I’m pleased to say that my 2025 Soul of Tuscany tour is now full. If you are intersted in future tours, please subscribe below for information regarding these tours as it becomes available. I would be excited to share the Italy that I love with you!

Grazie e arrividerci!

The Soul of Tuscany

An Artisanal Journey with David Brown
October 4-11, 2025

Jump to: Our Accommodations, Our Transportation, Your Investment, What’s Included, Tour Schedule, Gallery, Registration

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

Henry Miller

Our Journey Together

Join me on an intimate, mindful journey to Sienese Tuscany, where every moment is crafted with care and connection.

Good food and good travel have a lot in common.

You do not want to rush either. You want to relax and be present. You want to be comfortable in your seat at the table. For both, you need to take your time, to slow down and to savor what’s in front of you. Food and travel are experiences that you want to linger over with friends, and that, when it’s time to get up from the table and go home, you will look forward to doing again.

In that spirit, I invite you to join me in October of 2025 for a seven day, seven night journey in Sienese Tuscany. We will primarily explore the historic and beautiful hill town of Siena, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We will also visit another Tuscan World Heritage Site, the nearby hill town of San Gimignano, known for its profusion of preserved medieval towers, churches, museums and vibrant art scene.

I will lead us on three walking day-trips in Siena. We will explore Siena’s major sites and its magical sheltered alleyways and byways, where it’s history, customs and it’s myths can be discovered. We’ll also encounter Siena’s vibrant contemporary culture of cafe bars, restaurants and shops, all contained within this medieval matrix. I’ll help draw out this ancient city for you through storytelling, discussion, connection and immersion. Our home base will be an agriturismo in the Sienese countryside a short drive from the historic center.

Our time together will be “slow, mindful travel”, discovering and savoring Siena’s beauty and soul…as we might discover and savor a magnificent meal. And when we do get up from the table and are ready to go, it will be with a deep appreciation of this place, and the flavors that have made and shaped it, both in the historic past and the present.

This will be a small, intimate tour, with only seven seats available. I would be pleased to share it with you.

(Note: Siena is a hill town; it is built on three ridges, and you should expect to walk up hill and down on brick paved streets. Good feet and good footwear are important.)

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ITALY

Many year ago, my father-in-law, Lou “Gigi” Piacenza, passed away. His passing deepened my wife Mary’s contemplation of family and ancestry, and she soon realized her strong need to see and experience her father’s birthplace in Italy. Such were the seeds of our first trip to Italy in 2014.

Mary discovered that Lou had kept all of the vital Italian documents related to his naturalization process. Because he was an Italian citizen at her birth, her Italian citizenship was virtually guaranteed under Italian law. She initiated the process, did the work tirelessly, was patient for the most part, and then, almost 5 years later, proudly received her Italian passport at the Italian Consulate in Philadelphia.

Since 2014, we have made more and longer trips to Italy, gaining some friends along the way, and trying on the experience as though we lived there. We are fortunate to have a nice place to stay, just outside of Siena. When there, we walk and cook and hang out the laundry, and we ride the bus and have phones with Italian numbers and plans. We shop at the grocery store or the butcher’s shop, or the pastry shop, or the cheese shop, and occasionally venture into the households-and-hardware store for this or that. We take day trips and explore. It’s a wonderful, continuing education in things Italian, and I hope to share this approach to travel with you.

OUR ACCOMMODATIONS

During our exploration, we will stay at the charming and rustic Agriturismo La Gavina, a small, Italian family run agriturismo housed in a lovingly restored medieval farm complex. La Gavina is located in the countryside about 12 Km west of Siena. Rooms are private with en suite bathrooms. Our breakfasts, lunches and dinners, including wine, apertivo and dolci, will be provided from La Gavina’s kitchen. We’ll enjoy traditional, organic Tuscan fare, made with ingredients grown at La Gavena itself and other local producers.

In addition, our host, Emiliano, will guide us in a classic Italian cooking class, showing us the intricacies of a typical Tuscan pasta dish. We’ll also taste and learn about the local olive oils, and perhaps even experience a gentle morning of restorative, therapeutic massage to help us shake off the tensions of travel. Throughout the course of our explorations, I will offer seed thoughts to stimulate discussion around our exploration prior to venturing into Siena.

OUR TRANSPORTATION

Our transportation will be in modern and comfortable touring vans provided by Marco of the ABC Noleggio Transport, whose safe and courteous drivers speak English and will keep us informed about our surroundings as we go, lightly seasoning the conversation with Italian wit and insights.

These same drivers will also pick us up at our initial rendezvous point, the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence, at the beginning of the tour to bring us to La Gavina. Later, they will provide our transport back to Santa Maria Novella at the tours conclusion, from which any further connections can easily be made.

