Day 2: Introduction to Lucca – Market Day

• You'll meet Jo, your guide for the day, at Angolo Dolce, the best bar in Lucca, for a cappuccino and brioche. In September, a huge weekly market is held on our favorite shopping street, and it’s quite a sight. Then a walk along the Renaissance walls from which you can see the towers and gardens of the inner city. We'll descend the walls to begin our exploration of the town center.
  
• A long leisurely lunch at Neni, a small osteria tucked into the center of Lucca.
  
• After lunch, while the shops are closed and the city is quiet, is a good time to see the artistic and cultural attractions of Lucca, including churches dating from the 7th century housing masterworks by Tintoretto, della Robbia and Lippi, among others; the Duomo with its legendary black crucifix; and the home of Puccini. A gelato on the piazza makes a refreshing break in the afternoon.
  
• A late afternoon return to Selva, for dinner.

Day 3: “Sunday At Home”

• Morning walk through olive groves and vineyards to the shepherd’s house for ricotta still warm from the morning’s milking.
  
• Brunch, including this exquisite ricotta, in the shade with a view of the estate.
  
• Afternoon: recover/sleep/walk/read
  
• For dinner you travel to the small borgo of Celle dei Puccini, the hometown of the Puccini family, perched on a hillside above Lucca. Here you will experience true mountain cooking and a veritable mountain of delicious food.

Day 4: Chianti

• Today, you invade Chianti: The town of Greve, one of Chianti’s exceptional squares, with specialty shops, including the Macelleria Falorni, supplier of regional meats to restaurants throughout Tuscany and a great source of wild boar sausage. Vignamaggio, now a B&B and wine producer of note, and the former home of Mona Lisa. On to the storied town of Panzano and to the ristorante Vescovino for lunch with excellent food and possibly the best view in Chianti. In the afternoon, you visit Cennatoio, the home of a wine producer who keeps expanding his tasting room just to hold his many awards. The wines include Chianti, Chianti Classico, several Super Tuscans and Vin Santo made in the old way, all of which can be described only in superlatives.
  
• You return home to Selva for a (necessarily) light dinner.

Day 5: La Cucina

• You'll settle in to the professional kitchen for the day to learn how to prepare regional specialties such as the famous Tuscan panzanella salad or pappa pomodoro; the Lucchese farro torte or a peppery fava bean and pecorino crostini; an incomparable pasta sauce made with wine grapes; beef braised in balsamico; Portobello mushroom focaccia; or chocolate polenta pudding.
  
• Recipes for the cooking day, as well as for all meals, are presented to you in a souvenir binder.
  
• For an afternoon break, you'll enjoy a walk to the Tenuta di Forci fattoria to taste the estate wine and olive oil. Also available for purchase are other estate products such as olives, many different kinds of honey, pecorino cheese, an excellent grappa reserva, and beeswax candles.

Day 6: Lucchese Hills

• A drive up the Serchio River with a stop at the Devil’s Bridge, built in the 12th century, and ending in Castelnuovo. The fortress now houses specialty shops and a charming church. Lunch at Vecchio Mulino for regional salamis and cheeses, perhaps a farro torte and the opportunity to taste not just local wines, but neighborhood wines. Castelnuovo is also blessed with an abundance of the Tuscan gold, porcini mushrooms.
  
• Return home to Selva for pizza night – and it’s a participatory hands-on experience!

Day 7: Lucca in Depth

• A second day in Lucca begins with cappuccino in the oldest bar in Lucca, formerly the haunt of the composer Puccini and the poet Pascoli among others.
  
• The day presents shopping possibilities for silks, ceramics, leather, crafts, gold and antique jewelry. This is also a good chance to purchase any regional specialties you would like to take home with you. The Roman amphitheatre is now the site of art and craft shops.
  
• Lunch at Da Leo.
  
• Enoteca Vanni is the site for a very special wine tasting experience: ’97 Brunellos, whose entire vintage was rated a ‘99’ by Wine Spectator including Brunellos you won’t find anywhere else. The small shop leads down to a vast collection of wines in vaults under the city center.
  
• After more shopping time, and perhaps a gelato, we take our packages home to Selva for dinner. Tonight is a very special night because your chef is Emanuela, a Lucchese friend and marvelous country cook. Her food is as good as you’ll get at any five star restaurant.

Day 8: Wild Card Day

• Your choice: Return to something you liked during the week or do something you heard about during the week. Return to see more of Lucca. More wine tasting. Simply sit at Selva and contemplate the cypresses. Walk the beach at Viareggio. Visit Cutigliano, one of the most beautiful villages in Tuscany and a favorite of the Medici.
  
• Dinner at Bernardone. For your last night’s dinner you take an incredibly beautiful half hour drive to this lovely restaurant that takes regional dishes to a new level of gastronomy.

Day 9: Arriverderci! Until we meet again!

• After a last brioche and cappuccino, the van transports the group to the Pisa airport and to the Lucca train station for departure.