Villas in Tuscany December Specials....

December is such a fun month......

Grown up kids and mini adults alike love the run up to Christmas with all the glitz, parties, sparkly bling pretty much everywhere you go, yes even your local coffee shop!

What did you get in your advent calendar this morning??



People get back in touch with those they don't hear from very often (if at all...) during the year, everyone gets into a party mood and start thinking of presents and decorations, bite size party food and bubbly party drinks, then the ''oh my goodness, am I going to get into my dress by new years?''....... haha!!

So we've also put together some amazing ideas for you to take advantage of before the start of the new year.

One Thing to Note - you will need to contact us directly to be able to take advantage of some of these amazingly special offers, as not all are available on the website, because they are reserved for you as your bonus to following the blog!

Which means these are exclusively for you, and anyone you choose to forward our blog to.

Let's pull the first special out of the ViT Christmas sack.......




Woohoo - A Super Saver!!!
This is for the beautiful Villa di Collina.

Book by 31 December and visit between now and 26 February 2011 and you will get a stunning 15% off.




Next up - An Early Bird!!

Again, for Villa di Collina.

Book by 31 December and visit between 26 February and 2 July 2011, and you will receive 10% off the regular price.

More to come soon!!

Enjoy,

The ViT Team.

Updates on Villas in Tuscany

The blog is going get busy from now on in......

As well as ''What's On'' we'll be featuring properties once a week, so over the weeks to come there will be another way of viewing villas / apartments / estates for anyone interested. 

This will take a bit of time to build up, so if anyone would like to know about any property in particular, or a type of property then we can accommodate that.

We'll also keep you updated on any ''Specials'' going, either for a quick getaway, an early bird booking, or long term let, so sign up if you don't want to miss anything.

You can always follow us on Twitter, and pick up info on Facebook too.

What's on NOW in Tuscany...

What's cooking in Tuscany right now?

With precisely a week to go till October this is what's happening:

Mostra Mercato Internazionale dell'Antiquariato in Florence - September through to October - a massive antiques fair.

Impruneta's (just outside Florence) Festa dell'Uva (Grape Festival) - 26 September is a great day of popular dances, performances, local produce to taste and a procession of allegorical carts of the four districts of Impruneta.

Castelnuovo Berardegna Wine Festival in Vagliagli - a week long of wine and local product tastings. Traditional dressed men and women accompany the carts during the procession.

Certaldo, near Florence, hosts the Sagra della Bistecca (la tagliata is a delicious cut of steak) e del Fungo Porcino from the 9 September to 10 October over each weekend within that period of time.

24 - 26 September in San Miniato, near Pisa, is the Sagra del Tarfufo Bianco e Fungo Porcino.
White Truffles and Porcino Mushrooms - and on show are the local specialities made with these highly prized foods.

Prato instead hosts a more highbrow affair over the 24 - 27 September weekend. An economics fair with music and exhibitions, and Nobel prize winners speaking too.

Truffles are worth 'investigating' if you have never tasted, smelt or seen one up close.
They are an underground mushroom basically, usually found around certain trees depending on the type of truffle, and look like a cross between gingseng, ginger and a potato.

They are highly prized, the season lasts until January during which bidding and trading for both black and white truffles can reach a veritable frenzy! They're already being sold online from £500 / $780 up for 300g.

The most expensive white truffle to date was bought by a casino owner who paid £165,000 / $330,000!!!
It weighed in at 3.3lbs.

They used to be sniffed out by pigs, but dogs are also used nowadays.

Please contact ViT for more information on villas or accommodation in Tuscany that will either organise a truffle hunt for you, or put you in touch with the local connoisseur when you are there.

Happy hunting!!

Last Minute Savings for April

Spring is in full swing!

The sun and April showers are fighting for the main stage in the UK, and there is even a bit of snow forecast.

The UK is grey and miserable again, and jackets are back on over the short sleeves that had started to show themselves in the last couple of weeks.

Tuscany, on the other hand, is full of beans.

Yes, there are showers, and yes it is grey some of the time, but not all, and it's getting better as I write.

With the sun out you can kick your shoes off and enjoy the lush green grass beneath your feet.

Get the shades on, the sun lounger out, and organise a picnic or a cocktail evening under that warm caress of the Tuscan Spring Sun.

There were some wonderfully hot days already in February, and March has been wonderful too.

So ViT is so looking forward to April and all that it has to offer.

So why not take advantage of the benevolent Italian weather and come over during April with a last minute booking?

