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Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Activity note: Hotel check-in available from 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon: After checking-in at the hotel and getting your room, take some time to freshen up and relax before a light snack, followed by our Orientation session. Orientation: The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Accommodations will be in the pedestrian-only historical center of Lucca. Pick-ups and drop-offs will be at the bus stop, a 5 minute walk from the hotel. Streets are mostly cobblestones. The cooking school is in Vicopelago, about 2.5 miles (10 minutes by bus) from Lucca. Transportation will primarily be provided by motorcoach, unless specified otherwise. These are the names of typical food courses: l'antipasto — literally "before the meal" — a hot or cold appetizer; il primo piatto, the first course, often soup or pasta; il secondo piatto, the second course or main dish; il contorno piatto, a side dish such as vegetables or salad; and il dolce, dessert. Breakfasts will be hearty buffets; most lunches and some other meals will be two courses featuring local dishes. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Before dinner, we’ll enjoy a welcome cocktail together.
Dinner: At a local restaurant, we’ll have a plated and served meal of regional specialties with wine, coffee and water included; other beverages available for purchase.
Evening: At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow road scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the full day ahead.
Activity note: Walking about 1 mile on cobblestone streets.
Breakfast: At the hotel, the breakfast buffet’s choices include an egg dish, a variety of sliced cold cuts and cheeses, breakfast breads, jams, hot and cold cereals, and fresh fruit with coffee, tea and water.
Morning: We’ll begin our adventure with an expert-led walking field trip through Lucca, taking in the atmosphere and seeing architectural legacies predating the Roman Empire all the way to the Renaissance at the Domus Romana, an archaeological site in the center of Lucca. We’ll delve into the lengthy history of this area through informative museum exhibits and excavation sites.
Lunch: At the Domus Romana, we’ll experience a Roman-style convivium, or communal “banquet.” Wine, water and liqueur included.
Afternoon: Our first cooking lesson will be at the International Academy of Italian Cuisine, with a professional chef. This comprehensive hands-on course is designed to teach us how to make four-course lunches by covering cooking techniques applicable to pasta, pastries, and everything in between.
Dinner: At the cooking school, we will enjoy the results of our cooking lesson along with other dishes prepared by the chef, plus wine and water.
Evening: Upon returning to the hotel, the rest of the evening is at leisure.
Activity note: Walking about 1 mile on cobblestone streets.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: We’ll embark on an expert-led walking field trip of Lucca with emphasis on the progression from the Renaissance to the Modern Age.
Lunch: At a local restaurant, we’ll enjoy a plated meal featuring regional cuisine with a glass of wine, water, and coffee included; other beverages available for purchase.
Afternoon: We’ll then transfer to the Cooking School for our hands-on cooking lesson.
Dinner: At the Cooking School, we will eat the meal we have prepared.
Evening: At leisure.
Activity note: Drive to Garfagnana is about 50 miles, approximately 1.5 hours. Walking approximately 1.5 miles throughout the day on uneven terrain.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: After transferring via motorcoach to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, we’ll go on a field trip led by our Group Leader to the Caseificio Bertagni, a small family-run “caseificio,” or creamery, producing both sheep’s and cow’s cheeses from Tuscan milk exclusively.
Lunch: At a local restaurant, we’ll have a plated meal featuring specialties of Garfagnana made from local seasonal ingredients. Coffee, tea, water included.
Afternoon: Returning to Lucca, we will enjoy some free time. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Dinner: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Evening: At leisure.
Activity note: Walking about 2 miles on cobblestone streets and uneven terrain. Total driving today is about 50 miles, approximately 2 hours.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: We’ll first transfer to Pietrasanta for a walking field trip of this medieval town, led by our Group Leader. A place famous for its connection with marble, artists and sculptors from all over the world have been drawn to live and work here. It has been described as “the small Athens” for its sculpting studios, artistic foundries, and ancient and modern monuments. Its historic center is world-renowned and considered a precious jewel of the Middle Ages. Then, we will carry on to Colonnata in Carrara, where we will visit a factory producing lardo, a type of pork salumi seasoned with herbs and cured for about 8 months in handmade baskets made from local marble. For generations, lardo was a traditional dietary staple of marble quarry workers.
Lunch: At a local lardo producer, we’ll have a light lunch based on the lard of Colonnata along with other local specialties and water.
Afternoon: On the way back to the hotel, we will stop for a visit of a private marble quarry led by our Group Leader and expert staff.
Dinner: On your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening: At leisure.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: We will begin by visiting a local market on foot with our Group Leader for an authentic experience of how people from Lucca go food shopping in preparation for cooking. We’ll then transfer to the Cooking School for our hands-on cooking lesson.
Lunch: Cooking school meal.
Afternoon: Returning to the hotel, we will enjoy some free time.
Dinner: On your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening: At leisure.
