Travel Insurance - Some Tips and Helpful Info

Many people question whether or not to purchase travel insurance (also known as trip insurance) before going oversees.  Sometimes, the decision is made for you.  If you travel with me or with La Contadina, as with many other tour organizers and tour companies, you are required to purchase travel insurance, especially the type that covers repatriation expenses (the cost of getting you home if need be).  Independent travellers have more flexibility in deciding, and Rick Steves provides a helpful article on the factors involved in making this decision:  http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/insurance.htm. 

For those who are required to purchase some form of travel insurance, an easy website to use is http://www.insuremytrip.com/.  This site allows you to compare numerous plans, their prices and coverage options, in an easy-to-read table format.  In contrast, if you go through AAA, you are only offered the Access America insurance policy options, whereas Insure My Trip.com offers Access America and many, many other companies' options.  The website also provides ratings for each of the policies (A+, A, A-, etc.). 

Another interesting link is from the Travel Blog Exchange:  http://www.travelblogexchange.com/profiles/blogs/a-case-for-travel-insurance.  This traveller offers three instances in which travel insurance 'saved the day.' 

TIPS:  If you purchase your insurance well in advance of the trip, it can be extremely affordable - a drop in the bucket relative to the cost of your trip.  The closer you are to your departure date, the higher the premium can climb, so shop for your insurance while you're shopping for your airline tickets! 

It's also important to note that in order to cover pre-existing conditions, it can be necessary to purchase your trip insurance within 24 or 48 hours of your initial trip payment (such as purchase of your airline ticket, or your down payment to a tour operator). 

Day by Day, "My Private Italy" tour itinerary

Day 0 - 1
Depart US/Fly overnight to Italy. Tour begins at Pisa airport, so you may fly either directly into Pisa, or fly to Rome and connect to Pisa by air or by train. At the Pisa airport, you will be met by "La Contadina" tour guide Marybeth (“Bettina” while in Italy) and by filmmaker Steve McCurdy. We will embark on our first adventure right from here by visiting the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa in the Piazza dei Miracoli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* From here, we will transfer to Lucca (greater Lucca area pop. 86,000; pop. within medieval walls 8,000) and our centrally-located, 4-star hotel. Time to settle in, stroll in the heart of this proud Etruscan city and enjoy a welcome dinner at one of Lucca’s finest restaurants. A mini language lesson for those interested.

Day 2
Breakfast and a quick morning stroll atop the ramparts to get our blood flowing before our drive to the ocean to visit the Cinque Terre, a string of 5 isolated, rugged villages clinging to the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. Let Steve show you some of his favorite spots he filmed for “My Private Italy,” as we search together for the best pesto, the most flavorful wine, lemon-flavored honey, local olive oil, and locally-made handicrafts in this UNESCO Natural World Heritage Park*. This is a day to admire the colorful architecture, breathe deeply of the sea air, and get some exercise as we climb and descend the often-steep and always-quaint village streets. Enjoy a little wine education courtesy of Bettina during dinner together on the coast before we return to our peaceful retreat in Lucca.

Day 3
Breakfast together and then off to Florence for the day! One could spend a whole week in Florence, or perhaps a lifetime, taking in the wonders of this world-famous city. It is not our intention to show you all of Florence but rather to expose you to the grandeur and magnificence of this cultural mecca, visiting some top spots along the way (incl. the Ponte Vecchio), to show you some hidden gems (good places to shop for leather, fun local trattoria for lunch together, best gelateria, etc.), and of course, to pose with the replica of Michelangelo’s David in the Piazza della Signoria. Dinner on your own tonight in Florence (we will happily make recommendations), and then we return to Lucca to pack our bags!

