Tag: Tours

Tuscany Holiday, Does Planning Your Trip Save Money? Yes.

Every traveller has a preferred travel style. Some prefer to leave nothing to chance. Everything is booked – the hotel, the car, even the attractions – booked and paid for well in advance.

The Tuscan itinerary is clear and everyone knows the game plan.

Then there’s the spontaneous traveller, the one who wants to take what comes along, good or bad.

Most of us fall somewhere in between, isn’t it?

No problem, but the question is: does planning ahead save money? Here are some of the “yes, yes and for sure yes” answers.

Yes – Planning Ahead Saves Money

If you have zero flexibility on dates, there’s no point in waiting for a last-minute deal on anything unless you have a back-up plan. Plan ahead: get the best deal you can on a Villa or an Hotel with cancellation privileges, if (and this is important) you think it’s likely that a last-minute deal will come along. Don’t forget to cancel in sufficient time if you change to the last-minute deal.

True last-minute deals can be very inexpensive, but they come with hidden costs sometimes. For example, how much will breakfast cost in the last-minute hotel as compared to the pre-booked one? Your savings could disappear pretty quickly if the last-minute place is an expensive cab ride away from the main attractions, especially if you could have pre-booked somewhere central.

You can sometimes save money by planning and paying in advance for your non-refundable accommodation. With reputable firms this is reasonable, as you usually get a better rate than if you do not pay in advance. With firms you don’t know, be very careful!

Accommodation is often the most expensive part of your trip. Once you know what it will cost you, you can be quite specific about the other items in your budget. No surprises!

Surprises are the sort of thing that can be costly. No surprises often means no overspending.

Planning ahead also gives you time to really get the value from using a travel agent, should you choose to do so. You can shop around for an agent you feel comfortable with, and then the agent can work for you and your budget. Remember, time is money. If your time is limited, let the travel agent do what they are trained to do, to find you the best value!

More of a do-it-yourselfer? Then give yourself lots of time to shop around for the deals you want, and to become familiar with the market for whatever it is you’re buying. When you buy a car, you typically research how much cars cost, and for a couple of weeks you probably know the value of one or two models fairly well. The same goes for any type of goods or services – if you study the market for a bit, you soon find out what a reasonable price to pay is. Shoes, cars, villas or hotels, the principle is the same.

The biggest benefit of planning a tour or an holiday is that you will know how much is reasonable to spend on each element of your trip and you can lock in savings when you find them.

Tuscany and Lucca’s Luminara

The picture on the front cover is very meaningful for everyone who claims to be Lucchese.
It was taken last year just before the procession of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross started to arrive in the Cathedral of San Martino.
The procession leaves from the Church of San Frediano and retraces the steps of all of the other processions which have traditionally taken place on the 13th of September every year – Piazza San Frediano, Via Fillungo, Via Roma, Piazza San Michele, Piazza Grande, Piazza del Giglio, Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Martino to arrive at its destination.
When the head of the procession arrives in the cathedral, the last part of it is still waiting to leave San Frediano so this may help you to realise just how many people take part in it.
It begins with archbishops, bishops, parish priests and parishioners carrying banners to announce where they are from, with brass bands playing liturgical music and choirs singing hymns in praise of the Holy Cross, each person holding a candle.
The local councils are well represented as are all voluntary organisations, with local politicians, mayors from the province of Lucca and, of course, the mayor of Lucca.
They are followed by representatives of the Lucchesi nel Mondo Association who are so proud and happy to be present in Lucca on this special evening as a tribute to their Lucchese roots. Last but not least come the historical figures in beautiful, colourful medieval costumes – lords, ladies, children, militia and archers.
So great are the number of participants that I’ve probably not even mentioned everybody.
Seeing is believing, however, because if I hadn’t seen this procession I could never have imagined the greatness of it all.
Although there are hundreds, thousands of onlookers, there always appears to be space for everybody. Along the route, the architecture of the buildings, shops and houses is outlined with countless numbers of little glass holders containing lit candles illuminating the procession, adorning Lucca with an unforgettable sight. The front cover is only a taste of what is to come on the 13th of September.
When the whole procession has entered the doors of the cathedral, the mottettone is sung.
This is a piece of polyphonic sacred church music. In the past it was composed for two organs and two choirs.
In fact the mottettone has always been a characteristic of the Feast of the Holy Cross, so much so that it attracted a great number of music lovers, contributing to the international fame of this event.
After the mottettone, people start moving towards the Walls to position themselves for a great view of the spectacular fireworks that conclude a wonderful evening.

