2010 Program Schedule
Walking Tuscany with Brett Poirier. Experienced hiking guide and naturalist, Brett Poirier, leads your small group (maximum 12) across mountain meadows, along forested trails and into cobblestone city passages. You'll walk the Garfagnana, home to Michelangelo's marble mountains; visit the Orrido di Botri Natural Reserve with its dramatic limestone gorge; explore the 1000-year-old Tenuta di Forci estate, your home for the week; and wander the streets and pathways of Lucca where you can rent a bike to ride its fortified walls.
Dates: May 9 - 16, 2010
Painting in Tuscany with Mary Lehner. Expansive landscapes of olive groves and vineyards, stately villa gardens, pastel houses stacked along a Mediterranean cliff, red tile roofed farmhouses . . . these are the venues and more you'll explore with Mary as she helps you step out of the box with your drawing to experiment with the magic of light, color and contrast. You'll have excursions to Villa Reale with its formal gardens and playful water features, the colorful towns of The Cinque Terre plus the walled city of Lucca with its Roman amphitheater, ancient nooks and crannies and colorful piazzas.
Dates: June 19 - 26, 2010
A Gastronomic Tour with Angelo Prosperi-Porta, award-winning chef and co-owner of the luxurious Cooper’s Cove Guesthouse on the Sooke waterfront on Vancouver Island, BC. Angelo offers 5-star dining, an impressive wine list and cooking classes. His cookbook, Flavours of Cooper's Cove Guesthouse written with Ina Haegemann, was a 2006 Independent Publisher Book Award winner and was named Best First Book in English from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Angelo terms his teaching style "interactive" and will lead participants through a week-long cooking course that also includes cultural and wine excursions in the area.
Dates: To be determined
Wining & Dining with the Italian Underground brings back our good friend Ashton Durrett, owner and chef of the Italian Underground Restaurant in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, for the fourth consecutive year. This year Ashton focuses on the overlooked DOC's around Lucca including Colline Lucchese and Montecarlo. Both produce exquisite but not well known wines. You'll also tour the Chianti region for three days where Ashton will introduce you to his favorite wines and winemakers from that area. And there's time reserved for serendipitous discoveries as we wend our way through the vineyards and visit both traditional and innovative restaurants.
Dates: September 14 - 21, 2010
Home to Tuscany with Chef Mario Petit. Share some time with Mario in his restaurant Mamma Mia Trattoria, Westminster, CO, where he is chef and co-owner, and you'll begin to understand and appreciate his passion for Tuscan cuisine. It's the food of his youth where he grew up and where he was trained in Florence. Now you have an opportunity to "go home" with Mario and use the same local, fresh ingredients that make Tuscan cuisine and his specialities so outstanding. He'll share his cooking secrets and introduce you to some of his favorite regional dishes and local restaurants. Buon appetito!
Dates: To be determined for each group of 8-12 as organized by Dorina Miller (720) 284-7537
Opening Doors in Tuscany, A Photography Workshop with Pat and Emi Kanan. Internationally acclaimed photographers Pat and Emi Kanan share their passion for Tuscany with enthusiastic photographers. Regardless of equipment, they assist photographers with creative experimentation. Their workshop concentrates on composition, simplicity and the ability to recognize and capture those rare moments in time. Excursions include the magnificent Cinque Terre, the charms of small corners of Lucca, a fortress town in the mountains, Baroque villas and gardens, beautifully landscaped vineyards and olive groves, and more.
Dates: September 23 - 30, 2010
Artisan Discoveries in Tuscany: “Made in Italy." The hallmark of fine quality is never more true than during our tour of artisans in Tuscany. You are greeted by artisans who welcome you as friends into their working studios and factories as they share their entusiasmo and passione for their craft. Handmade, one-of-a-kind products are available to you, directly from the artisans who craft them. Among the many artisans, you visit Nora at her cashmere goat farm, meet Carlo who will measure your feet for customized leather shoes and boots and watch Grazia fashion exquisite embroidery on antique and handmade linens. Other artisan opportunities include ceramics, chocolates, jewelry, mixed media artists and your own artistry at making limoncello!
Dates: October 2 - 9, 2010 (perfect timing for holiday shopping)
