COOKING CLASS & PORTOFINO - ITALY

da lasciare così

• From 8:30 am to 9:30 am You will have breakfast, then get ready for your first day of cooking.
• From 9:30 am to 1:30 pm Lessons. 4 hours of theory and practice on many different recipes.
• At 1:30 pm A great lunch paired with wines will be served. You will enjoy the labor of your work plus some of our dishes. This is not the week you choose for dieting!
• At 3:00 pm We will drive to Lucca, mostly known for its well-preserved walls and for being the city of 100 churches . The drive is just 20 minutes far from the school. Here you will enjoy a perfectly walled small city full of little shops, beautiful churches and a Roman Amphitheater. Back to the school.
• At 7:30 pm Dinner.

On Tuesday morning, after breakfast, we will drive to Liguria, the region famous for Le Cinqueterre, Portofino and Portovenere.

• At 8:30 am
  Breakfast
• At 9:00 am
  Departure for Recco, famous for its super thin focaccia stuffed with a local cheese. Focaccia will be our lunch as you cannot say you have been there unless you eat that delicacy! You will see how they make it and then you eat it!
• At 12:30 pm
  We get back in the van ready to drive to Camogli where we will visit the village.
• At 2:30 pm
  We meet with our skipper for the afternoon boat ride. Portofino bound! For those who want to dive and visit the submerged bronze statue of the Christ of the Abyss, this is the right time! Masks, snorkel and towels are availaible onboard of our private boat. Ready for Portofino? There you can visit the Brown Castle, a 16th century fortress and museum which offers the most breathtaking view of Portofino, its harbor and the Sea. The piazzetta and the high end boutiques are the main attraction there. The aperitivo will be served onboard before we arrive in Santa Margherita Ligure where we meet our driver and we drive back to school.
• At 8 pm
  Dinner.

Wednesday you will cook and bake all day long. We cannot always have fun!

• From 8:30 am to 9:30 am
  Breakfast
• At 9:30 am
  8 hours of cooking total. Be ready for a feast at lunch and more than a feast at dinner!

• From 8:30 am to 9:30 am Breakfast
• At 9:30 am Departure for San Gimignano, The New York of the Dark ages. There you will visit the town, maybe buy leather goods or pottery, eat an amazing gelato at the world famous Gelateria Dondoli, visit the market on the main piazzas.
• At 2:00 pm We will go truffle hunting with a hunter and his dog. Volterra next! This beautiful Etruscan city is known for the alabaster and the Roman ruins. It is also know for teh movie Twilight, which was partially filmed here. Back to School and ready to bake pizza!
• At 8:00 pm Dinner.

Friday will be dedicated to the visit of Portovenere and Cinqueterre, one of Unesco’s World Heritage Sites.

• From 8:00 am to 9:00 am
  Breakfast
• At 9:00 am
  Departure for Cinqueterrre. Arrival in Portovenere and visit of the colorful fishing village with its narrow carruggi full of little shops and restaurants. The white and grey striped gothic stone church on top of the cliff offers the most beautiful and breathtaking view of the Cinqueterre coastline, Lord Byron’s Grotto ( he drowned there) and the Bay of the Poets. Do not forget to taste the authentic pesto genovese at Bajeico. You can not miss that shop: it is the greenest place in Portovere, it can be seen from Mars! After the visit to Portovenere you have two options: you can choose to take the ferry and use it as a taxi, stopping in Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza and Monterosso or if you prefer, be taken to La Spezia and take the train. It is an on and off train that stops in every land and very inexpensive. If the weather is good, our suggestion if for you to take the ferry. Cinque Terre is a strand of ancient little villages that cling to the weathered cliffs typical of the Ligurian Riviera, so consider wearing comfy shoes and lightwear. Back to school.
• At 7:30 pm
  Dinner.