Day 4
This morning is our last breakfast in Lucca. We are going to get an early start so we can enjoy our drive through Tuscany and have time for a brief exploration of “San Gimignano delle belle Torri” (San Gimignano of the beautiful towers, pop. 7100), one of the best-preserved hill towns in all of Tuscany. In fact, San Gimignano has been made a UNESCO World Heritage Site* and still has 14 towers remaining from the 11th-13th centuries. We will wander the hilly streets and, for those up to the task, climb the 54-meter high Torre Grossa for an unparalleled view of the surrounding Tuscan countryside. Before taking off for Spoleto, Umbria, we will visit a famous gelateria (spring tour) and perhaps try the Crema di Santa Fina (orange cream gelato flavored with vanilla bean pods), or the famous Sorbetto alla Vernaccia, another specialty flavor found only here. You may want to pick up a bottle of local Vernaccia di San Gimignano, a lovely white wine made in this region since the Renaissance. We will then drive to Spoleto (pop. 36,000), check into our lovely centrally-located hotel, and call it a day – a great day!

Day 5
We get to sleep in a bit today! Breakfast at our hotel followed by an orientation to Spoleto and a free morning to do as you wish. You may cross the Ponte delle Torri (the Bridge of the Towers which began as a Roman aqueduct), or you may prefer to check out the Teatro Romano (Roman Theater) and the Casa Romana (Roman House). There are also plenty of shops in Spoleto selling lovely and affordable hand-painted ceramics, truffle oil, pasta, wine, and other souvenirs and gifts. Time for a nap in the early afternoon before we gather for our cooking class! Our renowned local chef will teach you to mix simple ingredients and create sophisticated dishes that will impress your friends and family. After our session in the kitchen we will relax and enjoy our scrumptious meal. We will stroll leisurely back to our hotel and enjoy sogni d’oro tonight (dreams of gold). Printed recipes will be emailed to you following the tour’s conclusion.

Day 6
For our last full day together, we will meet after breakfast for our day trip north to Bevagna (pop. 2,400) and Montefalco (pop. 5,500). These hilltop villages are lined with cobblestone streets and old shops. While in Bevagna we will visit a local winery for a wine tasting. On our way back, we will stop in Montefalco, and from the “Balcony of Umbria,” we will savor the panoramic views of the Umbrian hills and let the scenery gently revive our senses. After snacking on pizza we will shop for a wonderful local wine (Sagrantino di Montefalco or a Rosso di Montefalco) or other treasures. Back to Spoleto for our last dinner together and a night “passeggiata.”

Day 7
Arrivederci everyone! Transfer to Rome Fiumicino Airport and buon viaggio! For those of you extending your stay, you can ask to be transferred into the city from the airport. Thank you for traveling with us!

*UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. To learn more about UNESCO, please visit http://www.unesco.org/. Briefly (and taken from their website), UNESCO’s mission is “to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.” A sub-mission of UNESCO is “to preserve humanity’s irreplaceable riches: its diversity and shared heritage.” To accomplish this, UNESCO catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. In particular, a World Heritage Site is a place of either cultural or physical significance and must be of "outstanding universal value." On our “My Private Italy” tour, we will visit 4 such sites: the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa, the Cinque Terre, the historic center of Florence, and San Gimignano.

Cinque Terre, here we come!

This is a great view of Riomaggiore, one of the 5 towns that make up the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera. UNESCO has proclaimed the area a Natural World Heritage Park.

These 5 towns (Monterosso al Mare {the largest}, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore) cling to the cliffs above the Mediterranean, and boast quiet streets (no cars, no traffic), lots of shopping, and great pesto and seafood. We'll visit the Cinque Terre and see how many different pestos we can find, and who can find the best Cinque Terre wine! There are also lots of shops in Riomaggiore that sell olive oil and locally made handicrafts, and the famous "Via dell'Amore," or "Path of Love," is a short hiking trail joining Riomaggiore to the next village to the north, Manarola. You are sure to enjoy the tranquility and beauty of this excursion.

Here is a view of Vernazza taken from the hillside above, at dusk. Each village is unique, yet they are all rugged, coastal, and quite isolated.





Pesto Ingredients:
Send your favorite pesto recipes to us at lacontadina@yahoo.com !

Lucca, Tuscany - first stop on our "My Private Italy" tour!

