Thanksgiving in Italy
Venice/Vicenza/Florence/Siena/Rome
November 20 – 28, 2004





This 7 day 7 night holiday in Italy includes the following: roundtrip airfare, 7 nights accommodations, daily breakfast, Thanksgiving Day excursion to Siena with a 3-course lunch at Villa Geggiano in Tuscany, welcome and farewell dinners, 2 performances, guided sightseeing tours and transportation per itinerary, 2 walking tours in Venice, walking tour in Florence, Uffizi and Musee Duomo tours, Bargello and Pitti Palace entrances, English speaking guide and airport/hotel group transfers.  
Trip price $2689 (double occupancy), details below.  
 
 
 
 



What could be more magical that three thrilling days in Venezia and four more in Firenze to feast your eyes and ears as well as your palate? Tdf Travel's sixth annual Thanksgiving holiday adventure includes performances in a Baroque Venetian church and in a 16th Century Florentine palace.  
 
Our Thanksgiving feast is at a private 17th century villa in the Tuscan hills near Siena. In Venice our hotel is adjacent to the Rialto Bridge and in Florence we are near the Ponte Vecchio. Art highlights include a visit to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and Michelangelo's David and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. On your own, there's free time to ride in a gondola, find Venetian glass in Murano, visit the Pitti Palace or shop near the Rialto and the Ponte Vecchio. We fly non-stop to Venice on Delta Airlines and return on Delta non-stop from Rome. An optional two-night Rome extension is available. This tour sells out quickly, so please send in your applications early.  






1.  Saturday, November 20     Departure
We depart from New York/JFK at 7:15pm on Delta non-stop flight to Venice . Dinner is served on board.



2.  Sunday, November 21     Arrive Venice
We arrive in Venice at 9:15am and the magic begins with a private water taxi across the sea and lagoon directly to the door of the Hotel Rialto, where we spend the next three nights. Our hotel opens right onto the Grand Canal , on the San Marco side, at the foot of the iconic Ponte di Rialto, the famous bridge flanked with shops, and it’s within walking distance to St. Marks's Square, and most of the important museums and art galleries. Plus, there is a major vaporetto stop immediately in front of the hotel giving us excellent access to all of Venice . After check in and time to refresh, our guide takes us on an orientation walk of this magical city, exploring its narrow canals filled with unique shops and inviting cafés en route to an early welcome dinner at a local restaurant.



3.  Monday, November 22     Venice
This morning we begin with a trip on a vaporetto to visit the recently restored fifteenth-century home of Carlo Goldoni, which hosts a museum on this seminal Italian playwright. We continue to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum , located in an 18th century palazzo on the Grand Canal . The museum houses Peggy Guggenheim's collection of modern art, one of the most important in the world. She herself is buried in the garden situated behind the palace, near the tombs of her dogs. The works are arranged by various styles of the avant-garde, from 1910 onward. Following the tour, we have lunch on our own (our guide will have suggestions) and then visit the Cannaregio region, the lively and vibrant residential part of the city, where the few Venetians left in town still live! We visit the " Garden of Marble ," an enchanting hidden church, home to works by Tintoretto and Titian who both resided in the Cannaregio. We conclude with a visit to the Jewish Ghetto and the Museo Ebraico (Jewish Museum) that focuses on the history of the Jews of Venice and the synagogues in which they prayed. We return to our hotel by vaporetto. This evening we attend a chamber music concert by Il Interpreti Veneziani. The talent of the members of this group, their skill both as soloist and ensemble musicians, and their high level of performance have earned them an enthusiastic welcome from both audiences and critics. Their most recent major achievements include an appearance in the Bayreuth Festival. We hear a program of Vivaldi and Mozart, gloriously performed in a lovely Venetian Church.



4.  Tuesday, November 23     Venice
After our continental buffet-style breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we continue to explore this beautiful city. Our walking tour begins in the Piazza San Marco, the hub of all Venetian activity. The world famous marble square is lined with galleries, luxury shops and charming cafés. Dominating the square is the magnificent Basilica San Marco. Profusely decorated in an admixture of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic styles, its sumptuous and colorful décor reflects the history of Venice , contrasting sharply with the simple lines of the nearby Campanile (Bell Tower). Next we visit the magnificent Doge's Palace, with its splendid Renaissance paintings by Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto. Stepping across the Bridge of Sighs, which connects the Palace to the Piombi Prisons, we complete our morning tour. We are free for lunch on our own. This afternoon we have a ticket for a self-guided visit to the Correr Museum, a repository of Venetian history, housing documents, weapons, coins, and other artifacts donated to the city of Venice in 1830 by Teodoro Correr. The balance of the day is free.



