Italian Food and Wine Itineraries

Venice and Veneto

Venice our expert cook will teach you how to prepare the local dishes and entertain you by analyzing the intriguing fragrances, the exotic origins of some ingredients, the cooking processes as well as answer your questions about the products being used. Classes are held in a Palazzo apartment in Venice or in a Liberty Villa at the Lido beach, a fascinating bathing resort with tall trees and gardens traversed by several canals.

Euganean Hills enter the fascinating backcountry and discover a natural area dotted with small villages, vineyards and a typical “osterie”. You will visit a family-owned wine cellar and drink its sparkling wines: an extraordinary experience to meet local people and taste genuine products. Experience the amazing ancient village of the Poet Petrarca, unchanged since the 14^th century.

Prosecco Wine Hills visit a wine cellar for a wine tasting and lunch overlooking the hills. Dry, lemony, and bubbling, Italy’s answer to refreshing, sparkling wine. Light, affordable, and fun.

Bolzano & the Dolomites the former Austro-Hungarian city of Tyrol is surrounded by vineyards, apple orchards, castles and mountains, Bolzano is one of the most charming cities in Italy. Everyone seems to live peacefully, no hurry or chaos. The city is crossed by the Adige River and by green beautiful gardens adorned with colored flowers. A drive along the South Tyrolean Wine Road with stops for exclusive wine tastings!

Milan Turin Alba and Langhe

Milan has a proud culinary tradition. Classic local dishes: cotoletta alla milanese, a breaded veal (pork and turkey can be used) cutlet pan-fried in butter, cassoeula (stewed pork rib chops and sausage with cabbage), ossobuco (stewed veal shank), risotto alla milanese (saffron and beef marrow), busecca (stewed tripe and beans) and brasato (beef or pork with wine and potatoes). Also, salami milano and gorgonzola cheese. Sweets: chiacchiere, panettone and tortelli.  World-renowned restaurants and cafés can be found in the historic center, Brera and Navigli districts.

Turin is famous for its use of aromatic herbs, fish, extra virgin olive oil and no less than 69 traditional local starters. It is also known as the “capital of sweets”, including Revigliasco cherries and scrumptious chocolate.

Alba & Langhe a hilly area in Cuneo province famous for its wines, cheeses, and truffles—particularly the white truffles of Alba – and the birthplace of slow food. Of interest: Serralunga Castle and Regional Winery; Barolo Wine and Corkscrew Museums, Cheese Factory; Grinzane Cavour Regional Wine Cellar and Castle; Torrone Factory; Fontanafredda’s 100 hectares of vineyards in the heart of the Langhe hills.

Salento Cuisine: Tradition, innovation and Creativity

Salento is a major agricultural center specializing in olive oil and wine, hence, numerous opportunities to experience the famed local wines and traditional cuisine.

Local Food specialties trace their origin to the successive invasions over the course of Salento’s history: Tiella – a rice dish with potatoes and mussels similar to the Spanish Paella, the Fava Beans Puree has Arab origins and in Gallipoli a variety of chowders with clear Greek roots.  

Unique Dishes puccia, friseddhre, pittule, rustici, pasticciotti, sweets made ​​of almond paste accompanied by the local wines: Negramaro, Primitivo and Malvasia! Come along for one of our food and wine tasting events, join a local cooking class and food shopping. 

Travel to Oregon Year Round

environment friendly winter destinations and summer vacations

Oregon is an ideal winter destination where you can ski on volcanoes in the Cascade Mountains; a nature lover’s paradise as you watch hundreds of gray whales spout and storms over the Pacific; a connoisseur destination where you can sip award-winning Oregon wines and micro beers; an environmentalist’s delight with Portland’s green lifestyle, free downtown transport and local distinctive neighborhoods.

The Landscape is diverse, with a windswept Pacific coastline, a volcano-studded Cascade Range, abundant bodies of water in and west of the Cascades; dense evergreen, mixed, and deciduous forests at lower elevations; and a high desert sprawling across much of its east all the way to the Great Basin. The tall conifers, mainly Douglas fir, along Oregon's rainy west coast contrast with the lighter-timbered and fire-prone pine and juniper forests covering portions to the east. Abundant alders in the west fix nitrogen for the conifers. Stretching east from central Oregon are semi-arid shrub lands, prairies, deserts, steppes, and meadows. At 11,249 feet (3,429 m), Mount Hood is the state's highest point, and Crater Lake National Park is Oregon's only national park.

