A tour for 2010

My apologies to those who have been waiting for the details of the upcoming trips in 2010.

I've not been completely idle and have been spending a lot of time doing background reading--at the moment for the one to Italy. My desk is piled high with reference books and a detailed map, and I’ll be taking a site-inspection trip to Italy in January. I’ll be sending details to Garth, my talented, long-suffering website designer and a preliminary itinerary will be there very soon.


Concerning this tour, it's been a difficult decision to finalize the itinerary--there are just too many wonderful places to visit. However, I've narrowed our main stops (where we will stay in hotels) to three places: Florence, the small Tuscan village of Anghiari (described as being located in the "geographical heart of the Italian Renaissance") and ending with wonderful Venice. This tour will take place in late September.While I've been thinking of a trip to Italy for several years, it seemed a matter of serendipity when Nicky Epstein's book, Knitting in Tuscany, was published. This book has been an inspiration and has validated the areas which I had been planning for our itinerary.

We'll spend at least five nights in Anghiari and while we're there will take excursions to the nearby villages of Siena, Assisi and Arezzo. Throughout the tour, our days will be spent enjoying the Italian cuisine, marvelling at the wonderful scenery, visiting centuries-old buildings and viewing treasured art. Just a few of the activities you can look forward to: a cooking class with a chef who will take us to the local market and then prepare a memorable meal; a private tour of La Tessitura Busatti, a family firm of talented weavers which has been in existence for over 170 years; visit with a glass blower on the island of Murano; Sansepolcro, site of a lace-making school; a tapestry weaver in the mountains of La Verna.

Season’s Greetings to all! My sincere wishes for a healthy, happy 2010.