Testimonial

I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed my holiday with Simonetta, Paola and the family! It was a wonderful experience - everything I had hoped for and more.

They took such good care and also helped me learn so much. Florence was wonderful too - I can't wait to go back again.

Thank you so much for the part you played in this - I will certainly be recommending your service as well as the Toscana Mia experience to others.

I should have written earlier but I would like to say we had a fantastic week in Mira. The hospitality shown to us was wonderful and I would like to thank Gian Pietro, Raffaele and Jennifer. The cooking was great fun and the meal we had on the last Sunday in the restaurant was definitely the best we have ever experienced.

Dear Yvonne,

Have just got back having spent a couple of days in London with my family
and I am quickly dropping you a line to say thank you for finding us such a
lovely holiday. I will get the photos organised from all sources and forward
them on to you, as I am sure you will find them hilarious.

We couldn't fault a thing (apart from the loo at the Restuarant!!!!!! hole in
the ground !) everyone was absolutely marvellous. The family were just SO
welcoming and couldn't do enough, Jennifer was magic and as for the cooking
...well what can you say. It was just perfect and we really haven't laughed
so much in a long time..it was a good girlie holiday.

Will get back to you in the next few days...

Hi Yvonne

Now finally back in Australia. Just wanted to let you know that my cousin and I enjoyed the cooking class very much and would certainly recommend it to friends. I think it was probably the best meal I had during my whole (5 week) trip!. The only comment I would make is that we had a lot of trouble finding the bus driver in the piazza when we were being collected. This meant we missed out on the shopping experience at the market when we arrived, as Jennifer had already bought the ingredients to ensure they weren’t sold out!! - Other than that - a thoroughly enjoyable experience, Jennifer was delightful.

Helen Cooper
Melbourne Australia

Just wanted to thank you for all your hard work organising my trip to Venice. Got back this evening from London. Had a brilliant holiday at Hotel la Rescossa & at the cookery school. The whole Girotto family were really kind and went out of their way to make sure I had a good time. I felt a little embarassed that I couldn't thank them properly as my Italian wasn't quite up to it! So many thanks to everyone including yourself for making sure everything came to fruition at such short notice. Also really enjoyed Venice - think it was actually better staying outside the city and travelling in by bus when I wanted to. Got quite an expert at negotiating the bus system. Back to work and reality tomorrow!

Kind regards....

Fiona Bryden - Glasgow, Scotland

***********************************************************************************************************************

Hi Yvonne

Just returned from Venice. It was wonderful! The hotel was great and staying
on the Lido I would highly recommend for those who want another dimension
i.e. sea, sand and relax!

Thank you for all your hard work. I will continue to pass your name on.

Best regards

Lynda - Weybridge, Surrey

*********************************************************************************************************************************

Thanks for your email. We had a wonderful break and Giuseppe was the perfect host.Trentino is a wonderful area of Italy and we loved browsing in the markets in Bassano, Levico and Trento. My family enjoyed their ham last night and we have Valsugana Apple Strudel tonight!!!

The ski area looked intersting, not for this yr coming but maybe in the future. I think if they join the two areas as Giuseppe suggested they plan to do it will be super. Maybe at the moment not enough runs for my husband who skis mainly blacks and off piste. I really liked the look of all 3 ski resort hotels though.Venice was great too, as hotel Capri was closed for a re-fit we were moved to the Carlton on the grand canal which was lovely.

Thanks again to you and Giuseppe for a great itinerary, we will tell friends about you.

J. Gavin - Winchester

Thank you for your letter dated 24 May, which I have received today following my return from holiday. I have arranged payment of invoice number U066755749 and a cheque will be with you shortly. Please feel free to add the groups' comments to your website and hopefully the photographs will be with you soon. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all of the hard work you put into arranging this holiday to make what has been a trip of a lifetime and truly memorable experience for all those concerned. Best regards

"On the way back, because we enjoyed the hospitality so much the previous day, we returned to the little old lady who made the cheese. We finished off several more bottles of Limoncello, and then returned to the hotel where we relaxed prior to making pizza for our evening meal This was great fun and an enjoyable time was had by all. - This was a once in a lifetime experience and one that none of us will forget"

We found the whole experience of travelling with Creativity fun. We felt looked after and special in a way we never experienced before. When I first called and Yvonne asked what we were looking for, I explained that we were torn between a city break and the Italian countryside. After listening carefully Yvonne suggested that we stay in Frascati in the beautiful hills outside Rome and take the short train journey to Rome when we felt like spending time in the city. This was a perfect solution for us, giving us the best of both worlds, expecially as it was August, and significantly cooler in the hills. In fact, it was a magical experience.

