The main tour ended today and we had to say good-bye to two of our lovely ladies, while the rest of us began our extension to Rome.  We were transferred to the train station for the Frecciarossa direct train to Rome. Upon our arrival in Rome we checked into our beautiful accommodations at the Forty-Seven Hotel.   We all enjoyed a nice lunch on the rooftop terrace and then headed out to explore the city of Rome.

Waiting for our Frecciarossa train to Rome

Enroute to Rome

Lunch on the rooftop terrace of Hotel 47

The Trevi Fountain

Vittorio Emanuele Monument

We had an early morning start today as we sadly left the magnificent city of Barcelona to catch the AVE fast train to Madrid.  It took under 3 hours at a maximum speed of 301k/hr!

From the train station we were met and taken to our hotel for the next three nights – the quaint, centrally located Posada del Leon de Oro. The ladies love their rooms.

After some free time for lunch, we met our local guide who will be taking care of us during our Madrid stay, (another Susana), for a visit of the Prado Museum, one of the world’s greatest art museums with its collection of works by major Spanish and other European artists.

This evening we had a short walk to the restaurant for a delicious dinner and flamenco show at Casa Patas – i heard that dreams were fulfilled – fantastic flamenco in Spain!

This morning, we met our beautiful Italian guide, Demetra, for a guided visit of the Uffizi Gallery to admire the spectacular collection of Italian art. This afternoon, we had some time at leisure in Florence for further exploration. This evening we enjoyed our farewell dinner together at the Cucina Torcicoda, which had amazing food as well as service.  We all said farewell to Bina and Jennifer.

Beautiful paintings in the Uffizi gallery

An amazing sculpture in the Uffizi gallery

The lucky boar in the Uffizi gallery

The ladies touching a replica of the lucky boar in Florence

Our farewell dinner at Cucina Torcicoda restaurant

Our yummy pasta for our farewell dinner

This morning we checked into our new hotel Hotel Balestri, then off to Florence, one of the loveliest cities in the world. Narrow alleyways, expansive piazzas, elegant buildings, and the River Arno plus all that spectacular art combined to make this one of the world’s great ‘must-sees’. We arrived in time for lunch and ventured off to find a nice restaurant to eat at before joining our guide for a walking tour of the city’s essentials. We discovered the Ponte Vecchio, the Piazza della Signoria, the Duomo and Santa Croce Church, which was absolutely stunning.

The statue of Perseus slaying Medusa in Florence

On our walking tour of Florence

Our delicious pizza at Obika restaurant in Florence

Pizza at Obika in Florence… so delicious

We were picked up by our guide Sussana this morning to travel out of town to the mountains surrounding Montserrat. After driving through a picturesque little village and along a windy mountain road, we arrived at the magnificent setting of the Royal Basilica of Montserrat. After a tour we had free time to explore the surroundings, do liqueur tastings, shop for souvenirs or visit the art gallery.

We returned to Barcelona in the early afternoon for a delicious lunch at La Botiga,a Ramblas restaurant which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

With the rest of the day free to explore independently, some of the ladies chose to visit the Gaudi houses, some explored the city on foot and 6 of us went to Park Guell to view the famous Gaudi mosaics.

This evening some of the ladies went to the Magic Fountain light and music show. Another wonderful day was had by all.

We are all loving Barcelona!  Today our guide Susana took us on a full day part driving/part walking city tour. We visited the small village of Pueblo Espanol, built in 1929 for the world fair. We walked around this area watching the local craftsmen followed by a leisurely lunch.

We are so lucky to be enjoying such perfect weather.  We had a spectacular view of the port from a high vantage point.

In the afternoon we went past La Pedrera before reaching our destination of Gaudi’s spectacular work in progress (expected to be completed in 2026) – the Sagrada Familia cathedral….. we were all fascinated by the spectacular construction and the architecture and light inside.

We ended our fantastic day with a delicious dinner at the Mussel (owl) Casp Restaurant, located close to our hotel.

We enjoyed an authentic Italian lunch at Chef Laura’s home on the Querceto Wine Estate; here we cooked up a storm and ate a beautiful lunch together in Laura’s home. She shared her recipes so we can enjoy a Tuscan meal at home. Her home was absolutely gorgeous and filled with so many different owl figurines.  In the afternoon we visited Castello di Albola for a tour of their property and gardens.  We were given a tour of their wine cellars and offered a taste of their wines before returning to our hotel.  For our last night in Radda we all bought something to offer for our picnic dinner in our hotel.

Our cooking class with Chef Laura in Castellina in Chianti

Preparing our lunch with Chef Laura

Eating what we cooked together in Chef Laura’s home

Our picnic dinner at our hotel Palazzo San Niccolo on our last night in Radda

Day 1 – After an overnight flight to Paris, the 10 of us missed our connecting flight to Barcelona due to the gross inefficiency of the froggy bureaucrats – only one station manned at passport control for about 300 people! …..eventually we managed to get 4 different connecting flights – 2 ladies,  4 ladies, 2 ladies and 2 ladies ….all arriving at different times.

We arrived in the magnificent city of Barcelona and were transferred to the Hotel Colonial, our hotel for the next 3 nights, in the ‘Ciutat Vella’ – the old city – where we met the rest of the group who arrived a couple of days ago.

This afternoon, the other 5 ladies who came a few days ago, loved their introduction to Spain by going on a short city tour, ending up at Park Guell for a stroll to admire Gaudi’s absolutely spectacular works of art – pictures do not do it justice.

• T his evening we had a spectacular welcome dinner at a famous restaurant – Asador de Aranda  – we were told sheiks and princes go there as it is known for its lamb.

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Southern Tuscany offered a very different, and no less spectacular, scenery. Today we enjoyed one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful stretches of road as we drove south to the Val d’Orcia. Here we found barren hills, dotted with cypress trees and stone farmhouses. We visited the remote, serene Abbey of Sant’Antimo and nearby Montalcino, once an impregnable fortress and now the centre of Brunello wine production. We enjoyed a light lunch and wine tasting at Altesino wine estate. In the afternoon we took a stroll in Pienza; the streets are lined with delightful little shops filled with goodies. We sampled the region’s famous Pecorino cheese at a local artisanal cheese maker, and enjoyed dinner this evening on our way back to Chianti.

The view from Altesino Winery

After a great lunch and wine tasting at Altesino Winery

The view from Podere Il Casale, the farm we at our dinner at

The goats at Podere Il Casale farm, which are used to make cheese

San Gimignano is known as the ‘Medieval Manhattan’ for its tall towers; today we enjoyed one of the most extraordinary streetscapes in Europe as we explored the town that has scarcely changed in six hundred years. We enjoyed a light lunch and wine tasting at Podere La Marronaia located in the San Gimignano countryside. We continued on to Siena, the largest of Tuscany’s hilltop towns, still exquisitely elegant. With our guide, we visited the imposing green and white marble Cathedral and enjoyed a walking tour through the town to the famous shell-shaped Piazza del Campo. There was free time for shopping or a drink before dinner in Siena this evening.

The twin towers in San Gimignano

Lunch and wine tasting at Podere La Marronaia

In the vineyards of Podere La Marronaia

The Cathedral Complex in Siena

Dinner in Siena at Enoteca Compagnia dei Vinattieri