The Coast heading west towards Oregon’s largest wine region through the small cities of Dundee, McMinnville and Newberg you can enjoy award-winning wines, with Pinot Noir being the most famous. Small tasting rooms are run by the proprietors and their families. Oregon’s 363 mile long coastline has a temperate climate and in the winter months Oregonians travel to the Coast to storm watch. From Cannon Beach, a charming artist colony, experience a rugged coastline dotted with picturesque lighthouses, coastal villages like Lincoln City, Newport, a working fishing town with fresh seafood restaurants. Also wild life, including migrating whales in December and March and resident gray whales, which live on the Central Oregon Coast year-round, seals and sea lions.

The Willamette Valley the Oregon Dunes Overlook area allows for awesome views of this natural spectacle. After visiting Florence Old Town, heading east through the forests to the fertile Willamette Valley’s rolling hills of vineyards you reach Eugene, home of Oregon’s largest university and the 5th Street Historic Public Market. Continuing east over the Cascade Mountain Range, paralleling the scenic McKenzie River, catch a dip in the natural hot springs pools of Belknap Springs Resort, or pull over for the winter view of Sahalie Falls, right off Highway 126, before continuing to Central Oregon.

What’s in a Name! The earliest known use of the name, spelled Ouragon, was in a 1765 petition. The term referred to the mythical River of the west - the Columbia River. By 1778 the spelling had shifted to Oregon. The name comes from the French word ouragan, meaning windstorm or hurricane, which was applied to the River of the West based on Native American tales of powerful Chinook winds of the lower Columbia River. Go up the Columbia and hear and feel the waters falling out of the clouds of Mount Hood to understand entirely the full meaning of the name.

Central Oregon is a playground for winter enthusiasts. Mt. Bachelor, one of the premier ski resorts in North America, features downhill skiing and snow-boarding with 360 degree access to varied slopes, cross country, snowshoeing, and tubing with a season that regularly runs from November to May. An award-winning local eco-tourism company offers interpretive snowshoe trips, including moonlight snowshoeing, and snow camping.

Bend and its hopping downtown, offers you fantastic eateries, boutique shopping, people-watching and skiing on Mt. Bachelor a few miles away. Only two hours away, South Diamond Lake Resort operates year-round, in a magical setting of volcanic mountains all around. Near-by Crater Lake National Park is a must-see. The deepest lake in the U.S. is powder blue and the water never really freezes over.

US Destinations and Itineraries

Cultural Heritage & Museums, Water Resources & the Environment, Local Food Wine & Breweries, Community Public Transport Initiatives

The High Desert Museum just South of Bend is a large indoor and outdoor interpretive center with interactive exhibits, showcasing the natural and cultural history of the area, including a fine Native American collection. Continuing north through the land of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, The tribally owned Museum at Warm Springs is a calming and culturally inspiring experience. Oregon’s Mount Hood is a year-round skiing destination. Timberline Lodge is located at the 6,000 ft/1829 m level. The lodge was built in the 1930s as a Work Projects Administration project and showcases the artistic skills of many artisan craftsmen of the era. It features a huge fire place, a fine dining room with an award-winning wine cellar, lodging, hot tub and heated pool.

Mt Hood Cultural Center & Museum

the regional history of Mt. Hood: natural history, early exploration, settlement history, winter sports, mountain climbing and Mt. Hood National Forest via the arts, educational enrichment and oral histories

Hood River Mt. Hood offers two additional ski areas: Mt. Hood Ski bowl and Meadows, both excellent night ski areas. Expert skiers will find wonderful terrains, great vertical drops, awesome ski conditions and snow with majestic views. Hood River is a stylish town located on the scenic Columbia River. Stroll the charming streets where, you might see cars with snowboard and surfboards driving down the road. Hood River is also home to Full City Brewery, a micro-brewery.

Portland located between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Portland is at the northern end of the Willamette Valley and river which flows through the city and links with the Columbia River. The citizens and their local government are notable for: land-use planning, local transport, environment conscious policies, high walkability, a large number bicyclists and ten thousand acres of public parks.

Neighborhoods the Office of Neighborhood Involvement serves as a conduit between city government and Portland's 95 neighborhoods, each represented by a volunteer association serving as liaison between residents and the city government. Portland and its surrounding metropolitan area also have the only directly elected metro planning organization the United States with responsibility for land use, transport planning and solid waste management.

Travel destinations and itineraries based on client interests by leveraging an in-depth knowledge of your destination, superior client service in the planning stages and throughout the trip or event and logistics expertise to reduce accommodations and transport costs as well as transfer times.