With Florence, Siena, San Gimigniano, Montespertoli, Certaldo, Certaldo Alto, Gambassi Terme and many more within easy reach, this stunning villa in particular is a wonderful place to chill out for a week, catch some early rays, enjoy the delights of spring and save some money at the same time.

It's big enough to get a group of friends together and go - any excuse will do!

As always, if you need any help with choosing please contact ViT and I'll be glad to help.

Let's Catch Up....

Ok, When, and Where? Done. Excited? See you there!

Essentially there are no rules to ''Catch Up''. Just agree (!) on a day, a place and a time, which serve as a springboard into the Catch Up Zone, and the rest is open to interpretation and improvisation.

ViT is off on a Catch Up, having just arrived in the UK from ViT-HQ, and is thoroughly looking forward to it all.

Pancake Day aka Shrove Tuesday is now long past (actually 2 days after Valentines Day), we're still in Lent (what have you given up??!!) and Easter is on it's way.

ViT has been recieving emails from people asking for suggestions as to where families and groups of friends can go in Tuscany to enjoy a change of scenery over the next few weeks.

New blogs will be along the lines of ''Easter in somewhere or other'', or ''Easter doing something or other'' etc. In fact, I will write about places people ask about most often first, so drop ViT a line if you'd like a blog on somewhere or something specific.

So, what to do and where to go over the Easter period....

There are many public celebrations to enjoy and Tuscany is a hive of activity; snow is still on the mountains and skiing is great; the days are longer and after 5.32pm GMT on 20 March we are officially in Spring - yeay!!; the sun's strength is perfect for that sun kissed look whilst sunbathing by the pool, and is not too strong for kids to have to be kept out of the sun during the middle of the day; temperatures are on the up and it's hot enough to start having all meals outside (the best way to start the day - breakfast outside under the sun taking in that panorama - oh yes!); Nature's colours are vibrant as flowers are opening up, crops are shooting up, and a new lease of life is bursting forth after the long hard winter we've all just experienced; birds will be in full  song, and little ones of all species will be trying out for the first time their legs or wings or fins or whatever.....!

Spring in Tuscany is a sure fire winner - the place is buzzing with energy, it's not too hot, it's not too cold, flights are cheap, and finally we can all get outdoors and breathe in deeply that fresh positively charged air whilst walking barefoot on the negatively charged grass or sand and really be perfectly in balance with nature and ourselves.

Tuscany comes to life again in full force and courses start up again as well, cooking, chocolate, wine tasting, to name but very few.

Golf, horse riding, paragliding, hot air ballooning, sports galore are accessible, and it's a great time to try something new...

What would you prefer?

A large house for everyone, pool and ample ground to chill out in. Maybe get a chef in for a few evening meals who can cook traditional Tuscan, international or whatever you wish. Maybe organise a masseusse, beautician and baby sitter to come round so the adults can be pampered and totally unwind whilst the kids are entertained.

A set of appartments with communal spaces within the same location, maybe an old farmhouse or very large villa for example, so that whilst everyone is all together there is still a high degree of independance.

All ViT accomodations have pools, bbq, and so much more, it just depends where you'd like to be situated too - completely out in the countryside or near to town.

There are farmhouses, country villas, estates, appartments that cater to all your requirements, so why don't you email me with your preferences and I will send you various options and information on what's going on in that area around the time of your Together-Time holiday.

I think you'll agree that whilst playing catch up in the UK at the moment, ViT is actually ahead of the game where Tuscany is concerned.

Life is good, Tuscany is great, ViT is a Tuscan winner!!

Food Glorious Food.....!!!

Mangiare is the Italian for 'to eat'.
A long 'a' makes it 'mangiaaare' (add a little theatrical Sophia Loren movement), and just by opening up your jaw to pronounce the Italian word your whole body starts to desire getting that deliciousness off the plate and into your mouth.

Whereas the English word 'eat' (pronounced 'eeet') closes the mouth and jaw and sounds like 'eeeek', which doesn't exactly get the system going does it?

Food for thought..... (I know, I know, but hey!)

The Italians love their food, in case no one had ever noticed, and they really notice if there is a lack of taste as they are so used to locally grown food in great conditions.
The Mediterranean diet has many scientific studies extolling it's virtues and on your holiday you will understand why.

Food is fresh, sourced and sold locally where possible, picked when ready to eat, and there is a good organic movement too.
Alot of places are biodynamic and natural laws and rhythms are followed.
Many people also have the possibility of eating their own home grown fruit and veg.

