® ® SAVE 10% PAY IN FULL BEFORE DEC 15, 2015 ^ ^ LAND ONLY Tuscany COUNTRY ROADS OF UMBRIA AND TUSCANY HOSTED BY JANE & KEN ROOT 11 DAYS • JULY 22 - AUGUST 02, 2016 $4,899* per person twin share k Dates include a pre-night in Rome and a River Po VENICE post night in Venice as well as air from Dallas. (Day 10 and 11) Join Ken & Jane Root in conjunction with Insight Vacations® and Travel Discoveries, LTD to experience k the Italian Countryside of Umbria and Tuscany. Adriatic SAN k Sea GIMIGNANO Florence (Day 7, 8 and 9) ITINERARY Lucca Greve k Italy 22 JULY 2016 k 3 Assisi Pisa PERUGIA Board your overnight flight to Europe. Tuscany Cortona (Day 4, 5 and 6) Ligurian 3 23 JULY 2016 – WELCOME TO ROME Sea Spello k Umbria Check-in to your hotel, then there is time to relax, Siena explore or browse department stores. Orvieto k Hotel: Romanico Palace, Rome. ROME (Day 2 & 3) 24 JULY 2016 – FREE TIME IN ROME The day is at leisure. In the evening, meet your Tour Director and fellow guests for a Corsica Welcome Reception over a pleasant evening of dinner and wine. Hotel: Romanico Palace, Rome. Meals: Welcome Reception and Dinner. TO BOOK OR FOR MORE INFO CONTACT: Frascati 25 JULY 2016 - THE VATICAN, COOKING IN ORVIETO AND ON TO PERUGIA Explore the Vatican Museums in the morning, where the hidden gems of the vast Papal art collection are unveiled by a local historian. Your special VIP visit includes fast-track entry KEN ROOT and the Bramante Staircase, a part of the Vatican closed to the general public. View the E: [email protected] • PH: 515-306-9777 imposing St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest in the world. Next, head north to the Umbrian hilltop town of Orvieto; its Cathedral is one of Italy’s most celebrated buildings. You’re OR welcomed into the kitchens of zesty ‘Etruscan chef’ Lorenzo Polegri, who shares with you his virtuoso cooking skills and love of Italian food. Delicious pasta fresca, combined JOAN COOK with the local staples of olive oil, cheese, prosciutto and focaccia, make for a memorable E: [email protected] • PH: 815-432-6121 lunch, all washed down with a chilled glass of Orvieto Classico wine. Continue to Perugia, one of the most beautiful centres of art in the whole of Italy. The evening is at leisure to dine or explore as you please. TRAVEL DISCOVERIES 129 E WALNUT STREET WATSEKA IL 60970 Sardinia Hotel: Sangallo Palace Hotel, Perugia. WWW.TRAVELDISCOVERIES.COM Meals: Buffet Breakfast, Highlight Lunch. TERMS: *Prices displayed reflect early payment discount - Must pay land portion in full by 15 December 2015. 11 DAY PREMIUM ESCORTED JOURNEY COUNTRY ROADS OF JULY 22 - AUGUST 02, 2016 UMBRIA AND TUSCANY $4,899* per person twin share 30 JULY 2016 - FLORENCE AND CHIANTI COUNTRYSIDE EXPERIENCE The morning is devoted to the Renaissance city of Florence. A fascinating walking tour with a Local Expert takes you to the marble-clad Cathedral crowned by Brunelleschi’s dome. See the Baptistry with its beautiful ‘Gates of Paradise’ and Giotto’s splendid bell tower. Walk on to Signoria Square with its open-air gallery of Renaissance sculpture, followed by free time to shop for top-quality Florentine leather or seek bargains in the gold workshops. A delightful drive through the cypress and olive groves of Tuscany will bring you to Greve in Chianti, where you can taste the local produce and explore the artisan shops beneath the arched loggias of the triangular Piazza Matteotti. We stop along the winding Via Chinatigiana is Panzano in Chianti - originally a medieval castle, with its beautiful stone houses and Church of Santa Maria Assunta built into the remains of the fortifications. On our return, we visit a wine cellar for an exploration