This is a view of the medieval walls and ramparts surrounding the lovely town of Lucca in northwestern Tuscany. Locals and tourists alike stroll atop these walls and even ride their bicycles up there for fabulous views. We stay in Lucca for 3 nights on the "My Private Italy" tour, using it as our home-base for exploring the Cinque Terre, Florence, nearby Tuscan hilltowns, and wineries.

This is the facade of the Church of St. Michael (San Michele) in Lucca, Tuscany. The facade is reminiscent of the Cathedral of St. Martin (San Martino), a short distance away. Both facades feature columns that are all different from each other. Legend has it that the columns are different because, when the cathedral was under construction, the residents of Lucca held a contest to see which artist could make the most beautiful column. They couldn't decide and so used all of them to decorate the cathedral's facade. No matter whether the legend is true or not, both the church and the cathedral are breathtakingly beautiful. Our hotel, which is located at the geographic center of historic Lucca, is within easy walking distance to both these famous sites.

My Private Italy tour dates announced!

Our "My Private Italy" tour is scheduled for December 14-20, 2009. There are still spots available, but because we like to keep our tour groups small and intimate, we can't accommodate large numbers of guests. The tour price is 2300 Euro, but our Slow Travel ad offers a 10% discount for tour guests paying their deposit before November 1st. Please read more about this awesome tour in my September blog posting, or go to : http://www.slowtrav.com/cl/detail.asp?l=3906

Announcing the new "My Private Italy" tour! Mid December 2009

Announcing our new “My Private Italy” tour, mid December 2009.

We have developed a new itinerary featuring some of the places highlighted in Steve’s film, “My Private Italy,” and we’ve also included some old favorites from the “Postcards from Italy” tour itinerary. Plus, there are a few surprises included that we just can’t mention ‘til we get there!

We are planning to stay in Lucca, Tuscany for the 1st part of the tour, with day visits to the Cinque Terre (5 villages clinging to the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean, and famous for their pesto and their wine), to Firenze (Florence), a major art and cultural city in Italy, and to Santa Luce, a darling hilltop village. Lucca, founded by the Romans, was later encircled by a series of pink-brick ramparts (construction began in 1544), which are now a favorite place atop which both locals and tourists like to stroll, gazing down into the city and out over the surrounding mountains. It's a lovely place to stay for 4 nights, and you will have some free time to explore Lucca on your own and find some souvenirs and do some Christmas shopping :-)

Santa Luce and the Cinque Terre are featured in Steve's film, "My Private Italy." A copy of this film is available on DVD to those interested in booking the tour. Just send us an email and provide your mailing address.

Starting this tour in Pisa also affords us the opportunity to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa before we head to Lucca - an added bonus not to be underestimated. You can see a picture of me on top of the Leaning Tower on a blog post below. Climbing the marble steps once climbed by Galileo is a very powerful experience.

Then we head to Spoleto, Umbria for the last few nights of our tour. Spoleto is where we have our fabulous cooking class (it is SO much FUN!). Spoleto is a hilltop town in Umbria that boasts fabulous restaurants and a lot of Roman sites (an ancient "teatro," or theater, and the famous "Bridge of the Towers," which began as a Roman aquaduct. That's also where my favorite ceramics shop is located. I plan to buy a few more coffee cups this time - the perfect spot for Christmas gift shopping.

Spoleto, by the way, is featured in another of Steve's films, "Postcards from Italy."

Following our precious time in Spoleto, we transfer to Rome and our tour concludes upon our arrival at the airport, about noontime. Some tour guests like to stay on at the end of the tour and explore more of Rome on their own for a day or two. I always stay myself for a day or two to do some shopping (my favorite bookstore is there!) and exploring. There is still so much to see!

This tour includes a wine tasting, the cooking class, all transportation including airport pick up and drop off, all breakfasts, and either lunch or dinner (more dinners than lunches), and wine with dinner. Tour starts in Pisa and ends in Rome. Let me know what you think! Cost is 2300 Euros, plus airfare (which is about 1/2 the usual cost right now!).