Activity note: Walking about 1.5 miles on cobblestone streets and uneven terrain.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: In the late morning, we will have a short transfer via motorcoach,to Fabbrica di San Martino, a farm producing biodynamic wine and oil where we will hear a lecture focused on farm production given by the owner. We’ll then visit the nearby Villa Sardi, a historical noble residence from the 17th century, and follow up our exploration with wine, cheese, and olive oil tasting at the winery.
Lunch: On your own.
Afternoon: We’ll then transfer to the International Academy of Italian Cuisine for our hands–on cooking lesson.
Dinner: At the cooking school meal.
Evening: At leisure.
Activity note: Walking about 1.5 miles on cobblestone streets, uneven terrain and some hilly sections. Driving under an hour today.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: After transferring via motorcoach to Montecarlo, we’ll go on a field trip led by a local expert to Borgo Antico. Afterwards, we’ll transfer to the local winery.
Lunch: At the winery, we’ll have a light lunch based on the local specialties.
Afternoon: Returning to Lucca, we will enjoy some free time.
Dinner: At the local restaurant, we’ll have a plated and served meal with wine, coffee and water; other beverages available for purchase. Share some of your favorite experiences from the program with your fellow Road Scholars.
Evening: At leisure. Be sure to prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Activity note: Hotel check-out by 11:00 a.m. See the travel information section regarding transfers.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet depending on departure time. This concludes our program.
Morning: If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on another rewarding program in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
Totally enjoyable experience with an excellent mix of history, interesting “slow food” oriented excursions and enjoyable cooking lessons. Excellent tour leader and perfect group size.
This was the best vacation/trip my wife and I have ever been on. We learned new things about Italian food and cooking, explored interesting regions with expert guides and found new friends we would seek out to travel with again! Kevin J. Sherry
This program was an excellent opportunity to learn about the "slow food" movement. Kristina Viti was a charming program leader who brought her love of Tuscany to life. Her knowledge of the area was outstanding. I was very impressed with everything I did and learned on this adventure.
Cooking in Tuscany is a wonderful program that encompasses much more than cooking. Christina takes you on a personal tour of an area of Tuscany that she knows intimately and clearly loves. Her enthusiasm and knowledge make the program as she shares the history and culture of her country. She takes you to places you would not find on your own and introduces you to local people who share their passion for wine,olive oil, art and more. I highly recommend spending a week with her and as well as GianCarlo,Elena and their other friends!
Overall 4+ stars. Well worth it, a memorable experience. I highly recommend this program. 5 stars for well balanced itinerary with excellent tour guides. Christina and Elena know their stuff and add unique insight to each of the tour stops. There was a wide variety of tour stops with something for everyone. I enjoyed them all, some more than others though. Airport pickup and delivery was seamless. 4+ Stars for the cooking school. We had four wonderful meals all with interesting menus and some unique dishes. Local ingredients were outstanding - too bad I will not be able to duplicate that at home. I would have liked more hands-on opportunities to practice techniques but that is a personal preference. The demonstrations were instructive. Gianluca is a terrific, if not inspiring, instructor. I definitely will try 3-4 recipes at home. I already upped my gnocchi game. 3 stars for the accommodation. The hotel staff was more than attentive and accommodating. The hotel was clean and comfortable. Breakfast was more than adequate. However my single room though overall comfortable was somewhat spartan. It had an open shower area adjacent to the commode - it was fully functional and I had no problems in getting a good, hot shower. Street noise in the early morning was somewhat of a problem, garbage collection was quite noisy. The location of the hotel was in easy walking distance to most of the points of interest in the walled city.
Cooking in Tuscany is an excellent program which I enjoyed very much. It is the perfect combination of cooking (4 lessons) and other excursions in and around Lucca. The group leader Christina was fantastic, and her personal connections made for intimate and rewarding experiences that I will remember forever. Gianluca has a real passion for Tuscan cooking that he enjoys sharing with all. If every Road Scholar program is as good as this one, then I will be attending many more!
Great trip. The hotel and staff were lovely. I really liked the small size of the group. Learned a lot about the area.
Outstanding blend of culture, history, food and wine in one of Italy’s most beautiful locations, perfectly paced.
The opportunity to visit local artisans was exceptional, and the town of Lucca was the perfect place to use as a base for a meaningful Tuscan adventure!
Cooking in Tuscany was the best trip I have ever been on. The cooking with Gianluca was great, as is expected. But the tours of Lucca with Elena, the dinners, the field trips with Christina to wineries, the marble quarry, art galleries and more, were indescribably wonderful. I cannot recommend this highly enough - it was incredible!! Sally, September 2018
This was a fabulous trip and so much more than we were expecting! All the tours were excellent. Loved the town of Lucca and have talked about returning. Hard to recommend this trip highly enough.
