Saturday, March 2, 2013

NO SOLO SUPPLEMENT Italy: Classic Car Tour


                   NO SOLO SUPPLEMENT

Yle with Yltour in Puglia offers another wonderful event for independent travelers who want
a unique experience!
      



CLASSIC CAR EXPERIENCE IN PUGLIA

May 1 - 6, 2013            
YLTOUR opens its 2013 season with an exclusive road experience from May 1 – 6 , 2013
in the beautiful Salento area, Italy.
This is your chance to explore the area on board  on of these magnificent cars along with luxury catering and accommodation. The car will have a driver.

YLTOUR offers you, your friends and customers the finest classic car experience in Puglia: a taste of luxury, wine tasting and gourmet dining, a culinary experience, a city tour, visits to local vineyards and five star hotels.
 We will accompany you on selected dream routes, with the wind in your hair while living
la dolce vita lifestyle in the lovely Salento area. 
Cost: € 1.600,00 per person no single supplement and include the following: 
Promotional price until March 10, 2013  E 1.500.00

- accommodation in 4 and 5 stars stylish hotels
- breakfast, lunch and dinner
- a gala dinner
- rally plates and souvenir plaque
- comprehensive road book with daily detailed route notes and timed itineraries
- 1 cooking class
- 1 city tour
- 1 wine tasting + meal in a winery    
- services of a Tour director throughout the tour
- transportation from/to Bari and Brindisi airport
- all ground transportation

All photos courtesy of Yltour and may NOT be the actual cars used for the tour 
Not included are the following:
Airfare and travel insurance
YLTOUR (www.yltourcongressi.com)  can make your plane and train reservations as well.
Find more on: info@yltourcongressi.com (Yle) or  leelaurino@eartlink.net (Lee)

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

No Solo Supplement: Italy, photo evenet




--                               [Calling all Photographers:

                         A Creative Break in Puglia, Italy



Take a photography holiday in Puglia and capture the images of our traditional villages and scenic roads off the tourist trail, vineyards, old palaces, farmers on their estates, seaside villages, the countryside and the people of this part of Italy that is less traveled.

Experienced photographers and non-professional photographers will find Puglia an incredible place.  Puglia has spectacular landscapes and natural light, not to mention the beauty of old farmhouses and country houses with their Mediterranean colors (in the Salento style), baroque details and local villagers, pizzica dancers, intimate details and so much more.   

Become a photographer and capture the genuine beauty of Puglia through its most hidden and unconventional landscapes and settings.    Our local experts will enable you to take unique pictures and meet inspiring local people: they will concentrate on your particular interests. Prior to your visit we will ask questions to better understand your photo style and expectations, in order to provide you with the very best settings. Each holiday is custom tailored with dedication and focuses on photography.     Yltour knows the best locations but also restaurants where you can taste the delicious local food and wine.


<!--[if !vml]-->Our accommodations are off the beaten-path places:  dimore (old houses), farmhouses, villas fully equipped.  We use an air conditioned van or private cars to arrive at our shooting locations and               meals are taken in top places. 
Partners, who are not photographers, can join other interesting activities:   cooking classes, a wine tour, a bike tour or simply relax by.
Discover and capture the Puglia we love.
This unique opportunity is limited to small groups to insure individual attention.

 A minimum number of four bookings are required to run this tour.
                                                                                                           
Cost:   1,500 euros       Special price for bookings prior to March    30, 2013.

Creative Break Includes:
•             7 nights in exclusive properties, breakfast included
•             5 lunches with wine: at local trattorias and private family farmhouses
•             5 dinners with wine
•             2 cooking classes
•             2 wine tastings at top producers and 1 vineyard tour
•             olive farm visit with olive oil tasting and tour of the olive groves
•             a special visit to a private farm with a demonstration on the making of ricotta, a cheese tasting
•             visit to an open air market
•             photo tour of historic Lecce, Gallipoli, Otranto, Itria Valley
•             morning photography unique experiences
•             air-conditioned deluxe motor coach
•             a few surprises, as the occasion allows

Not included:
•             airfare
•             meals not listed on the itinerary                                                                     
•             optional trip insurance
•             items of a personal nature, laundry, telephone charges
•             passport fees
   
This tour is available in June and November
Email us: info@yltourcongressi.com     ask for promo price listed on solomaturetravel.com                                                                               


Turn your next vacation in to a travel adventure.....



                                                 




Friday, February 22, 2013

Rome Solo over Christmass


5 or my 15  Impressions from my Solo Christmas trip to Rome:    part of a guest post I did for BrowsingRome.com

Although I travel solo to Italy every year and try to stay as long as possible I have never been Home To Italy during the winter.   Usually by November I head back to the southern part of the USA to wait out the ice and cold across the Northern Hemisphere.
My December trip was devoted entirely to finding what xmas traditions Italians practice that Italian Americans also observe.    Therefore my visit did not include museums this year or monuments but rather the seasonal foods, street festivals and markets where Italians were enjoying the holidays. 

This theme proved to be perfect.     It was easy to do a visual inspection of holiday decorations as I progressed from Zurich to Como and down to Rome, but also the tourists were minimal, locals were more available to chat and the topic of Natale was universal to all.   
Rome Solo"

1.      Street lighting:    In every town and city I visited the streets were blazing with Christmas lights.  No plastic snowmen, candy canes or Rudolf but street after street had displays of white lights.  Each street was different.   Some designs, such as the ‘jellyfish look’ were very unique.   I could not find anyone to ask if each neighborhood decides what lights they used nor do I think that question ever came up!
2.       The Christmas Markets

I left the USA with a list of markets that would be featured in each of the towns I planned to visit.

Apparently an outside Christmas market can be found in most Italian towns.   In Florence it was a German market, in Prato they had a Chocolate fair.   Rome has a huge market in Piazza Narvone that goes on for weeks.   I visited several times to try to see everything.
In addition to the stands offering sweets and snacks the popular items were something like an over sized donut and crepes filled with Nutella.    I enjoyed watching children eating cotton candy for the first time and learning how to eat it.   

              
Since an outdoor market is a perfect location for a solo traveler to spend time, observe, interact and not become the object of everyone’s attention I found lots to keep me interested and except for the biting cold, would have stayed longer.