We had never travelled to Europe before and were looking for a special way to celebrate 30 years of…read moremarriage. When we found the Wine & Cooking in the Heart of Chianti and Florence, Tuscany trip on the CDV website, it seemed like everything we were looking for. Now that we are home, we look back fondly on a perfect vacation, and know we can't wait another 30 years to do it again. From the initial planning, CDV was super responsive and helpful in answering all our questions, and they sent detailed information about what to expect. When we departed for our trip, we felt comfortable that we were in good hands. Then, from the moment we arrived at the Florence airport, our host Lorenzo took over led us on the trip of a lifetime. The entire week was very well planned and organized, and we went to so many fabulous places, but whenever we discuss our trip, the thing that stands out most is the people we got to meet and spend time with: Lorenzo is an amazing host - fun, passionate, patient and knowledgeable. He did a great job transforming our group from strangers to close friends by dinner on the first day. He is a great person and we feel so fortunate to have met him. We still keep in touch with Lorenzo on WhatsApp. Gianfranco was not just our bus driver. He is part of our CDV family. Yes he got us safely from point A to points B, C and D comfortably and safely every day, but he also cooked with us, dined with us, and had fun with us. Unfortunately for Gianfranco, his job did not allow him to drink wine with us. Simonetta - our amazing chef and cooking teacher. We had two cooking classes with Simonetta and she prepared two of our dinners. I could talk about Simonetta for hours, but for this review I will just say that we love her. The cooking classes were so much fun and she is very special. CDV has close relationships with all the people we visited, and we especially enjoyed our time with Mourizio at Piombia; Enrico at De Rici - what a fun guy he is; Patrizia our cooking teacher in the Cortona countryside; Piero at Poggerino; and especially Simone and Chris at Castellinuzza e Piuca - I don't remember having a more fun evening than our time with Simone and Chris. There are too many others to list them all here, but every host was gracious and engaging. Grazie Mille CDV for a trip we will never forget!

VACATION OF A LIFETIME - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING…read more My lifelong dream has always been to go to Tuscany. After considering all options, I chose the Culture Discovery "Wine and Cooking Under the Tuscan and Umbrian Sun" vacation. I wanted to see the countryside, the small towns, the history and how the people really live. CDV gave me exactly what I was hoping for, and so much more. Italy was everything I had ever imagined it would be - the people; the food; the ancient, interesting small, hill towns; the spectacular scenery. I cannot say enough about how friendly, warm and welcoming every single person was. They truly made us feel like we were one of the family - family I would love to visit often. The other guests on the tour were a wide range of ages and from all walks of life. They were interesting and fun and everyone came together to have and make the best possible experience they possibly could. The small group size also contributed to that feeling of family. Our accommodation was absolutely gorgeous and CDV had thought of every possible comfort and welcoming kindness. The sightseeing trips were wonderfully selected, the cooking classes were more interesting and fun than one could hope for and the food and drink were just plain amazing. I would never consider traveling with another company after the incredible time I had with CDV.