Savouring Sicily A Tour for the Senses

Italy Tour - Savouring Sicily, A Tour For The Senses
A Personally Escorted Tour Designed by Dominique

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Italy Tour – Savouring Sicily, A Tour for the Senses

About The Tour

This Italy tour, Savour Sicily departs from Palermo on a personally escorted high-end boutique travel and food tour of Sicily with Australian Chef Dominique Rizzo and passionate local chefs and guides. Travel through the major cities in Sicily on a gastronomic journey showcasing the most wonderful food. As well, take in the region’s rich history and culture You will find this 13 day, 12-night tour truly a “Sicilian Tour for the Senses.”

We begin our Italy tour in Sicily’s capital, Palermo where we spend 3 days taking in all this beautiful city has to offer, from its amazing cuisine to mountain vistas and wonderful history. In Palermo, we treat you to a one-day cooking class held in an authentic kitchen and many opportunities to enjoy the local cuisine. From here we head west, traveling in comfort to the best Sicilian food destinations and authentic cultural and culinary experiences. All the while, staying in bespoke 4 and 5-star accommodation.

Tour Highlights

Take a guided tour to the ancient ruins of Siracusa with a cultural visit to the Neapolis Archaeological Park. This is most noteworthy as one of the most marvelous archaeological sites in existence in Sicily.
Head to Dominique’s favourite pasticceria. Sample a traditional handmade “dolce” a recipe handed down for generations.
Wake up in beautiful, historical and inner-city 4 and 5 star accommodation.
Wander the cobblestone streets for a spot of shopping. Practice your photography or rather, just lose yourself in the 14th Century Baroque architecture.
Take in the breathtaking views of coast and mountains.
Learn to cook authentic Sicilian food.
Most of all, sample mouth-watering menus. From wine tastings, explore street food to full degustations, alfresco lunches, banquets and more.

Why Book This Tour

This tour is ideal if you only have a limited holiday schedule. Or rather, if you are wanting to experience a part of Sicily that highlights this region. In addition, it is perfect to tack onto your existing holiday plans.

We offer a relaxed planned itinerary as part of this tour. Therefore, if you like to have all the logistics taken care of to allow for flexibility and spontaneity this tour is for you. Whether you are a seasoned traveller or rather, this is your first time overseas, you are welcome. This Italy tour is perfect for singles or for couples, that is anyone who enjoys meeting new people and enjoys new experiences and a love of good food and wine. This Italy tour is a bespoke personally escorted tour for 12 – 14 people.

Destination: Sicily

Travelling To:

Palermo
Marsala
Erice
Agrigento
Monreale
Collesano
Cefalu
Syracuse
Catania
Taormina
Petralia
Polizzi

Dates:

20th May to 1st June 2020

Tour Length:

13 days 12 nights

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Savouring Sicily Tour in Detail:

Why You Will Love This Tour

Guided Tours of Sicily

Enjoy 13 days and 12 nights in delicious Sicily. This is an all-inclusive Personally Escorted of Sicily.

This tour of Sicily includes some of Sicily’s historic and well-noted cities and sights. This includes Palermo, Trapani, Erice, Agrigento, Monreale, Siracuse, Cefalu to name a few. In this tour of Sicily, visit the vibrant fresh food markets. Here you can shop for seasonal local produce and enjoy cooking classes with speciality chefs.

Savouring Sicily – A tour for the Senses offers you a wonderful introduction to Sicily. We visit some of the most popular historical sites, galleries and museums in Sicily. We also take you to places that are a little off the beaten track and not listed in travel books. This gives you the opportunity to further engage with Sicily. You can immerse yourself with the Sicilian culture, gastronomy and people.

Food, Wine and Cooking

Enjoy private tastings of olive oil, cheese, bread, pastries, salamis and small goods. In addition, a wealth of seafood. We visit bustling food markets and towns and wonder at the beauty. Many towns and markets are famous for their old techniques and artistry in ceramic and jewellery making. We visit stunning photogenic towns where you will indulge in pastries and desserts. Taste recipes handed down through the ages. In addition, we show you the real cheese makers of Sicily.

We taste the real Marsala, wander down cobbled streets to find hidden treasures and dine on all local and fresh produce. This is in slow food restaurants, agriturismo, cantinas, enotecas and more. All specialise in showcasing true Sicilian fare.

