Culture & Education Vacations

A Cook Italy 3 or 6 nights class in the countryside - just like the day classes in Bologna which are so convenient for those staying in Florence and Milan - is above all enjoyable. Serious about food and cooking but very relaxed in spirit. It is about enjoying Italy and Italian food in convivial company, a very Italian approach! On a Cook Italy week, you will have 5 hands-on cooking classes preparing three course meals using authentic regional recipes. In choosing the meals, I like to showcase the richly varied range of Italian regional cuisine and to give you the history and background to a dish, not just the recipe and cooking tips. You join in according to your mood, cooking a lot everyday or sometimes just watching, chatting, sipping wine, helping set the table or tidying up.I keep the groups very small, usually 2 - 6, never more than 8. That way you really get to do hands-on cooking and get individual attention too. The techniques are straight forward as is usual with Italian home cooking. It avoids fussiness, aiming instead to let the food speak for itself - to bring out the flavours of the food, not to impose flavours from the outside. On some weeks there is a food related tour to the producers, who are people who I have chosen for their skill, passion and dedication to their art, whether cheese, olive oil, prosciutto or wine making. The warmth of the hospitality is the other basis for my selection - it is not unusual for the olive oil or wine maker to join us for lunch or invite us to a special food and wine event, or to personally ring a restaurant to make a booking on our behalf and ensure we get the best treatment. And there is one free day for you to fill as you please, to accommodate the varied interests of the typically independent Cook Italy guest!

Imagine Your Dream Vacation in Tuscany and Umbria...

Our Italian Cooking Vacations through Tuscany and Umbria are not just about what you see, but how you see it. They are all about fun, laughter and a sense of family. We reject mass tourism in favor of discovering the real Italy. After all, it's about so much more than just the sights you see, so we integrate you into the warm and friendly Italian culture at every opportunity. You will discover Italy among the Italians, rather than being wrapped in a crowd of other tourists. This wonderful and warm Italian experience is what makes it the trip of a lifetime. Look further and discover what makes us so special... and get ready to become a part of our extended family!

You can also feel confident with us. We are a well-established organization based in the United States, but operating in Italy. We are one of the most successful and well established cooking vacation operators in all of Italy, and we always welcome requests for references.

La cucina del gusto is one of the older cooking school of Sorrento.
We started in 2001 and step by step we get very succesfull. The secret of our success is that all classes are completely hands on
and clients will eat what they prepared during the class.

It’s Yoga started as a dream almost 30 years ago and has now developed into a global community of like-minded individuals with a deep appreciation for the Ashtanga Vinyasa practice. The It’s Yoga System brings the ancient practice of Ashtanga to the modern student of Yoga. With great respect for the benefits of the practice, we have expanded routines, yoga teacher trainings,yoga retreats, workshops and continuing education programs all designed to invite inquisitors to share in the gifts of this life enhancing practice.

2010 Culinary programs,all year round
 
For 1 or 2 days we welcome you in

One day hands on cooking classes in Chianti or in Florence also with your children, or for a special event
or join our

Wine and Olive Oil tour and Food Tasting to enjoy the essence of wine, extravergin olive oil and Tuscan food

Market Visit + Food and Wine tasting to immerse in Italian lifestyle

Herbs,Vines and Olives walking tour, to discover the countryside

For more days enjoy our

Chianti Packages ,including cooking classes, tours and living with an Italian family for 2-5 days

or take part in our

5 Day Cooking courses
where we can offer a more complete experience

5 Day Italian language classes ,where we can teach you our language in a relaxed way

 
Classes in Chianti are held in an evocative stone farmhouse, in the hills of the
Chianti wine region,surrounded by vineyards & olivegroves

 
Classes in Florence , are in a classic apartment 10 minutes walk from the most
important museums and masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

artbreak™ is an active learning vacation to renew your mind, heart, and spirit midst the most beautiful city in Europe.

artbreak™ is a meticulously crafted vacation for adventurous individuals who love the creative arts, and who enjoy expanding their personal creative and cultural horizons through travel.

Whether you’ve always wanted to try your hand at sculpting or painting, share time with artists who care deeply about creative expression, or simply see night after night of breathtaking performances, artbreak™ is meant for you.

Weekday mornings English classes.
Business English
Pronunciation
Writing, reading, Grammar, Conversation

Camp Tall Timbers is situated on 120 privately owned acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia, just a 2 hour drive from the Washington Area (free bus service is available from the Washington Area and Dulles International Airport). Camp Tall Timbers was founded in 1970. Through the years the camp has expanded it program and facilities and serves children from ages7 -16. Camp Tall Timbers operates as its own community. What makes Camp Tall Timbers special is its ability to offer an exciting and rewarding program for our campers. An abundant amount of facilities are available to support all of our activities. Camp Tall Timbers is the perfect place for your children to swim in our pool, ride at our stables, play some tennis or do a gazillion other cool things. Cool Camp. Cool Kids.

Burgundy on a Plate offers wine tasting and gastronomy tours from one day to one week - it's up to you!
As an example, this is the itinerary for our 5 night, six day Heart of Burgundy tour. Apart from the tour described below, we offer a range of one day tours from 185 euros which you can view on our Burgundy on a Plate website on the one day tour page.

Heart of Burgundy Tour

Day 1 - Arrival day will include an introduction to wine tasting in Burgundy before a great first night dinner in an exceptional location. Day 2 takes us off to the medieval village of Flavigny sur Ozeraine where ‘Chocolat’ was filmed. We taste local bonbons and some wines from the Auxerrois. Lunch is in a Ferme Auberge run by a group of farmers’ wives using local produce. Burn off some calories with a walk around Flavigny’s ramparts. The stunning village and 12C castle in Chateauneuf en Auxois is on the menu for the afternoon. We return home via the picturesque Ouche Valley running alongside the Burgundy canal.

Day 3 – Your first tasting of the red wines of the Cotes de Nuits is in Nuits St Georges in a small family owned domaine. Lunch today is in Hautes Cotes de Nuits where hams are baked over the fire. A drive back through the vineyards takes us to meet our chef in his Beaune restaurant for a really fun, interactive cooking class. We return to his restaurant for a delicious meal that we might have helped to prepare!

Day 4 - Today it’s the turn of the Cote de Beaune. You will taste at a small family cellar in Meursault before going on to the renowned village of Puligny Montrachet. Here you will visit the cellar and vineyards of a well known winegrower. This is followed by a leisurely, informal tasting lunch in their restaurant. Take a break from tasting on a spectacular drive up into Hautes Cotes de Beaune where you will be entirely surrounded by vineyards. If time permits, you have a choice for our last event of the day – a further wine tasting or a visit to a pottery in one of the villages.

Day 5 – Market Day in Beaune. Meander around Beaune’s wonderful market, full of colourful vegetables and fruits, delicious cheeses, olives and pates. There will be a visit to the mustard museum for those interested. After lunch we go cheese tasting in a farm in the hills and a visit to the red fruits farm where berries are transformed by hand into a wealth of delicious products. The last night dinner is at a Michelin starred restaurant in wonderful surroundings. Day 6. Departure day and we take you back to Dijon station during the morning to fit in with your personal travel arrangements.