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  DAY/ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION  
  SUNDAY, SEPT. 30
ARRIVE FLORENCE
  • Welcoming reception

ponte_vecchio.jpgYour Insight Cruises host will meet you after you have claimed your luggage and passed through customs. You will transfer via private bus from the airport to our four-star hotel in Florence. Join us in the early evening for a welcoming cocktail party and then have the remainder of the evening at leisure (no other services included this evening). [4-star hotel.]

  
  MONDAY, OCT. 1
FLORENCE
  • Walking tour of the historic center
  • Museo di Leonardo da Vinci
  • Museo Galileo
 duomo.jpg After breakfast at our hotel, we’ll start the day with a walking tour to explore the historic center of Florence. We’ll take an informed look at the medieval streets and architecture, public works of art and landmarks that reflect the Renaissance humanism that fostered secular study, the creation of an incomparable canon of artistic beauty, and scientific discoveries and innovation that laid foundations for modern science. At the Museo di Leonardo da Vinci you can explore the scope of this quintessential Renaissance man’s work in art, science and technology. The Museum houses modern life-size constructions of Leonardo’s inventions, built based on the extensive notes and diagrams in his codices. Lunch in a trattoria will refuel us and we’ll visit the Museo Galileo. The institution has a dual focus. It preserves a priceless collection of Galileo’s scientific objects, collected by the Medici and Lorraine dynasties, in a very elegant, aesthetic display. The Museum also studies the history of scientific activity in Florence and Tuscany. Returning from Museo Galileo, you’ll have time to get to know Florence’s myriad delights, elegant shops and street scene on your own. Dinner is at leisure. [4-star hotel.] (Breakfast and lunch are provided.)  
  TUESDAY, OCT. 2
FLORENCE
  • Accademia Gallery
  • Uffizi Gallery
  • Pitti Palace
  • House of Medici
 pitti_palace.jpg Take a deep breath as we plunge into Florence’s artistic legacy. We’ll learn about the Renaissance advancements in depicting the human figure and the world, developments that helped advance the status of artists from craftsmen to figures as key to Renaissance culture as poets, writers and philosophers. After breakfast, we’ll visit the Accademia and see David, and experience the Uffizi’s vast array of Renaissance masterpieces. We’ll lunch in a favorite local restaurant and reimmerse into the splendors of Florence, walking to Pitti Palace, the Medicis’ residence, to experience its galleries of paintings and decorative arts. Dinner is at leisure. [4-star hotel.] (Breakfast and lunch are provided.)  
  WEDNESDAY, OCT. 3
TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE
  • Visit to a vineyard in Tuscany
  • Visits to the towns of Greve in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti
 tuscany.jpgWe spend the day in Tuscany’s enchanting countryside. Our destinations are within the Chianti Classico subzone of the Chianti winegrowing region. Our itinerary will be rich with the iconic and indelible vistas of Tuscany: olive trees and grape vines, farmhouses and villas, towns with Romanesque architecture. We’ll drop by a castle-based winemaker for lunch and winetasting. You’ll visit two towns of ancient Etruscan and Roman origin, set amid the lush, rolling Chianti Hills. Castellina in Chianti is known for its fort and underground vaulted passages. Greve in Chianti is known for its many medieval buildings and church art, and its association with the explorers Verrazzano and Vespucci. In a region known for its wild game and unique varieties of livestock, Greve in Chianti is home to one of Italy’s oldest butcher shops. We’ll wrap up our day and head back to Florence. Dinner is at leisure. [4-star hotel.]
(Lunch with winetasting and breakfast are provided.)
  
  THURSDAY, OCT. 4
LUCCA and PISA 		pisa.jpgLucca is known as a town for strolling, so that’s what we’ll do. Our walking tour will introduce us to the exceptionally well-preserved medieval walls surrounding the city, elegant traditional shopping streets, beautiful towers and beloved piazzas. We’ll sample Luccan cuisine at lunch. This afternoon we travel to Pisa. You’ll have time to explore Pisa on your own, after which the group will return to Florence. Dinner is at your leisure. [4-star hotel.] (Breakfast and lunch are provided.)  
  FRIDAY, OCT. 5
FLORENCE to VENICE 		After breakfast at our hotel, we’ll transfer via motorcoach from Florence to the cruise ship terminal in Venice to embark on Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam. (Breakfast is provided.)

  
  DETAILS Trip includes:
  • Five (5) nights accommodation in an outstanding four-star hotel.
  • Nine meals: five (5) breakfasts and four (4) lunches at our carefully selected restaurants.
  • Welcome cocktail reception.
  • Services of an English-speaking host and local tour guides.
  • All land transportation (as listed on the itinerary).
  • Entrance fees to all tourist sites (as listed on the itinerary).
  • Local guide and driver gratuities.
  • Baggage handling, city and hotel taxes.

Not Included:
  • International airfare to/from Italy, visa-processing fees (if needed), travel insurance.
  • Personal expenses such as alcoholic beverages, imported mineral waters, telephone charges, room service and laundry charges.
  • Gratuities to the host (gratuity is at guests discretion with a suggested tip of $7 to $10 USD per guest per day).

Misc. and Pricing:
  • The price of the above is €1,575 pp.
  • For those requiring single occupancy accommodations, a supplementary charge of €575 will apply.
  • Deposit is 10% ($200 pp. based on double occupancy and current exchange rate).
  • Please note that our Italian host will eat with you during lunch throughout the trip. This is to ensure that you are receiving the best service. If, at any time, you would prefer to dine on your own, please let the host know.
  • All pricing is based on the Italian currency (Euros) and could be subject to change. The conversion to US dollars will be made on the Final Payment Deadline (July 1, 2012).

Cancellation Charges
  • Should you decide to cancel your place on this tour between the time of deposit and 90 days prior to the tour, you will forfeit $150 USD pp; between 90 and 60 days prior to departure, you will forfeit your deposit; between 60 and 30 days prior to departure, you will forfeit 25% of the tour price; between 30 and 15 days you will forfeit 50% of the tour price; from 14 days or less, you will forfeit 100% of the tour price.
  • All notices of cancellation must be written to be effective. The date of cancellation will be the date of reception by Insight Cruises’ personnel.
     
  

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