Arianna & Friends
is an incoming tour operator dedicated to people
who want to discover Tuscany in a familiar and “slow”
way! Your friends in Tuscany are Arianna,
Massimo, Karine and Consuelo, all working at this
innovative project. They are happy to help you best
organize a perfect dream-vacation in Tuscany.
Arianna & Friends is specialized in organizing tailor-made
wine&food and cooking experiences in the Pisan
area in a welcoming, familiar and relaxing atmosphere.
The members of our staff will take care of your reservation
from the time of the request to the time of your stay.
Being all official tour guides and city guides,
we will spend time with you during our cooking
classes, our wine and food tours and our visits to several
towns in Tuscany such as Pisa, Florence, Lucca, San
Miniato, San Gimignano and Volterra.
As your personal guides and as your friends in Tuscany,
we are waiting for you here to show you the beauty and
the "taste" of our land together with its
history, culture and traditions.
Arianna & Friends the way for you to get to know
the land and its culture from a genuine point of
view!
Come and meet us!
Arianna,
born in 1975, lives in Santa Maria a Monte with
her family and her funny dog Dante.
She graduated in modern languages in Pisa, after spending
some years in Freiburg, Germany. She has been working
as a tour leader, translator and interpreter
for years. She specializes in cooking classes
and visits to wine and olive oil farms
as well as cheese and pasta factories.
She likes listening to music, organizing events and
the arts. Her favourite dish is wild
boar with olives of her granny.
Massimo,
born in 1976, has lived most of his life in Peccioli
and has grown up thanks to the delicious pasta dishes
of his mum. He graduated in modern languages in
Pisa a few years ago. He is now a co-worker in
the Arianna & Friends project as a tour leader
but he is also an Italian and English teacher
as well as an experienced translator (English,
German, Russian). His hobbies are reading, farming
his plot,
barbecuing with friends.
I am trying out some
French in front of my
French colleague Karine filming me!
Karine,
born in 1970, comes from the wine region of Bordeaux in
France, where she studied Turism. She married an Italian
man and lives in Tuscany since then. She is a skilled
and knowledgeable translator and tour leader (in
French, English, Italian and Spanish)and she is
an official city guide of Lucca. She likes spending
her free time with her lovely children and loves
food, especially local delicacies and gourmet recipes,
and travelling.
Consuelo,
born in 1983, lives in the countryside out of Peccioli,
where she was born and grew up. She is finishing her studies
at the High School of Interpreters and Translators
of Pisa, specializing in English and Spanish. She is fond
of nature and enjoys socializing with people. She really
loves the typical Italian charcter of her car new fiat
500 !
Here are some of the
other friends who make all this possible.
They are property owners, winemakers, cooks, city
guides, chauffeurs, teachers and many more. Their
common aim is showing you the best of this land: from
the wine & food production to the local
history, from the rural culture to the
Tuscan lifestyle.
Giuseppe
lives in the town of wine Terricciola, the most
representative wine area of the Province of Pisa. He
is the owner of
Fibbiano , a wonderful agriturismo on
top of a hill in the middle of Valdera with an excellent
production
of wine. Giuseppe is a lively and pleasant
vintner who enjoys telling his guests all the secrets
of a traditional and careful wine-making.
Marisa,
a nice and excellent cook working at Selvino.
She can prepare delicious recipes, which are very common
in any family here in the area. She knows a lot about
Tuscan herbs and aromatic plants as well as about
international cuisine. She always takes fruits and
vegetables from her plot and takes them to our exclusive
cooking classes.
Alessandro,
the owner and manager ofSelvino.
A friendly and welcoming farmer who enjoys staying
in company with his guests in the farmyard during
the evening as well as looking after the marvellous
olive trees surrounding the property. Alessandro
and his staff at il Selvino are some of the best friends
to get in touch with the rural aspects of Tuscany.
Stefania & Elisa,
lively mother and daughter living in Lajatico, the
birthplace of the world famous tenor Andrea Bocelli.
They are owners and managers of Bellavista
and Casanova
and they are very keen on organizing special events
at their premises such as historical suppers,
visits to their avicultural farm, festivals
of local painters or musicians, wine and olive
oil tasting tours etc..
Bettino,
the long-bearded chef of Arianna & Friends. A skilled
cook and professional teacher in the Tourism
vocational High School of Pisa. He is also a local member
of the Slow Food Association. His overall knowledge
of Italian food is extremely wide and he knows all
the best matchings with refined wines. Bettino is particularly
good at managing large grill parties outdoor
in summer.