Hotel Flora in Frascati was beautiful, our room was spotless and had a wonderful balcony overlooking the hills in one direction and Rome the other way. Danilo (Yvonne's agent in Frascati) called our room just after we arrived to recommend a restaurant for lunch � it was hidden away in the back streets of Frascati, and we would never have found it ourselves � there was a large Italian family, enjoying their Sunday lunch. We asked the waiter what he recommended, and were given the same as the Italians, though minus a course or two, as we could not manage the volume of food!!

On our first full day, we had a cookery lesson locally with Fabio, whose knowledge of both food and wine was extremely impressive, and who took pains to explain the theory behind the practicalities of cooking, and answer our questions fully. When we had eaten the pasta and appetisers we had made for lunch, Danilo produced a beautiful strawberry cream cake as he had heard it was our wedding anniversary!

In the afternoon, we met Connie, a personal shopper, whose gentle approach to finding us clothes and shoes was extremely reassuring Neither of us could remotely be described as �models�, but somehow she managed to make us feel completely at ease about ourselves � she said my �style� might suit Max-Mara. I was frankly pretty impressed that an Italian, and a stylish one at that, should believe I had any kind of style, so that was certainly a morale boost. Because she was so kind and interesting and also had a wonderful sense of humour, we invited her to share the rest of our evening and have dinner with us.

We noticed, during an evening stroll in Frascati, that people were sitting on trestle tables eating what appeared to be picnics. When we asked Danilo about this he explained that you needed to bring your own food, but order wine from the bars where the tables were set up. So the next evening we went to the local market and bought porchetta, tomatoes, bread and a couple of peaches (we had consumed an enormous lunch already) and went along with our carrier bags. We were allocated a table with a paper tablecloth and given a carafe of wine. We had no knife or plastic plates so we had to improvise. Fortunately the lady who sold us the peaches and tomatoes had offered to wash them for us. It was a beautiful evening, and we enjoyed being in the midst of all those wonderful Italian accents. This was an experience we would have missed out on had we not had someone local to ask.

During the rest of the time we were in Italy, Danilo contacted us regularly to check we were OK and gave us recommendations for various restaurants locally and in Rome. We were given maps and train timetables, and up to the minute information with regard to museums and exhibitions etc in Rome. Both Danilo and Connie gave us their mobile numbers, and told to call or text them at any time if we needed anything � and we knew they meant it. We felt as if we had gained friends, who became a bridge between ourselves and the �real� Italy. We learnt more about the Italian people and culture in the 6 days we spent staying in Frascati this year than we did during our last 5 Italian holidays, spread over the last 12 years. We feel privileged to have experienced the warmth and care that is Creativity Travel, and we know that we will be back�..

I've been feeling guilty that we haven't written since we got back; but you know what it's like: straight back to work and before you know it, the holiday was ages ago! Well, we did indeed have a wonderful time. And here's some pics for you: we're cooking (and eating) with Ruth, sherry tasting, visiting yet another Tapas bar with Roger and being tourists! Roger is a superb guide, very knowlegeable and very relaxing to be with. He took us to all sorts of places that we'd never have found on our own and with first class welcomes and tours. The sherry bodega and Iberian ham place were my favourites. Hotel was most unusual and very relaxing. All the family had lots of fun. Though we ate far too much! Thank you so much for organising it. Keep in

I hope all is well with you. Thank you again for all your help with the holiday arrangements. Well, what can I say about Bologna? What an amazing place. I have concocted a mindmap for my formal review and we took loads of digital pictures too, so I will be sending some text and a picture selection soon. I have to say though that the most fantastic thing about it was the food..... - how do you explain all those tastes, from the "first of the mushrooms at the beginning of the season", the pasta which was made in the form of Venus's navel, and that wonderful parma ham, tender asparagus and those sauces!! Also the atmosphere of the place. Modern activities carrying on - people behaving as they have for centuries in the oldest university in the world etc. From the amazing covered walk up to the San Lucca Church to the wonderful shopping - plenty for everyone to do there.