Italy Means Food. Lots of it.

• ITALY is ALWAYS a DELICOUS Idea
  Who's ready for a visit to ITALY? It's always a great time to go to Italy!!   
   
  WARNING:  You will have an urgent desire to visit ITALY  soon . . . and when you do, we would LOVE to plan every detail for you (including free time, of course).  Keep reading if bespoke ITALY speaks to you, making an ITALY trip even more MAGICAL.
   
  Earlier this month, I was delighted to travel through Italy's #Veneto region.  The Veneto is the region that houses Venice--brimming with delizioso dishes. Renaissance villas, undiscovered lakes and Alpine views . . . 
  
   
  If you mention FOOD to Italians, they'll wax poetically about grandma's Sunday suppers.  Sooner or later, they'll also tell you "Visit Veneto".  They're right.  From pumpkin risotto to hand-carved cheese wheels.  I was treated to a bounty of flavors here.
   
  The Veneto is a land of slow food, famous for dishes that took centuries to perfect:
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  Cheese, aged up to 20 months!
• Prosciutto cured for up to 2 years
• Bubbly prosecco grown on green hills
• Red wine, made like the Romans did
• Risotto with local cheese and slow broth
  
  
    
  During my tour, I went behind-the-scenes (and you can too) where they make these foods the old-fashioned way. I tasted time-tested recipes, listening as locals explained the artistry behind their products.  Outside of Venice --often overlooked by tourists - lies the Valpolicella wine region (my fav).  Green hills, ancient vineyards and millennia of wine know-how fuse in this one place.
   
   
   
   
  In Valpolicella, you can taste amarone wine -- a varietal first perfected by the Ancient Romans.  That's right, this wine has been in production for century after century . . . not just a generation or two.  The grapes are left on the vine long after others have been plucked.  In fact, the wine is only made once the grapes are well on their way to becoming raisins.  The result?  A wine that is rich and robust.
   
   
   

Once you've toured the Veneto's wine region, you can head to the nearby Lake Garda for an unforgettable lunch.  The water here -- let me tell you --lies somewhere between blue and green, a shimmering gem crowned in Renaissance villas.  From the shores of Garda,you can board a private boat.  With your local captain, you'll explore local towns and hidden coves -- experiencing Italy, not as a tourist, but as an Italian might.

This was one stunning area.  Why be a tourist when you can explore the ITALY you didn't even know existed?

Since it is the mission of  VIP Travel Experience to take you BEYOND the highlights for bespoke or unique EXPERIENCES, stay tuned for more little secrets of Italy.  

I can't wait to share more of Veneto with you, it was an honor to explore this gorgeous region of Italy and find more little secrets to share with you!

• Sneak into to see a private art collection (not open to the public)

• A private, personalized excursion with a local tour guide to take you to the most interesting sites of Veneto to discover the mom and pop restaurants and Renaissance areas you've always to see, or some you may not have heard of.
  

• An unforgettable, simply magical night in a Castle.

• A Michelin dinner that reminded me of the waltz
• Private driver through gorgeous Veneto countryside.  You will absolutely LOVE it and feel like you stepped back in time  

So depending on how much time you have and how far you want to stray from Venice, Rome, Florence . . .  don't miss out on the many little hidden gems of Italy.

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