Italy Group Trip Review: Cinque Terre, Rome & Florence, Chianti Cooking Class on Farm, Wine Tastings, Olive Orchard, Cheese Making

In Florence, Cinque Terre and Rome, we had wonderful guides, who got us into venues without the lines and were willing to change plans when an exciting opportunity presented itself as happened in Siena.  Upon passing a museum of one of the city's 17 contrada (districts) and finding it open ( kind of a rarity), our guide swapped out a church tour for this opportunity.  It proved extremely interesting and provided a great look at this important aspect of Sienese life.  In Rome, we spent two days with a guide with a Phd in Anrchaeology.  What a great experience.  From our Villa in Chianti, daily we were picked up by our driver, who drove us over numerous back roads in an effort to give us the real feel of Chianti and Tuscany.  He added a great deal to our understanding of everyday life in Italy.  Tours from the villa included a cooking class on a farm, vineyards with wine tastings, olive orchards with olive oil tastings, a farm for cheese making and tasting, and quite a few hill towns.  All tours were extremely enjoyable and worthwhile.  The villa itself was a great experience.  Situated on a hilltop, our morning breakfast view was of the the next hilltop village of Montefioralle.  Evening, we just purchased bottles of the villa's own Chianti Classico and sat in the communal areas enjoying the serenity of the locale.