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Italy is an amazing destination for Family Travel, Destination Weddings and Honeymoons! Friends Travel offers a full spectrum of properties to fit almost any budget. Friends Travel offers Italy Rail Tickets and/or Italy Rail Passes and Eurail Passses EMAIL Italy@FriendsTravel.com 24/7/365 with all of your wants, needs, desires and expectations. Friends Travel offers Discounted First Class, Business Class and Coach Airfares Worldwide! Friends Travel offers, and strongly recommends. Travel Insurance.
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April 5, 2011
Italy JESS Kalinowsky FriendsTravel.com
June 29, 2009
Florence Loveliest and liveliest of Italian cities… Friends Travel LLP 90048 Google Us !
Florence Loveliest and liveliest of Italian cities…
(Friends Travel LLP 90048 Google Us !)
Florence…the magnificent
Loveliest and liveliest of Italian cities…
Chances are if you have clients going to Italy…they will stay a night or two (or three..) in fabulous Florence. And if they are going to be there, they are going to be looking for a great place to stay…and for things to do and see that will give them more than a nodding acquaintance with this fabled city.
Here are a few of the things that we can help you with at Friends Travel LLP 90048:
* Transfers – need quality transportation with professional drivers to and from Florence? Our team is ready to help “move” you – singles, couples, families and groups of any size – to and from the airport, the train station or any out of town locations.
* Accommodations – we’ve hand-picked a few of Florence’s best hotels, B&Bs, villas and apartments – places that will appeal to any budget level.
* Sightseeing – we’ve put together a plethora of scheduled sightseeing tours that will reveal Florence’s treasures to your clients and half day and full day excursions that will take them to many of Tuscany’s other “art cities” – Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano and Siena.
* Personal tours – our fully registered, English-speaking guides will accompany your clients on customized tours of Florence and beyond.
* Tickets – we can pre-buy tickets to all major galleries and museums – the Uffizi, Accademia, Bargello, Pitti Palace and more.
* Cooking classes – your clients can enjoy one of our 1/2 day and full day cooking classes in Florence – it’s a fun way to spend a few memorable hours.
* Wine Tours – we can organize full day tours into Tuscany’s famous wine districts for couples, families and groups of any size.
* Meetings and conventions – Florence boasts many fabulous meeting and convention facilities and we can hook you up.
* Weddings and parties – not a problem – we have a a selection of top quality wedding venues to offer, can assist with legal work, organize the marriage ceremony and the wedding reception…and make sure that every member of the wedding party is looked after.
Florence…fun, fabulous and forever!
Visiting Historic Florence
Birthplace of the Renaissance
Just as Tuscany is on one of the “must see” regions in Italy, Florence is the “must see” city in Tuscany. But, be forewarned: during the summer months millions of tourists pour into the City from all over Europe, and make sightseeing difficult. The best time to visit in the early Spring, Fall or winter months. In fact, visiting Florence in November, January and February are some of the best times to enjoy this spectacular city for so many reasons, from cheaper prices in the restaurants to the eerie romantic feel that walking over Pontevecchio (the Golden bridge)
The city center has a pronounced medieval feel. The buildings are mostly of hewn grey stone with roofs of russet colored tiles. The same stone has been used to cobble the ancient streets. The author Mary McCarthy wrote a book about Florence called “The Stones of Florence” because of the stone works hard and refractive qualities. The book, written in 1959, is as apt today as it was then, a good read that will help you see Florence through fresh eyes. A very good idea, that.
Florence is densely packed and busy, its intersecting streets and alleys contributing to a sense of befuddlement for the first time traveler. We recommend you actually allow yourself the fun of “getting lost” in this city, because around most corners, you will encounter many wonderful, surprising things. Besides, you can always pick-out a landmark, like Brunelleschi’s dome on the Duomo or the tall bell tower, or the Santa Maria Novella train station to quickly re-orient yourself.
This is not a suitable place to write at length about the history of Florence, but a few quick notes are in order.
The city, on the banks of the Arno river, originally named Fiesole, was founded by the Etruscans in about 200 BC. The Romans, who displaced the Etruscans, called it Florentia, and used it as a garrison town to control the Via Flaminia, a major Roman highway.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, the city underwent a process of democratization. First, it evolved into a free commune. By 1138 AD, it was ruled by a board of 12 consuls, advised by a wealthy group of merchants, the Council of One Hundred. This arrangement fell apart because of infighting, resulting in the “election” of a foreign governor, the podesta.
Early in the 13th century, bickering between the Guelphs (pro-papal) and Ghibellines (pro-monarchy), ultimately resulted in the formation of a government by the “winning” Guelphs. During this period, the plague reduced the the city’s population by half, which accelerated the democratization process.
By the end of the century, nobles were excluded from Florentine government, and the city became a republic, controlled by Guelph merchants. The DeMedici family emerged as the leading family, and the city came more or less under their control until they went broke in 1494, when Florence fell under the control of Girolamo Savanorola, a Dominican munk who enforced a puritanical regime. He was hanged and burned for his troubles in 1498.
The enterprising Medici’s returned to power in the early 16th century and ruled for another 200 years. The city’s fame as a center of art, culture and science derives principally from the fact that the Medicis were active patrons to the best of the best in all fields. This period, with a legacy almost unsurpassed in the western world, is known far and wide as the Renaissance.
In the 18th century, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany passed into the control of the House of Lorraine, and was ultimately incorproated into the Kingdom of Italy, of which Tuscany became capital. With the demise of the monarchy, Tuscany became just another, if somewhat more exalted, regional capital.