Arezza    Knowledge Tourism  

  Transit Logistics   Volt Logistics

A Visit to Lawrence Kansas

History Education Energy Water Parks Neighborhood Architecture and Local Transit

Downtown Lawrence is located 25 miles - 40 kilometers - east of Topeka and 35 miles - 56 km – west of Kansas City. Though Lawrence has a designated elevation of 866 feet - 264 m, the highest elevation is Mount Oread on the University of Kansas campus with an elevation of

1,020 feet - 310 m.

History Douglas County was part of the Shawnee Indian Reservation until the Kansas Territory was

opened to settlement in 1854; the Oregon Trail went through here and Hogback Ridge was used as a landmark on the trail. Lawrence was entangled with the slavery issue as Northern Democrats argued that residents should be able to decide the issue in newly created territories. Popular sovereignty was embodied in the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The law united anti-slavery forces into a movement committed to stopping the expansion of slavery, resulting in pro and anti-slavery elements moving into Kansas.

Emigration the New England Emigrant Aid Company was chartered by the Massachusetts Legislature to facilitate emigration to the region and selecting Lawrence as the site for the first colony with twenty-nine men remarking on the beauty of the spot and the magnificence of the view. The main street was named Massachusetts to commemorate the origins of the pioneer party. Pro and Anti-slavery groups co-existed for a few short months when pro-slavery settler Franklin Coleman killed a Free Stater at Hickory Point; violent political divisions characterized public life in Kansas for the next 10 years. During the Civil War, pro Confederacy forces rode into the city; houses and businesses in Lawrence were burned and between nearly 200 men and boys were murdered.

Quantrill's Raid was one of the most destructive in the history of Kansas

Energy facing an energy crisis in the early 1870s, Lawrence constructed a dam across the Kansas River to help provide the city with power; the Lawrence Land & Water Company completed the dam in 1873. The dam helped win business against Kansas City and Leavenworth.

Water Lawrence is located between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers and several major creeks: Burroughs Creek, Baldwin Creek, Yankee Tank Creek in southwest Lawrence flows through central Lawrence and converges with the Wakarusa River which was dammed to form Clinton Lake. Potter Lake is on the University of Kansas Campus and Mary’s Lake is located within Prairie Park. The Haskell-Baker Wetlands, maintained by Haskell University is an extensive open space located in the southern part of the city featuring wetlands, native plants, hiking and biking trails, and interpretative signage about the prairie and wetland ecosystems.

Travel destinations and itineraries based on client interests by leveraging an in-depth knowledge of your destination, superior client service in the planning stages and throughout the trip or event and logistics expertise to reduce accommodations and transport costs as well as transfer times.

Education Lawrence is home to University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University. The United States Indian Industrial Training School opened in 1884. Boys learned tailor making, blacksmithing and farming while girls were taught cooking and homemaking. In 1993 the name was changed to the Haskell Indian Nations University.

The Elizabeth M. Watkins Community Museum is on the premises of the Watkins National Bank which opened in 1888 at 11th and Massachusetts. Founded by Jabez B. Watkins, the bank would last until 1929. Watkin’s wife Elizabeth donated the bank building to the city.

 The Free State Brewing Company opened in 1989, becoming the first legal brewery in Kansas in more than 100 years. The restaurant is in a renovated inter-urban trolley station in downtown Lawrence.

Parks Lawrence has 54 parks which include community and neighborhood parks, trails, cemeteries and nature preserves. A new, multi-use trail system called the Lawrence Loop encircles the city and will create a 22-mile paved recreational trail, a green transportation network, and opportunities for environmental restoration.

Neighborhood Architecture The architecture of Lawrence is greatly varied. Most buildings built before 1860 were destroyed in the Lawrence Massacre. Architectural styles represented in Old West Lawrence include Italianate, Victorian, Gothic Revival and Tudor.The National Register of Historic Places includes: Old West Lawrence, Oread, Hancock, Breezedale, and most of Rhode Island Street in East Lawrence.

Local Transit in 1871, the Lawrence Street Railway Company opened and offered citizens easy access to hotels and businesses along Massachusetts Street. The first streetcar was pulled by horses and mules.

Today, two bus systems operate in the city: Lawrence Transit, known as the T, is a public bus system operated by the city, and KU on Wheels, operated by the University of Kansas. Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound. Amtrak provides passenger service with a stop at the downtown Lawrence Station on the Southwest Chief line connecting Chicago and Los Angeles.