Gusty Tuscany, Gazette, August 2003 Issue

By Carol O'Connor

Women work hard. Not only do we bake the bread but we earn it these days. As a single working mother, I decided I deserved a special vacation and this past June, I found the fun, intimate, fascinating experience I was seeking.

Florence was our base for the week on my Magnificent Florence & Tuscany tour with Gutsy Women Travel. The itinerary was beautifully planned with a balance of walking tours alternating with relaxing organized activities and free time. Gutsy Women Travel is the women-only tour division of Maupintour, known for their escorted European tours.

This Gutsy Women tour was full of wonderful surprises. Surprise #1: They met my friend Leesa and I at the Florence airport in a luxurious Mercedes. Yes! Don't we all deserve this?! We stayed at the first—class Hotel Aprile, which had been converted from a 15th century Medici Palace. At our Welcome Reception we met our group. There were ladies from Texas, New York, New Jersey Las Vegas, and Leesa and I from California. Our tour manager, Paola Passerini, was beautiful, bright, and knowledgeable with contacts everywhere. Though the tour maximum is 20, there were only 11 of us—the perfect size. We all bonded so well that first night.

Next Gutsy surprise: we took a lovely horse and carriage through the streets of Florence to dinner. Very Cinderella. And on top of that, the restaurant owner looked just like actor Hugh Grant. He owns 4 restaurants in Florence and during the week, we ate at 3 of them-incredible food and presentation-and each time he was there to greet us. There was always limitless wine at our meals.

One morning, we took a group photo at Piazza Michelango's overlooking all of magnificent Florence. It was very warm and crowded. Out of nowhere a waiter in a white jacket suddenly appeared. He set up a table for us covered with a white cloth, cut crystal glasses, iced champagne and orange juice— Mimosas!

Our roomy motorcoach to San Gimignano was driven by Sergio. He was our driver for the whole trip and was constantly teased by the other drivers. They'd say, "You are not working, Sergio. Not when you have a bus full of belissimo (beautiful) women!" We toured the vineyards and olive groves of Villa Torciano and had a private wine tasting (8 wines) with Mr. Jackie—what a character!

Throughout our stay, we had experts joining us for short informational lectures. We had speakers on Florentine art, leather and gold.

At the end of a full day of the hidden sights of Florence, we'd planned to go see the Duomo. It happened to be St. Johns Day (the patron saint of Florence), a day filled with festivities. The Duomo was packed and we weren't able to enter. However, our resourceful tour leader Paolo called the Grand Hotel Baglioni, where she knew the manager. She told him she had 11 beautiful but disappointed ladies who needed cheering up. Magically, he squeezed in an extra table for 12 (!) in his packed rooftop garden restaurant where we watched the sunset, sipped cocktails, dined, and closed the evening with stunning fireworks.

I loved our day of shopping at the Tuscan outlets—up to 50% off at Gucci, Armani, Fendi, YSL, Prada, etc. During a lunch break we had a cooking demonstration on how to make Zucchotto, a delicious but easy Florentine Ice Bomb dessert. Then back to serious shopping. I bought 5 purses and a leather jacket. Heaven. That evening, we had a lesson in the art of pizza making. We were surprised again with our own Gutsy apron to wear as we made our own pizzas.

Our final full day together included a visit to the Excelsior Spa in Montecatini where we all received a facial. I also treated myself to a body scrub and massage. We had lunch at wonderful outdoor café, then said our tearful goodbyes at a farewell dinner that evening. Some of our group members extended their stay in Italy by visiting Venice and others explored more of Tuscany.

As a travel consultant, I have traveled a lot but this trip was honestly the best tour I've ever taken in my life. What made it so special was the warm companionship of all the women on the tour. I made new friends and had so much fun. I have never laughed so much in my life. I encourage all of you reading this article to pick out a Gutsy Women tour to try in the coming year. It's perfect for celebrating an upcoming 40th, 50th, 60th, or 70th birthday with your friends or family.

Carol O'Connor has been in the travel industry for 20 years and is an independent travel consultant with Dimensions in Travel in Novato. Carol also operates www.travelbride.com and specializes in honeymoon travel. Her online honeymoon registry allows friends and family to give gifts in the form of contributions toward the cost of a wedding couple's honeymoon.