Sicilian food and Wine tours

Cooking, Culture and Country life in Sicily

Sicily Self Drive Tour 

2010

2 Day 
Breakfast at the hotel. Meeting with your guide to visit the city. You’ll be enchanted by Palermo’s wide boulevards, traditional Sicilian Old Quarter, and baroque palaces. You’ll see the city’s main sights, including Quattro Canti, the twelfth-century Cathedral of Palermo, and the food market of “Capo”, typical par excellence, full of colour and folkloric. Here you will taste typical street food such as “pani ca meusa”, “panelled”, “arancini”...Lunch at leisure. Then you’ll discover the Arab-Norman magnificence of the Monreale Cathedral, this nearby treasure dates from the 12th century and shows the diverse architectural influences of both the Normans and the Arab population. In the afternoon, transfer to Regaleali, Tasca D’Almerita Wine Estate, Anna Tasca Lanza’s home. Tasca d'Almerita is one of the most important wine-producing estates in Sicily and here Anna Tasca Lanza, the cooking teacher and cookbook author, conducts cooking classes, as she has for more than 15 years, at Casa Vecchie, in the middle of the vineyards. Dinner and overnight stay. 

3 Day 
Breakfast in the kitchen. Today Anna Tasca will share her knowledge of local cuisine and its history and you will learn how to prepare the caponata, arancini and cannoli with ricotta cheese. Lunch with Anna. In the afternoon you will explore the countryside and enjoy the vineyards. A look at the wine cellars of Regaleali with her immense barrels and tasting of the various wines will accompany the dinner. Overnight stay.   

4 day 
Breakfast and departure for Agrigento to visit the beautiful Valley of the Temples, one of the most representative sites of Greek civilization in the Mediterranean area. Visit to the Temple of Hercules, the Temple of Juno, the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the wonderful Temple of Concord and finally the beautiful Garden of Kolymbetra. Lunch on your own and transfer to Mandranova Country House situated in the surroundings of Agrigento. The firm has a long tradition of specialized cultivations, and the family transmits the deep love for the care of land from father to son. Today, after a reclamation and cultivation, 40 hectares are dedicated to olive trees, with extremely innovative cultivation, gathering and processing systems. You can visit the oil press and relax your self in a beautiful garden. We suggest to have a dinner at Mandranova.  Overnight stay.   

5 day 
Breakfast and transfer to Piazza Armerina where you’ll view the extraordinary floor mosaics in the Roman Villa del Casale. The famed Roman mosaics housed in this third-century villa are among the best preserved in the world, depicting scenes from everyday life. Scenes include children at play, and big game hunts showing some of the exotic African animals brought to Rome for gladiator games. Transfer to Caltagirone whose ceramics are a symbol of Sicily, here you will an evo­cative city center full of artisan shops and enjoy shopping! Lunch on your own. Transfer to Taormina   

6 Day 
Breakfast and visit of the city. Taormina is Sicily’s most famous city. Dating from the fourth and third centuries B.C., Taormina is perched dramatically high on a rocky promontory overlooking the Ionian Sea. It’s a charming medieval town with typical cobblestoned streets leading into spacious squares. You can admire the extraordinary classical Greco-Roman theatre and the historical centre. ( In the afternoon you can choose an optional tour of Mount Etna or relax in Taormina). Overnight stay 

  7 Day 
Breakfast and departure for Catania or choose to extend your stay in Taormina and experience a new cooking class with the famous Eleonora Consoli on Mount Etna.

Price per person in double room in Euro ($rate varies depending exchange):
1.) Self drive version
2 pax  - Euro 1313
4 pax  - Euro 1238 
6 pax - Euro 1225

2.)Supplement for car rental or for private English speaking driver :
 
2 pax  Euro 913
4 pax  Euro 488 
6 pax Euro 363

Single room supplement 325 € 

The price includes 
- 1 BB in a 3 star charming hotel in Palermo; 
- 2 Hb at Regaleali Estate in the countryside of Palermo;
- 1 BB at Villa Mandranova **** in the countryside of Agrigento; 
- 2 BB at Grand Hotel Miramare or similar in Taormina; 
- all cooking classes with lunch or dinner and beverages; 
- Tasting of Regalali Wine and olive oil Mandranova; 
- Tourist guides in Palermo, Monreale and Piazza Armerina;   

 The price does not include 
- transfer; 
- entrances fees; 
- individual extras; 
- all has not been clearly indicated in “The price includes”;