5.  Wednesday, November 24     Venice/Vicenza
In the morning, following breakfast, we depart Venice in our private motor coach for Florence . En route, we stop in the lovely town of Vicenza , at the foot of the Berici Mountains , with views of the Alps foothills. The town is listed in the UNESCO world heritage list. This is preeminent town of the great Renaissance architect Palladio (there are more than 10 Palladian buildings in the town center alone), a true Renaissance jewel. We visit the astonishing and remarkable Teatro Olimpico, the first attempt to re-create a Roman theater outside of the Eternal City . This was Palladio's last creation (1580) and it has a semicircular auditorium consisting of thirteen sharply rising tiers of seats. Unlike classical theaters that are set out in the open, the Teatro Olimpico is built inside with a ceiling painted to simulate the sky.   Continuing on to Florence , we check into the Hotel Berchielli, located in the center of Florence on the Arno River , less than a block away from the Ponte Vecchio. Just a short walk to the Piazza della Signoria and all museums and shops, the Hotel Berchielli has been a favorite of our past travelers. After check in, we have a brief orientation walking tour featuring a visit to the Academia Gallery, one of the world's most visited museums and the home of Michelangelo's David, newly scrubbed and bathed, and the Prisoners, as well as the Saint Matthew and the beautiful Barberini Pietà.  



6.  Thursday, November 25     Thanksgiving Day in Siena/Tuscany
Today we celebrate Thanksgiving in the beautiful countryside of Tuscany . After breakfast, we travel via private motor coach to Siena , a mystical, gentle art center. We walk through the Piazza Del Campo, the setting for the famous Palio Horse Race, and visit Siena 's famed Cathedral. This afternoon we enjoy a holiday feast at the charming Villa Geggiano, nestled in the enchanting Tuscan hills near Siena . With its sweeping vineyards and olive groves, the Villa, owned by the Brandinelli family for centuries, is an intact 17 th century estate and as such it is considered an Italian national monument. Our host prepares a Thanksgiving feast for us in this lovely villa that is featured prominently in Bertolucci's film Stealing Beauty (1996). We return in the late afternoon to Florence. The evening is free.  
 



7.  Friday, November 26     Florence
This morning we stroll through medieval Florence to the magnificent Uffizi Gallery where we have reserved entry tickets to speed us along. On display at the gallery, once the offices of the Medici family (hence “Uffizi”), is one of the most outstanding and important painting collections in the world, including major works by Giotto, Botticelli, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio and Titian, among others. After lunch (on your own) we enjoy a walking tour of the Santa Croce area, including a visit to the Bargello Musuem, the home of the Italian National Museum dedicated to sculpture and the arts. It contains masterpieces by Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Cellini, Giambologna, and Donatello along with priceless ivories, enamels, jewels, tapestries and weapons. The Basilica of Santa Croce, the resting place of many of Italy ’s outstanding citizens (and thus it is sometimes compared to London ’s Westminster Abbey), contains countless artworks, including Giotto's famous frescoes in the Peruzzi and Bardi chapels. We continue on to the Byzantine-style Synagogue, built at the end of the 19th century to plans by Marco Treves. The mosaics inside create a sumptuous Eastern atmosphere. The afternoon is free to continue exploring Florence on your own. Tonight we have tickets for a performance.



8.  Saturday, November 27     Florence
This morning we visit what Cole Porter once ironically dubbed the “pretty, itty-bitty, Pitti Palace.” The Palazzo Pitti contains several museums, each one significant in its own right, including the Monumental Quarters, the Modern Art Gallery, the Costume Collection, the Palatine Gallery and several others. We are free to visit these extensive collections at the Pitti Palace, the adjacent Boboli Gardens or to browse in the many small shops that line the nearby Ponte Vecchio and the surrounding area. The afternoon is free for individual exploration. Our farewell dinner of Italian specialties concludes our program.



9.  Sunday, November 28     Departure
We depart from our hotel in the morning and travel by motor coach on the scenic drive through the Italian countryside to the Rome airport for our non-stop Delta flight at 11:50am and arrive at New York/JFK at 3:30pm .  





This engaging experience includes:

  • Round-trip transatlantic airfare on Delta Airlines
  • Three nights at Hotel Rialto in Venice and
  • Four nights at Hotel Berchielli in Florence
  • Daily continental buffet style breakfast
  • Thanksgiving Day excursion to Siena
  • Welcome and farewell Dinners
  • One performance in Venice
  • One performance in Florence
  • Guided Sightseeing tours and transportation per itinerary
  • 2 Walking tours in Venice
  • Walking tour in Florence
  • Uffizi and Musee Duomo tours
  • Bargello and Pitti Palace entrances
  • Fully qualified English speaking guide
  • Airport/hotel group transfers
PROGRAM PRICES  
Per person (double occupancy)from New York: $2689  
Single Supplement: $485  
Air Taxes: $85