Rosie B
  • (Newbie) (Topic Starter)
(Newbie) (Topic Starter)

Hi, is anyone else on here booked for the Highlights of Tuscany tour on 15th April ? I'm flying out of LHR and will be flying down from Scotland on the 14th. This will be my first Just You tour & I'm really looking forward to it 😎✈😁

Janine’s
(Newbie)
Hi Rosie. I'm booked on the same trip to Tuscany, but later in the year - also very excited! 🤗 I fly out of Heathrow on my own the same day I turn 50! 🥳 Looking forward to hearing all about your trip! ✈️ 🇮🇹 
Matty
  • (Newbie)
(Newbie)
Not been on that trip but just come back from Pompeii trip. Our Tour Manager will be yours, Silvia, an Italian lady, you're going to have a great time with her!
Rosie B
  • (Newbie) (Topic Starter)
(Newbie) (Topic Starter)
Hi Janine, that's a pretty nice place to be celebrating your "big" birthday - in beautiful Tuscany. 😎🍹 What month are you going there ? I've booked both optional excursions - to Siena & Lucca & will post a review on here after the trip. 😃
Rosie B
  • (Newbie) (Topic Starter)
(Newbie) (Topic Starter)
Hi Matty, thanks for that info, always good to know our Tour Manager comes recommended👍 I look forward to meeting Silvia 😃
Julia26
(Member)
Hi

i did this one on my second trip with JY and had a fabulous time. One of my favourites. Hope you enjoy it too.

Rosie B
  • (Newbie) (Topic Starter)
(Newbie) (Topic Starter)
Thanks Julia, I'm sure it will be fantastic, I'm really looking forward to seeing Tuscany 😎
AnnaF
  • (Newbie)
(Newbie)
Hi Rosie I'm going on the same holiday flying down to LHR on the 12th May, having a sleep over at the Premier Inn and flying out on the 13th May.  I've booked the excursions to Lucca and Siena do you have any tips on anything, (shops, eating places, museums). It's been six years since I've been to Italy, looking forward to being in Italy again. 
Rosie B
  • (Newbie) (Topic Starter)
(Newbie) (Topic Starter)
Hi Anna, I really enjoyed the Tuscany tour, it was well organised & paced, with enough free time to relax. I hope Silvia Barsanti is your Tour Manager as she is a Tuscan local, with so much knowledge. She is also fun-loving & energetic & looked after us all really well. 

Montecatini Alto is very quaint and definitely worth a visit, via the funicular. In Lucca, walking round the city walls is worth doing. In Florence, we had a wander round the Mercato Centrale, lots of lovely fresh produce for sale there, as well as leather goods. Pisa was crazy busy with tourists on the day we visited, but my favourite city was Siena, which is really beautiful. There are many good Italian & Pizza restaurants in  Montecatini Terme, the best one we dined at was La Cascina, which serves Sushi + Asian-Mediterranean cuisine. Their food was outstanding & it is a really beautiful restaurant. The only downside for me was the hotel we stayed in. The Grand Hotel Tamerici & Principe is anything but grand ! It is VERY dated and in need of urgent refurbishment. The evening meals served to our group were really poor IMO & vegetarian options were pretty awful. Compared to two 4* hotels I have stayed in, in Italy in the last few years, this hotel does not merit 4 *. Others may find it OK tho ! I hope you enjoy Tuscany & I'd be interested to hear your feedback post holiday. 😁

AnnaF
  • (Newbie)
(Newbie)
Hi RosieB

Back about the weeks now,  and I can say I really enjoyed Highlights of Tuscany and Silvia was amazing.  The hotel needed a bit of TLC,   Montecantini Alto was soo sweet I loved it,  Florence was busy,  Pisa was but too busy loved seeing the leaning tower of Pisa, we left the main tourist area for something to eat, I really enjoyed Siena and Lucca, I saw the restaurant you spoke about it looked lovely. 

I can see me going back one day. 

Anna 

Rosie B
  • (Newbie) (Topic Starter)
(Newbie) (Topic Starter)
Hi Anna, 

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Tuscany holiday and had Silvia as your Tour Manager, she was just great. I am keen to explore many different areas of Italy with J.Y. now, also keen to visit Sicily. If I do return to Tuscany, I'd really like to visit Barga, the small town known as "the most Scottish town in Italy" due to it's long standing links with Scotland. I asked Silvia if it would be possible to visit it on our "free" day, but we would have had to hire a car. She was totally amazed that I'd even heard of Barga ! I've read various articles about it tho  + have seen it featured on a travel programme on TV.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66774325 

Happy travels ✈😁

Rosie