September the month of the Vendemia: Grape harvest in Tuscany

September: The grape harvest in Tuscany

September: The grape harvest in TuscanyHere we’re talking about wine, because September is the month of the grape harvest and of the celebrations dedicated to it.

In some areas of the south, grapes are ready for harvesting in August, and towards the more Northern regions, it can take up until November for the grapes to be ready – it all comes down to ripening of the grape, it must have the right level of sweetness. In Tuscany, the grape harvest happens in September, and is therefore big on the agenda for a region to which wine is very important.

It’s not just about Chianti, a wine which everyone knows, but least we forget about the fantastic wines from Montepulciano; Brunello di Montalcino, Carmignano, and Morellino di Scansano, to name but a few. Being such an important part of life, there are many celebrations and festivities dedicated to the grape, and of course its final product.

The first organised celebration started in 1926 in a town named Impruneta, in the Chianti area. It was during the Fascist period, a time when the Government wanted to celebrate local traditions and products with fairs, and most of these have been maintained to the present day. The celebrations in Impruneta are on the last Sunday of September (the 24th, this year) but the town is busy beforehand, buzzing with the preparations for the parade which goes through Piazza Buondelmonti. There is a competition between the four districts of the area, to see who can create the most beautiful carnival float. The parade is accompanied by dancing and music and it’s a lively affair.

Siena also has its own Festa dell’uva from September 20 through 24 in Castelnuovo Berardenga. There are also events in Gaiole, Chianti from the 16th to the 18th of September, and in Panzano, with its Vino al Vino celebration at the end of the third week of September (15th, to the 17th during 2006).

In Rufina, on the northern border of the Chianti area, there will be a series of fairs and festivals called the Bacco Artigiano. Concerts, wine tasting, and products made by local artisans will enliven the magnificent Medicean villas and village squares of Rufina and Pomino from September 28th to October 1st.

The celebrations move to Florence on the 30th of September, wine is blessed and offered to the Lordship of Florence, in a ritual which started in the 13th century when the consul of Arte dei Vinattieri – the wine maker’s guild, offered the wine to the seat of government – the Palazzo della Signoria for use in the refectory.

For more than twenty years this tradition has been revived, celebrating the ancient ties between the city and the countryside. The Matto float gets blessed in the churchyard of Piazza del Duomo. A large float made from a mountain of Fiaschi wine, and then, the historical parade of the Republic of Florence and the Countrymen of Rufina march toward Piazza della Signoria, where a whirl of music and flag bearers bring an end to the party.

The island of Elba, where the Moscato and Aleatico varieties are produced, also has its own grape festivities on September 25th in Capoliveri. Named the “the island of many wines” by the Greeks and the Romans, today Elba produces seven DOC wines exclusive to the area. Moving inland the area of Scansano in Grossetto opens its wine cellars to showcase the excellent local red wine Morellino di Scansano, and other delicious local products in the Morellino e Sapori DOC festival. People dress for the events in medieval costume and the events include archery. If you’re really enthusiastic about learning more with regards to the history of wine, then for a small fee you can go to the Museum of Wine, in Carmignano, where you can learn everything from the harvesting of the grape, to the final production stages of making the wine.

Museum of Grape and Wine
P.za Vittorio Emanuele, 2 – Carmignano
Tel: 055 8712468 – 055 8750265

Hours:
From October 1 – March 31
Tues – Sun 9.30-12.00, 15-17.30 and the first Sunday of each month the museum is open all afternoon

From April 1 to May 14 & from August 1 – September 30:
Tues – Sun 9.30-12.00, 16.00-18.30.

From May 15 to July 31:
Tues-Sun 9.30-12.30, 16.00-19.00

Inspiring food wine journeys around Tuscany 5

FW05 : MARKET DAY IN PISTOIA
If you’re looking for a true Italian experience, a visit to Pistoia market (on a Wednesday and Saturday morning) is a must with its many piazzas filled with fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers, clothing, linens, fabrics, shoes, etc. Pace is slow. life here is still in tune with the countryside and Sauro who’s family has owned a fruit and vegetable shop for many many generations will entertain and delight you with his typical Italian passion for life. Encircled by walls dating back to the 14th century, the town also has an abundance of romanesque churches and well preserved architecture.