into their wine making process and enjoy a tasting. Florence Hotel: Villa San Paolo Hotel, San Gimignano Meal: Buffet Breakfast 26 JULY 2016 - PERUGIA SIGHTSEEING & FREE TIME In the morning, join a Local Expert to navigate the underground labyrinth of little streets, alleys and arches. Promenade the wide Corso Vannucci, resplendent in pale- 31 JULY 2016 - VENICE AND THE MAGIC OF ‘LA SERENISSIMA’ pink stone, past the princely Priors’ Palace, Cathedral and finely sculptured Great Descend from the Apennines before crossing the fertile valley of the River Po and Fountain in the main square. Then, visit a workshop to see how the fascinating art of continue to magical Venice, where the city seems to float on the lagoon. Wonder at hand-weaving textiles has been passed down through the generations. Afterwards, the marbled expanse of St. Marks Square – the Byzantine Basilica, Doges’ Palace and you will be free to enjoy the many delights of Umbria’s capital city. For dinner, lofty bell tower. Later, embark on a romantic gondola ride through the charismatic choose your ideal ambience and palate-pleasing menu from a handpicked selection canals while musicians serenade you with some of Italy’s best loved songs. In the of Perugian restaurants. Buon appetito! evening, enjoy a farewell Celebration dinner ‘alla Veneziana’ with good food, wine and company in the most magical of settings. Hotel: Sangallo Palace Hotel, Perugia. Meals: Buffet Breakfast, Dine-Around. Hotel: Best Western Premier Hotel Sant’Elena, Venice. Meals: Buffet Breakfast, Celebration Dinner. 27 JULY 2016 - ASSISI, IN SEARCH OF ST. FRANCIS 01 AUGUST 2016 – VENICE AT LEISURE Journey on to the medieval walled town of Assisi. With a Local Expert, visit the imposing Basilica of St. Francis - its early frescoes served as an inspiration to Enjoy Venice at your own pace. Renaissance artists. Move on through the twisted groves that carpet the side of Mt Subasio. At a family-run mill, meet a third generation specialist to follow the Meal: Buffet Breakfast. evolution of the olive, from tree to table and relish the intense flavours drizzled over crusty bread with a splash of salt – delizioso! 02 AUG 2016 – ARRIVEDERCI VENICE Bid farewell to this enchanting city today. Hotel: Sangallo Palace Hotel, Perugia. Meal: Buffet Breakfast. = Relaxed Starts 28 JULY 2016 - TUSCANY TO CORTONA, SIENA AND SAN GIMIGNANO Follow the shores of Lake Trasimeno to Cortona, one of the oldest hill towns in Tuscany. After time to explore, move on to the narrow cobbled streets of Siena. Standing in the shell-shaped Campo Square, imagine the frenzied atmosphere of the biannual Palio horse race and see the superb 14th century Town Hall. Then, with your Local Expert there is time to climb up to the black and white striped marble Cathedral. Your home for the next three nights is a delightful villa near the medieval town of San Gimignano. Hotel: Villa San Paolo Hotel, San Gimignano. Meals: Buffet Breakfast, Dinner. 29 JULY 2016 - SAN GIMIGNANO SIGHTSEEING & FREE TIME Sightseeing in the morning shows you San Gimignano’s medieval skyscrapers, serpentine streets and hidden squares. It also boasts the World Champion gelato Maestro Sergio Dondoli. At his artisan ice-cream parlour on the cobbled Piazza della Venice Cisterna, the jaunty gelataio doles out his silky frozen treats in a range of mind- boggling flavours. The rest of the day is at leisure; you could take an optional trip to Pisa and Lucca. Hotel: Villa San Paolo Hotel, San Gimignano. Meal: Buffet Breakfast. TO BOOK CONTACT: TRAVEL DISCOVERIES KEN ROOT JOAN COOK 129 E WALNUT STREET PHONE: 515-306-9777 PHONE: 815-432-6121 EMAIL: [email protected] EMAIL: [email protected] WATSEKA IL 60970.