver will meet you there for a group water taxi transfer to the dock closest to our hotel. If you’re already in Italy, you can arrive by train to Venice’s Santa Lucia Station and we’ll arrange a water taxi. If you’re already in Venice, make your way to the hotel. 

• We’ll drop our bags (if early check-in is not possible) and head right to lunch at a casual, locally owned restaurant. 
• After lunch, we’ll take a 2-hour Venice orientation tour that includes entry to Basilica San Marco. You’ll also have some free time to rest up from your flight or explore Venice on your own. 
• This evening, we’ll meet for a light dinner — or is it a heavy snack? — of authentic Venetian cicchetti, or tapas. 
• Afterwards, you can wander on your own, find more cicchetti, grab a gelato, and marvel at Venice’s nighttime glow.

Today, we’ll take an intimate look at a lesser-known aspect of Venice’s history — that of its Jewish community — and visit local artisans. 

• After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll meet our guide and take a less tourist-trod path to the Venetian Ghetto, the historic Jewish district, for a tour that includes a sampling of kosher Venetian specialties. 
• We’ll enjoy a canalside lunch in Cannaregio, one of Venice’s more “lived-in” districts. 
• After lunch, we’ll visit an artisan’s bottega. Based on the group’s interest, this may be a leather maker, a gold leaf artisan, a mosaic artist or a gondola-maker’s studio.
• The rest of the afternoon and evening are yours to wander and explore.

On this day of adventure, we’ll head to the northern reaches of the Venetian Lagoon, learn about the origins of Venice and meet some of the people working to protect the lagoon’s fragile ecosystem.

• After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll travel by private water taxi to Burano, the technicolored island of fishermen and lacemakers, where we’ll get a private tour of the island. 
• From Burano, we’ll cross over to Torcello, traditionally regarded as the original settlement of the Venetians. After a tour of this small, sparsely populated area, we’ll have lunch at one of the few restaurants on the island. 
• After lunch, we’ll meet a local crabber and fisherman who will take us on a tour of the pristine outer reaches of the lagoon on a traditional bragozzo fishing boat. 
• After a late afternoon return to Venice, your last dinner in Venice is on your own.

Today we’ll radically switch gears — from the watery cityscapes and touristy buzz of Venice to the hillscapes and quiet lanes of Allerona — with a quick peak at Florence along the way.

• After early breakfast at the hotel, we’ll take a water taxi to Santa Lucia Station, from where we’ll travel first class on the fast train to Florence’s Santa Maria Novella Station.
• Our private van driver will meet us at the station to collect our luggage while we do a down-and-dirty 2-hour walking tour of Florence — hardly enough to do justice to this marvelous city, but we hate the idea of just passing through and not stopping to look around!
• After lunch at a rustic Florentine trattoria, we’ll meet our driver and drive about 2 hours to Allerona. 
• Check into your rooms and find a snack waiting, and have a few hours to rest and chill. This is your home for the rest of your stay!
• We’ll take an early evening tour of Allerona, where you’ll learn about the history of the village and some of its special places and hidden corners.
• We’ll enjoy a welcome aperitivo and dinner in a private cantina. 

On this full day, we’ll get to know Orvieto, the beautiful medieval city with Etruscan roots and a magnificent 14th-century cathedral. On the 20-minute ride to Orvieto, we’ll explain a little of the city’s history (and maybe a little about how Liz and Paolo met here!). 

• We’ll meet our guide for a tour of Orvieto’s centro storico (historic center) followed by a visit to the Duomo.
• Lunch at our favorite trattoria in Orvieto
• After lunch, we’ll visit one of Orvieto’s many underground caves, carved out over the millennia for storage, shelter and raw materials, and do a ceramics workshop.
• Return to Allerona for the evening and dinner at our lovely fine-dining restaurant

We’ll stay close to home and get a taste of rural life and traditional Umbrian cooking, family style:

• If the olive gods shine on us, we’ll get an early start to olive picking. If it’s too late in the season for olives, we’ll sub this with mushroom hunting or some other outdoor activity, weather permitting.
• Bring your appetites to a private lunch, prepared and hosted by Paolo’s mom, Franca, and sister, AnnaRita. Friends who’ve visited us recall “lunch with Franca” as the highlight of their stay.
• Free time after lunch to rest and relax.
• Tour of a village palace, the ancestral home of a local family, followed by tasting of local olive oil, wine and other products, including a bruschetta-making lesson.

We’ll dip into Lazio, one of the region’s bordering Umbria, and visit one of the area’s most enigmatic sights.

• Civita di Bagnoregio, la città che muore, or the dying city, sits on a dramatic tufa plateau just a short distance from Orvieto. We’ll walk across the long bridge — the only way to access the nearly-deserted town — and spend some time exploring and taking photos.
• We’ll stop for lunch at an underground restaurant situated in an ancient olive mill.
• On the way back, we’ll stop for a wine tasting at a vineyard specializing in Orvieto Classico, our local white wine. 
• This evening, those who still have some energy and appetite can join us at the bar just outside of town for drinks and snacks (walking or transport provided).

This morning, and weather permitting, those who wish to can join Liz for a walk along the strada bianca, the gravel road that runs through the countryside. You may even get a dog to walk!

• Mid-morning, we’ll head to Franca’s kitchen for a cooking lesson. Handmade pasta and tiramisu are on the menu.
• At lunch, we’ll dine on the delicious food we prepared earlier, followed by a grappa tasting.
• Your afternoon is free to rest and digest.
• In the evening, we’ll dine at a lovely fine dining establishment set right in Allerona and run by a local family.

Weather permitting, we’ll spend most of the day outdoors, learning about the ancient Etruscans, thermal baths and foraged foods.

• This morning we’ll ride about 20 minutes to San Casciano dei Bagni, and get a tour of the major Etruscan and Roman archaeological site that’s recently come to light there. Those who wish to can pack a swimsuit and take a dip in the ancient outdoor thermal baths, where water bubbles from underground at a constant 104F.
• We’ll stop for a foraging lesson in the Umbrian macchia, or bush, and have lunch at a cozy osteria in the woods (bosco).
• Group country walk or afternoon on your own.
• This evening, it’s pizza party time!

On our last day in Umbria, you’ll have time to shop for souvenirs in Orvieto and make one of your own.

• We’ll start with a handmade marbleized papermaking session with our friend Lamberto. 
• Lunch and the afternoon in Orvieto are on your own.
• Late afternoon, we’ll meet at Piazza Cahen, see Pozzo di San Patrizio, and take the funicular — a one-of-a-kind experience — down to our waiting van.
• This evening, we’ll enjoy a festive cookout and say arrivederci to Allerona.

We’ll say our farewells and, depending on your onward schedule, we’ll get you transferred to Rome airport or Orvieto train station.