Happy 4th of July & God Bless America!

So, we're home from Provence, and we're working on dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's for your upcoming Tuscany Expedition! At this point, if you've been following along on The Blog since early November 2023, you've read about 70 three minute Blog postings about your upcoming Italy adventure! That's almost four hours of tips! If you spent an extra two minutes each time on the side bar that's another 2 hours of time you've invested in learning about Tuscany and your upcoming trek through Italy!  And between "Word-of-the-Day" and "Eating a little Italian" hopefully you've already learned almost 200 new Italian words!  

We've posted articles about Italy, Tuscany, Chianti,  Castello D'Albola, Dievole, The Villa, the geography, our Tour Guides, travel tips, currency exchange, travel insurance, electric converters & adaptors, using credit cards,  cell phones, international calling plans, translators, phrasebooks, language lessons, hotel recommendations and reservations, 

luggage, ATM's,  debit cards, overcoming language barriers, Italian Culture and Etiquette, local weather, packing tips, Foods & Wines, differences in restaurant etiquette, dealing with jet lag, guidebooks, driving in Italy, Italian road signs, espresso bar culture, itinerary ideas, Tipping Etiquette, flights, car rentals, trains, winery visits, maps, gps units, our two-way radios, daily touring activities, Siena, San Gimignano, Greve, Radda-in-Chianti, Panzano, Castellina, and on and on, and on... and as many of you have told us you're extending your trips, we've also posted articles on Rome, Florence and Lake Como!

We've introduced you to The Albola Wine Estate, ( a 2200 acre paradise), Villa Marangole (may-rang-go-lay) your home away from home, Angela & Giuseppe, (our Chefs) and our Tour Guide Stella... as well as your home-base village; Radda-in-Chianti... We think (and hope) when you get there, you'll recognize the place, and immediately feel at home!  We've a lot more friends and places to introduce you to! 

by the way, this will be your view of 
Radda-in-Chianti from the Grand 
Terrace of The Villa!

Trust us when we tell you that, if you've been reading the Blog, you already know a lot more about Italy before you even go, than most Americans know when they come back! And this of course is our goal...  We want you to have a truly great time, and our philosophy is; the more you know before you go, the better time you'll have!  And of course, this exercise also extends your vacation a bit and hopefully builds a little momentum & some excitement about the trip!

If you've invested the time to follow along over the last eight months, (yes, it's been 8 months!) we want to say "Thank You!"  Ultimately, it makes your vacation better and quite honestly, it makes it a lot more satisfying!  But we're not done yet...  It's still almost 2 months till we meet up in Tuscany.. and we'll be posting right up till we leave for Italy! (we of course go over a week early to prepare for your arrival; there's a lot of foods & wines to buy!) 

This of course is Villa Marangole... and the 
large Vineyard to the right of the Villa in this photo
is The Marangole Vineyard where the grapes
for a very special & limited wine comes from
& it's only available here at the Estate!

If there's anything more we can we can help you with, now's the time to ask... Once we get close to leaving for Italy, things will get very busy for us!  Couple of quick reminders, if you're driving, don't forget to get an International Driver's License (AAA offices)... Call your bank if you need Euros... Print out & bring your rental car voucher... Bring an electric adaptor... Notify your bank/credit card/debit card companies you're  gonna be overseas...  Update your credit card/debit card daily withdrawal limits... Let the post office know you're gonna be away... and lastly, if you're lucky enough to still have your mom & dad,  kiss 'em and tell them you love them! Happy 4th of July & God Bless America!

Can't wait to see all you guys in Tuscany!  Buckle up! We're gonna have the time of our lives! 

Happy Birthday America!