Tuscany South Untour, Fall 2006
by Joe & Lynda Wood, New Brunswick, Canada
Our adventure in Tuscany South is complete, but our thoughts will be there for some time. When I discovered Untours, more or less by mistake, a couple of years ago, I saw the opportunity to see Italy from the inside rather than a superficial pass through. Not knowing what to expect, I was somewhat leery at first, but decided to take the plunge. Searching the website for just the right place was lots of fun, but when we made our choice, little did we know how good it was. A one bedroom apartment on a farm just outside Montalcino turned out to be our home away from home. Our hostess Anna was great. She welcomed us with open arms, literally. The apartment was huge, well appointed, and the bed extremely comfortable...a good thing after having travelled for 26 hours to get there.The other guests turned out to be 3 Canadian couples, all of whom had been to Tuscany before, and 1 couple from Montana. As so often happens, we got along very well, and it was marvellous to have people who "knew the ropes" in a foreign country. We had dinners together in the common area, sat outside in the warm evenings with bottles of Anna's wine, and shared the day's adventures with each other. Waking up each morning to the sound of sheep's bells in the fields around us was like nothing we'd ever experienced, and we miss them Our two weeks was over much too quickly, each day filled with visits to hilltowns, cathedrals and museums, and of course the time we took to just plain relax and enjoy the farm..
Before I end this, I must say something about Untours' representative in the area, Harriet Gussoni. From her driving directions which got us from Rome to our apartment, to her well thought out and detailed orientation meeting, this lady is the perfect rep for Untours. She was extremely helpful, and always available by phone if you needed her. I must also mention the staff at the Untours office who always promptly replied to my e-mails when I had questions.
The Untours experience has been a good one, and I won't hesitate to use them again for our next trip to Europe.