The two world wars wreaked extensive damage on Florence, a devastating flood in 1966 took a big toll on numerous buildings, including the Ufizi art gallery, and many works of art.
Restoration continues to this day.
Get Our Help With Your Next Vacation
Let Friends Travel LLP 90048 help you plan your next trip, whatever your budget. Submit your detailed request,
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GOOGLE JESS Kalinowsky Professional Travel Consultant has traveled to 133 destinations around the world and sailed over 100 cruises.
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October 16, 2008
“Castello Banfi – il Borgo” with FriendsTravel.com
Federico Forquet of Cetona; one of Italy’s most renowned designers, worked with the Mariani family to create the elegant and comfortable interiors of the rooms and suites as well as the surrounding gardens.
“Castello Banfi – il Borgo” offers 14 rooms and suites, varying in size, location and décor, all with carefully selected furnishings and fabrics, classic fixtures and luxuriant amenities. Each offers a King-sized bed, while the five designated suites are additionally furnished with a Queen-size sofa bed in a separate room. The beds in three of the rooms and one of the suites can be separated to Twin beds.
Each room is equipped with flat screen television featuring international satellite programming and radio with a selection of jazz, classical and contemporary music; high-speed internet connection, direct telephone lines, valuables safe, and a selection of complementary estate wines as well as a well-stocked mini bar with water, beverages, and light snacks. Well-equipped bathrooms feature professional hair driers, towel warmers, large showers with oversized rainfall heads; several have an additional bathtub, and bath amenities include bath foam, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion made from Sangiovese grapes grown on the estate. Each spacious room is painted and furnished in a different color scheme and appointed with eclectic themed artwork; several include a separate dressing area, writing desk and breakfast table.
Il Borgo was recently reviewed in the May 2008 Hot List Issue of Condé Nast Traveler
Castello Banfi – Il Borgo was recently reviewed in the May 2008 Hot List Issue of Condé Nast Traveler and received two out of three flames. (One flame = Hot, two flames = Hotter, three flames = Hottest)
“Set amid 7,100 undulating acres of vineyards and olive groves near Montalcino, Castello Banfi , maker of some of the region’s bestknown wines, has opened its doors to overnight guests, having converted its former workers’ lodgings into sumptuous accommodations that embody Tuscanstyle good living. The 14 individually styled rooms, housed in conjoined eighteenthcentury stone buildings adjacent to the estate’s twelfth century castello, have retained some atmospheric elements of the original structures, from woodbeam ceilings to deepset windows to terracotta floors, and are done in a cheerful, elegant Tuscan palette, including softly patterned silk draperies, plump couches, and absurdly comfortable beds with romantic baldachins. Special touches include a gratis bottle of Brunello, an LCD TV hidden in a false bookcase, and free highspeed Internet – a rarity in these parts. The large, welllit bathrooms also come with comfort in mind, equipped with heated towel racks, sizable glasswalled showers with rain showerheads, and toiletries made with Sangiovese grapes grown on the estate. The service throughout is warm and efficient, and the hearty breakfast (included in the room rate) exceeds the typical Continentalstyle offerings, while the two excellent onsite restaurants – the intimate Michelinstarred Ristorante, and the more casual Taverna – offer well prepared Tuscan dishes and, naturally, a strong house wine list. A small pool overlooks the bucolic landscape of vineyards. When to go: The harvest time months of September and October, with their fall colors and still warm days. Which room to book: No. 16 comes with a large dressing area and both a soaking tub and a shower. The loft style No. 17 faces a rose garden, while No. 31 has stone arches.”
A host of hotel and spa openings is breathing new life into the region-a reminder of why we keep going back.
There’s a type of traveler who, on the subject of Tuscany, offers up the party line: “It may be beautiful, but it’s too discovered,” which happens to be the best way to elicit discerning smiles from those who truly know the area-the chic Romans and Milanese who’ve been spending weekends here since they were knee-high to a Sangiovese vine; the repeat renters who call it home for some of the year. Tuscany’s 9,000 square miles of rolling hills and lush vineyards, pine tree-lined beaches and palazzo-encircled squares contain the best of what draws people here again and again-and to consider it “discovered” would be to sell the region short.
Against the canvas of the timeless Tuscan landscape, a vibrant style and culture have emerged, some of it brought to you by transplants who couldn’t leave. You can admire a view of Monte Amiata from the minimalist terrace at the B&B La Bandita, opened last May by John Voigtmann, an erstwhile Manhattan music executive. Or in Montalcino, relax by the pool at Castello Banfi’s ll Borgo, a 14-room hotel in a 19th-century building restored to gorgeous effect by American Cristina Mariani-May, a co-CEO of the family winery. A handful of Tuscany’s thermal baths-among them Terme di Saturnia in the Maremma and Adler Thermae at Bagno Vignoni-have shed their dowdy images and emerged with sleek rooms and amenities. And then there’s Florence, moving apace with the rest of the region: the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, which opens in July, could exist only here-housed in a palace designed by the Renaissance architect Sangallo, and painstakingly restored under the aegis of the Ministry of Fine Arts and Culture.
How to tackle Tuscany’s multitude of attractions? Don’t try to do it all at once; it does, after all, contain 10 distinct provinces. And do leave time for a detour along one of the strade bianche, the “white roads” that often lead to delightful vistas. Tuscany is simultaneously luxurious and worlds-away rustic, resolutely provincial and firmly forward-thinking. Expect to be surprised. And who knows? You may even make a discovery or two.
ITALY@FriendsTravel.com Email now for your travel and accommodations reservations.
August 13, 2008
Rome + Florence Escape from$899.* FriendsTravel.com
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July 29, 2008
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