Worth noting is the fact that many Tuscans won't eat foods out of season.........because the taste isn't as good.
Some are only seasonal - truffles, chestnuts etc.
They live what I'm doing my masters on, what so many others have forgotten, and what, after all, is a natural way of eating.

Here in Tuscany some vines are sprayed with chemicals against this and that, but so many villa owners I talk to are not doing that, in fact they don't use anything and don't have any problems.
The same goes for the olives our villa owners grow.
The taste of Tuscan cold pressed olive oil is just something else.
For those who have never had the privilege of tasting it please try sourcing it as it is so worth it.
Add this oil to freshly picked nutrient packed salad, in season vegetables, raisins, maybe some soaked seeds or sprouts, and you find, there before you, an amazing source of vital force energy.

So many Villas-in-Tuscany.com villas and farmhouses have their own orchards and vegetable patches that guests have access to.
There is just something so beautiful about eating food you know has been grown on the property you're holidaying in, that has been picked 10 minutes before eating it, that maybe you yourself chose and that is bursting with real flavour, not to mention the rest!

Farmers markets are always great to go to, as there is local freshly made cheese, milk, yoghurt, meat, and of course fruit and veg.
You can go there by yourself and wander around buying whatever takes your fancy, or be accompanied by your cooking teacher and then go do the lesson and eat it afterwards.

There are also so many events around Tuscany that you can bet your bottom dollar great food will be there too.
Specialised raw foods are harder to find, and raw & vegan food is not mainstream.
Tuscans know they have the most amazing food, and can see raw as a restriction.
However, when food is prepared with love and is local produce it is a winner every time!

Meal times are an important part of Italian life, it's a social thing.
The preparation beforehand, talking, laughing, joking, even singing all happens around food (ever been to a olive or grape harvest?).
It's family and friends time - so many people around a table all together.
Children and grown-ups alike all join in, and it really brings people back into that community spirit, it's a time to pass down family history, keep communication open, discuss everything in an open manner.
It's a very positive aspect of life.

Many property owners tell me that guests love getting involved with the preparation of meals, and whilst some nights they will go out to restaurants, others they will stay in and get someone to prepare for them, do it themselves or even organise a cooking class.

So much of the time we take food for granted, and just think of it as delicious fuel, but there is so much more to it, and Tuscany has a subtle way of making you realise and appreciate food in a totally different light.

Whatever your way of eating, there is so much the Tuscan earth can provide for you to enjoy to the max on your vacation.
Contact ViT to find out which villas, apartments and farmhouses have organic home grown produce.

Buon appetito!!!

Montepulciano - wine, spas and breathtaking panoramas.

So here ViT is in Montepulciano for a few days checking out the area for you, such a tough job!

It's not the greatest of weather by summer standards, but it's February and ViT doesn't mind at all visiting our published accommodation in this sort of weather.
In fact we appreciate that if a villa or farmhouse looks great in the rain, with no flowers etc around then it's going to be stunning when in full bloom, and both the villa and farmhouse were fabulous.
Both of them have amazing panoramic views.

The villa has an infinity pool and it's own fruit trees you can pick your breakfast off! The interior design and furnishings are definitely not your ordinary run of the mill, and the shower heads are those amazon rain forest types. No worries about pressure either, the whole set up was purpose built and everyone could have a tropical shower and not notice a difference.
Bliss!

The farmhouse is very cosy and well thought out. Different seating areas follow the shade, so you breakfast in one part, move 10 mt to lunch under another shaded area, and evening meals are around the bbq area. The pool is the longest I've seen and is so inviting for swimmers and those who like to sit in shallow water alike - one end of the pool is about 20 cms in depth and nice and wide so you can sit and cool off without having to waste energy keeping yourself afloat. Also great for small kids to paddle in, but they need to be supervised at all times as it does get deeper.

Driving around yesterday in the Castiglione D'Orcia area was just spectacular.
The fields are bright green at the moment, and there is snow on the higher up hills.
Unfortunately, someone forgot to charge up their photo phone so only a couple of photos before it shut down.
Today, we're fully charged up and ready to go.....

Nearby there is Monte Amiata where you can ski, and now is the perfect time.
More snow is forecast too.
After a hard days skiing with an empty bottle of red in your backpack you could head back to your farmhouse accommodation, apartment or villa (loads of choice around here) for an apres ski aperitivo already waiting for you, or go straight to the baths to avoid any muscle aches the morning after.
A day skiing, a day with your favourite wine, time in the baths, a day in Siena, Montalcino, then Pienza, and don't forget to visit S. Anna in Camprena.
With so much to do around this area you might have to prioritise unless your here for a couple of weeks.

Cin Cin!