Italy is a stunning confluence of some of the most profound currents of  history,  violence and a transporting beauty reflected both in the diverse splendor of its art and the country’s magnificent landscape.  BUT--you might find the faces as memorable as the palaces, and the gusto and spontaneity of the market scenes  as fascinating as the art. You may, for example, be walking a narrow Venetian street in the early evening and hear a marvelous tenor voice concluding the third act aria from “Tosca,” and assume it’s a professional opera singer warming up in a concert hall nearby. But you turn the corner and discover a street sweeper with his broom on his shoulder, singing at the end of the day’s chores. You shout a ‘bravo’ and applaud. The street sweeper turns, bows low and raises his broom triumphantly, saluting the good taste of his one-man audience.

    That is Italy as much as the cypresses and chestnut groves of Tuscany and  Umbria, the steeples of San Gimignano and the allure of the villages of the Cinque Terre, clinging to the forested cliffs above the Gulf of Genoa. You will quickly want to add Rome and Sienna and Assisi and Florence and finally the other-worldly Venice, with its legacies of the doges and the songs of the gondoliers.

  This is an invitation. Our Springtime in Italy tour runs from April 23 to May 6. It begins in Rome and ends in Venice. It gives us mountains, surf, Tuscan meadows,  the Ligurian Sea and the  villages of the Cinque Terre, the Colosseum and Vatican of Rome. And, for five nights, it offers accommodations in the apartments and guest house of the Fattoria del Colle, a Tuscan estate near Perugia founded 500 years ago by a wealthy wine producer and converted into a love nest by the Grand Duke of Tuscany at the end of the 18th Century.  In the sizzling sagas of Italian romance, you may find this story of rustic trysting pretty tame broth. But you should be thoroughly impressed by the 336-hectare estate with its wineries and hallways draped with coats of arms, its old bakery and massive fireplace, vineyards and wooded walking paths. In our private motor coach we will do day trips from the Fattoria dell Colle to the celebrated sites of Tuscany, Umbria and Chianti.

    The cost of this trip will vary with the number of participants. It will range from $4,355 to $4,775 per person, including airfare from Minneapolis. If you arrange your own airfare or use frequent flier miles, the cost will be lowered by $1,000. A single supplement is available if you prefer rooming alone. Otherwise, the cost assumes double occupancy. If you’re a single and wish a partner, we can try to make arrangements. Because airline and booking rates  rise sharply as we move out of the winter months, we’ll need commitments relatively soon. Booking agents in Italy fill the available accommodations quickly for the spring and summer seasons. A $300 deposit by December 20 will insure you a reservation on the trip, whether you travel with flier miles or under the package plan. The deadlines for the final payments will be considerably later, probably in February or March.

    Travel Beyond of Wayzata, MN., will process your  deposits and final payments. Suzanne Zapolski, an experienced and respected travel agent who was partnered with Jim Klobuchar’s Adventures for many years, is your contact for assistance if you’d like advice on the use of frequent flier mileage or want to extend your tour.  Travelers are not always aware of frequent flier options available to them.

     Suzanne can be reached at 952-540-4109 or 952-475-9975, or 800-823-6063. Mail your deposits and final payments to Suzanne at Travel Beyond, 214 South Minnetonka Ave., Wayzata MN 55391, or give her your credit card information  by phone. Once you sign up for the tour, she will provide you with additional information and forms that will expedite your reservation. er, we can try to make arrangements. If there’s no partner available, there still are solutions. An important note about your passport: If it expires less than six months after your return to the United States, May 6, you must have it renewed well before then.

    As the organizer and tour escort, I’d be happy to discuss any aspects of the trip with you, at 763-258-1371 or via email here. Additional detail on our itineraries and options will be available to those registering. We want to maximize the amount of tour time you call your own, particularly in Rome and Venice and in the Cinque Terre, but you’ll also have the benefit of extensive professional guide service during most of the tour.

    Send your deposit check for $300 to Travel Beyond of Wayzata, 214 South Minnetonka Blvd., Wayzata MN  55391 or telephone your credit card information to Suzanne at 952-540-4109 or 800-823-6063.


Please enroll me on the Springtime in Italy tour. Enclosed is my (our) deposit of $300 per person.

Name(s)________________________________________________________

Address________________________________________________________
                                  
City_______________________________________  Zip________________

Phones_______________________  Email____________________________