The Cooking in Tuscany tour in bella Lucca was a spectacular trip. It was a week full of more sights, sounds, smells, and tastes than I had dreamed I could ever experience: the beautiful Hotel Palazzo Alexander and Mario’s attentive care at breakfast; Elena’s knowledgeable expertise as we toured the churches and ancient cobbled streets of Lucca; Gianluca’s expert instruction as we made fabulous Tuscan meals; and of course, the incredible food, wine, and liquors we enjoyed every day. Our tour organizer, Cristina, was simple amazing. We spent the days exploring Lucca’s streets and buildings, peering beneath its surface to view its ancient ruins, learned about the deep rich history of this place, and experienced the beauty created by the Luchese masters. We experienced the hidden secrets off the beaten path and saw Lucca through the eyes, heart, and mind of someone who knows and loves this gem of a city. Cristina did all of this with grace and patience and expert skill. It’s clear that her deep friendships with the shop owners, artists, chefs, expert guides, and vintners helped to open the doors for us so we could have these intimate and deeply moving experiences that filled up our senses. We spent four fabulous sessions at the International Academy of Italian Cuisine. Gianluca is an expert chef, a talented instructor, and a very personable and engaging man. At his beautiful Tuscan school, we made and savored 4 course meals. My favorites were a delicious artichoke pudding with pecorino cheese, trout fillet with seasonal vegetables and light homemade mayonnaise, risotto with asparagus, gnocchi with arugula pesto, ravioli with Buffalo mozzarella, and truffle-scented veal with fennel gratin. And I can assure you, every bite was foodie heaven! I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who loves to explore, learn, cook, and enjoy experiencing delicious Tuscan food and wine!
Love the cooking school in Lucca we stayed in a refurbished but opulent Boutique Hotel with warm welcoming staff. I've enhanced my knowledge of cooking a thousand fold is every minute brought me to a new level
If you have an interest in Italian culture and food....if you are looking for a more in-depth interaction with the people and the history of a place....if you enjoy getting to experience the hospitality and warmth of a welcoming hotelier then this program is an excellent choice. The tour director, the city guide, the master chef and culinary teacher plus the hotel owner and host were exceptional. We were immersed in the passion for learning and living well...the Italian way.
Learning to cook with GianLuca Pardini at the Italian School of Cooking in Lucca was a 5 star, hands-on, learning experience. Great food, great fun. Our tour leader, Cristina Viti, enthusiastically shared her love of life and all things Italian. This was an outstanding program because of them.
This program was wonderful, very educational, fun, and fabulous food!
Definitely recommend this program to get some hands on cooking experience in Italy. We had four classes over seven days. Each class was about 2 to 3 hours, preparing 3 or 4 courses. My only regret was not being able to be hands-on for each course. The group was broken into teams, each who were hands-on for one or two courses. Gianlucca, the head chef/instructor, would call the entire group together when there was an important point to be made about any dish preparation. The food we made was so good I think it exceeded any meal we had at the restaurants we went to during the 10 days, and went to some excellent restaurants. Cristina Viti, our Group Leader, know Lucca and the surrounding areas quite well, as she is from the area and know the area and many of the locals. It was rather surprising how often during our walks that people greeted here by name and asked about her family.
What an amazing experience! The tour director, Cristina, lined up a knowledgeable team to give us an exciting experience not only in the kitchens of the region but in the history of Lucca and the surrounding area. 5 stars in my book! Thank you Cristina!
I would highly recommend this program if you like to cook and like to try foods that are from the different areas that you will be visiting in and around Lucca. The accommodations are nice and everyone you are in contact with in this program treats you like you are their family.
If you want to learn about Italian cooking and want a "hands on" experience, this is the prgram for you. You will be welcomed by Chef Gianluca to prepare delightful food and eat in his villa. You will be delighted to go on narby field trips to experiece cheese making, lard making, wine making, and host of other food related trips.
The program was exceptionally good overall. Cristina Viti was a marvelous guide and Gianluca Pardini was an inspirational teacher with a wonderful sense of humor and an ability to get everyone involved in the cooking lessons. The meals we prepared at the school were incredible and made me anxious to take some of the lessons and techniques home. The trips to nearby villages and towns were great – very educational and a chance to see some more of the beautiful Tuscan countryside. The one complaint I have is that on a couple of days there were too many activities packed in. Particularly on Saturday, October 6 – we met Gianluca at the market to select some of the produce we were going to use that day, then proceeded to the cooking school to prepare a wonderful “lunch” – more like a 4 course dinner. After cooking for about 3 hours and then eating our wonderful food, we returned to the hotel about 3:30. We were scheduled for another walking tour of Lucca that afternoon about 4:30, but several of us were too exhausted to even think about going. We spoke to Cristina and Elena, the tour leader, about this and they both recognized that there were too many activities packed into that one day. PLEASE consider revamping the schedule to account for people’s energy levels. All in all, the trip was a marvelous experience and I would recommend it to anyone who has a love of cooking and wants to experience new things.
Cooking in Tuscany was a dream come true. With all the arrangements made seamlessly by group leader Cristina, I could relax and enjoy the rich culture, gorgeous views and do some hands-on experiences creating delicious Tuscan cuisine. Far exceeded my expectaions