WoW Sun Tours

 

However you answered, it matters not. The point is that to really get under the skin of true Italian life, you need to be in the know about how Italians do things, from sleep to fashion to food, to family, art and culture. At WoW Sun, our varied daily itineraries are designed to get you acting and thinking like an Italian, so that you get the very best out of your Dolce Vita holiday. Infact, since forever, it seems, Italy has been known as the Land of La Dolce Vita. It’s dreamy reputation has evolved over the years through images of gorgeously historic and chaotic Rome, the languishing beauty of sleepy Venetian canals, bathed in their peculiar light, the Ponte Vecchio and romance of Florence, the Temples and mystique of Sicily, the filmstar feel of the Amalfi Coast. It is a land bound up in iconic  stereotypes of buzzy Vespas, miniscule 500s, pristine carabinieri, tiny and achingly romantic piazze, raucous family lunches, chubby bambini, of the cinematic masterpieces of Fellini. It is a land of sunglasses, aperitivo, style and elegance, of Gucci and Prada, and it is a land obsessed and motivated, above all other things, by the love of traditional food and good wine, and their importance in living well. 

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With each region having its own distinctive flavour, from wealthy Lombardia and Austrian Alto Adige, to arbitrary Sicily and dusty Puglia,  and you could spend a lifetime mapping their individual characteristics,  there is little doubt, even amongst Italians, that Tuscany, and in particular the Valdichiana, are considered to be the ‘breadbasket’ of Italy. Tuscany is a region revered for it’s outstanding preserved history of its endless hilltop towns, its  breath-taking landscapes of cypress and sunflowers,  of world famous art in its capital Florence, ‘il vino nobile’ of Montepulciano, the Brunellos of Montalcino, Chianti, Bolgheri, as well as La cucina Contadina (home made traditional cooking). It is a proud boast of most of the Contadini, that everything they consume, from tomatoes to eggs to wine to meat, will be produced or raised in their own homes. No land is more caught up with the products of its rich earth than Tuscany, a destination for the ‘bon vivants’, whose residents spend an unnecessary amount of time thinking about, discussing and consuming food, wine, and coffee. Wherever you go, the local cafe, the hairdressers, the post office, even the gym, the main conversation will be about what la famous ‘nonna’ (grandma) is making for Sunday lunch, or who makes the best ‘ragu’. There’ll follow a vigorous and loud discussion about this, always incorporating those famous Italian hand gestures, but afterwards everyone will all be mates and it’ll be time for lunch!!

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At WoW Sun Tours, we’ve decided to offer our Lovely Ladies a dip into a Tuscany that not many get to see. With the best part of 20 years living full time, as a young family, in a local village near the beautiful mediaeval town of Cortona, we’ve got to know what it takes to Live Like a Local, and the do’s and don’ts of true Italian Life. We won’t have you traipsing around sweaty Florence following a tour guide and filling your head with dates that have no context. Instead, we’ll take you to the Piazza Michelangelo or arrange for a picnic on the banks of the Arno. We won’t fob you off with mass produced poor quality ‘tourist food’, but will take you to cheese producers, Grandad’s allotments, to local Sagre (village Festas) where if your ballo liscio (Traditional ballroom dancing) is up to scratch, you may be requested a dance from one of the local gentlemen!!  If you are a wine lover, you’ll be blown away by secret vineyards and cantine known only to the locals. We’ll teach you those tricky and notorious Italian hand gestures and enough Italian to help you feel you fit in, or go for for a languorous bathe in the river spa baths where the only foreigners will be you. We go out of the way to teach you the tricks and touches of real Italian cookery, from fresh pasta to real panna cotta. In short, our aim is to bridge the gap between two cultures, acting as a conduit into True Tuscan Life, rather than have you just touch the surface of what the traditional ‘tour’ companies offer.

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At WoW Sun Tours, you might arrive a Tourist, but you’ll leave A Local!