YOUR INVESTMENT

There are several variables in the pricing structure of this tour…

An initial deposit of $250, paid anytime before March 1, 2025, will hold your space.
After that date, full payment is required.
Single or double-occupancy accommodations
A pay-in-full discount
Early-bird pricing
Full price (post-early-bird pricing)
Staged payments
Multiple payment methods

Options are detailed below and can be chosen on the linked registration form.

SINGLE OCCUPANCY

Early Bird with $100 Pay-in-Full Discount

Payment due in full by January 15, 2025

$2165

Early Bird

Ends February 15, 2025
1st half of payment also due February 15th, 2025

$2265

Full Price

February 15th through March 15, 2025
Payment in full due by March 15, 2025

$2415

DOUBLE OCCUPANCY

Early Bird with $100 Pay-in-Full Discount

Ends January 15, 2025
Payment in full due by January 15, 2025

$2000

Early Bird

Ends February 15, 2025
1st half of payment also due February 15th, 2025

$2100

Full Price

February 15th through March 15, 2025
Payment in full due by March 15, 2025

$2250

Registration closes & final registration payment is due on March 15, 2025.

Methods of payment:
Venmo (@Grover-Brown-2)
Zelle ( dbrown9264@hotmail.com)
Personal Check (Payable to David Brown)

An initial deposit of $250 paid anytime before March 1, 2025 will hold your space. After that date, full payment is required. This deposit is deducted from your final payment amount, and is non-refundable if you cancel, and refundable if the cancellation is ours. Upon making your deposit, you will receive a more detailed information package.
Early Bird Pricing is available through February 15th, 2025, and represents a significant savings!
A $100 pay-in-full discount is available through January 15th, and applies to Early Bird Pricing for an even greater savings!
If all available spaces fill prior to March 15th, 2025, registration is effectively closed, and this will be posted on the website.
Any and all payments made prior to February 15, 2025 are fully refundable if there is not enough registration to proceed by that date.
If YOU cancel after February 15, 2025, you can receive a 50% reimbursement through April 15th. After that date, no cancellation reimbursements are available.
If I cancel the tour, for any reason, after February 15, 2025, a 100% reimbursement is available, minus the $250 non-refundable deposit, if applicable.

Terms & Conditions

Jan. 15: Pay-in-full Discount Ends
February 15: Early Bird pricing ends
February 15: First half of the registration fee is due (unless you’ve paid in full)
February 15th - March 15th: Full pricing is required
March 1st: Last date to secure a space with a $250 deposit; complete payment is required from this date on
March 15th: Date of final payment or second half of registration due. Registration closes

Important Dates

What’s Included, What’s Not

INCLUDED

A seven night, seven day stay at Agriturismo La Gavina.
All meals, wine, coffee, etc. from dinner on our arrival day through breakfast on our departure day.
All transportation, including transport to and from La Gavina on arrival and departure days, three day-trips to Siena and one to San Gimignano.
One dinner, and one lunch, on our days in Siena.
Entrance tickets to the Duomo di Siena (the Siena Cathedral) and its attendant sites, and to the Palazzo Pubblico, the civic palace and museums at the heart of Siena’s Piazza del Campo.
A cooking class at La Gavina led by our host, Emiliano.
An olive oil tasting at La Gavina.
A two hour food and wine tour in Siena courtesy of the Tuscan Wine School of Siena.
A guided tour of San Gimignano.
Entrance to the civic museums of San Gimignano.
Discussion content and seed thoughts that I will provide.
All the enjoyment and camaraderie of the our journey together.

NOT INCLUDED

Airfare to Italy.
Any small food purchases in Siena or San Gimignano
Lunch in San Gimignano

SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK

Subject to minor changes depending on weather, etc.

Day One, Saturday, October 4th

We meet in the afternoon at the Florence train station and drive to La Gavina. We will settle in, have apertivo, dinner and some evening talk before retiring.

Day two, Sunday, October 5th

We will spend the day at La Gavina, perhaps with restorative, therapeutic massage in the morning, breakfast, lunch and dinner, pool time, relaxation, walks, etc. We will get to know one another and discuss our week.

Day three, Monday, October 6th

After breakfast at La Gavina, we will take out first day exploration to Siena, and return to La Gavina in time for relaxation, apertivo and dinner.

Day four, Tuesday, October 7th

Our second day trip into Siena, capped with dinner out at Osteria Da Gano. We return to La Gavina after our dinner out.

Day five, Wednesday, October 8th

We will enjoy a relaxing day at La Gavina, with a cooking class, more pool time, walks in the countryside, discussion and relaxation.

Day six, Thursday, October 9th

After breakfast, we will go to San Gimignano, tour, visit museums, have some “free time”, lunch, and return to La Gavina for apertivo and dinner.

Day seven, Friday,October 10th

After breakfast, we will return for our final day in Siena, explore the Duomo and its attendant sites, eat lunch together, shop or have “free time” and return to La Gavina for apertivo and dinner.