It is impossible to visit Sicily without taking in the vibrant humming of the markets. We surround ourselves with the colours and aromas of these street markets. We wander through the many stalls sharing moments with true locals. They will mesmerize you with their cooking and preparation of traditional street foods.

The produce is showcased through our cooking classes and by the passionate characters, we meet along the way.
Most noteworthy, we head out in a sailing boat for an alfresco dinner, before wandering through the cobbled streets. Here we enjoy wine tasting and a degustation of local products in a quaint Enoteca.

Cultural Destinations

This tour of Sicily gives you an in-depth look at Sicily’s most historic cities and sights. This is starring in one of the beautiful and popular cities of Sicily, Palermo. The Arabs, Normans, Greek and Spanish among many others, have left Palermo with a rich imprint of foreign cultures. This is evident in its art, design, architecture and cuisine.

Visit the stunning photographic hilltop town of Erice. Erice is a picturesque medieval town built upon much older Phoenician and Elymian sites.

Uniquely, the aromas of mountain lavender, rosemary and thyme hang in the air. This couples with views to the sea which still to this day in this part of Sicily works to suspend this land in its own rhythm of life.

During the tour, you will relax with the iconic scenes and views of the stunning coastline of the seaside town Cefalu. We end the tour in a prestigious landmark hotel resting in its breathtaking position on the coastline for more than 100 years. It was restyled in the 1800s and now stands as one of the best examples of Art Nouveau décor of its kind.

Accommodation

Beautiful and historical 4 and 5 star accommodation options.

Tour Guides

Australian/Sicilian Chef, TV Presenter and Food Writer, Dominique Rizzo. Also planned and coordinated in conjunction Sicilian counterpart Gianluca D’ Alia from Paesaggio Sicilia Travel.

A Taste of The Itinerary

A taste of the itinerary

Day 1

We welcome you at the airport in Palermo with a big “Ciao” from beautiful Sicily and assist you in transfers to our hotel for the first leg of the tour. The afternoon is yours to take in the city atmosphere, relax or do some pre-tour wandering. We meet in the lobby in the evening for our first wonderful dinner to welcome you to Sicily. Situated in the former studio of Renaissance sculptor, the restaurant owners and Head Chef are passionate about showcasing the best of organic, slow food in Sicily and surrounding regions. The convivial essence of the restaurant centres around the ‘social table’, which allows diners from different corners of the world to dine together in the round. The soft glow of candlelight illuminates the 16th century stone walls, wooden doors and low arches of the venue, while on the menu, modern European influences blend with classic Sicilian flavours to produce a menu that is unique and very much a must to enjoy while visiting Palermo.
Overnight in Palermo. D

Day 2

After finishing breakfast, we take you on a walking guided tour of Palermo central where we visit some of the most notable churches, monuments and sites which are iconic to this capital city. Here you will discover why Sicily is so rich in history and culture with a local’s insight to the Sicilian life dominated by the political and religious powers. We visit the historic and eerie Catacombs a sigh not to be missed. We enjoy a lunch of local street food then back to the hotel for siesta. In the afternoon we continue our cultural visit of this bustling city with a special surprise to entertain us in the afternoon. Our evening dinner is spent at a local trattoria. Overnight in Palermo. B/L/D

Day 3

After breakfast we drive to the beautiful sea side city of Trapani on Sicily’s Western coast. Trapani is a perfect port and fishing village, set on a low peninsula stretching in an arc into the sea, the housing of the city melts into plains of salt pans, valuable to the region’s economy. Apart from its ancient trade in tuna, fishing and salt, Trapani also deals in olives and wine. To explore the traditions of wine in this region we travel to Marsala to visit a 200 year old family house, where we will taste and discover the origins of the true Marsala wine and the Grillo grape variety. We drive to the “Saline Ettore e Infersa” Salt pans, enjoy a boat tour of the lagoon and around the island of Mozia to visit the Phoenician settlement. Those of you with a sweet tooth will be excited as we head out in the afternoon and drive to the mountain town of “Erice”, known to the locals as “umunti” as it is usually shrouded in a cool mist called “the veil of Venus”. Here you will sample traditional handmade “dolce”, where recipes have been handed down for generations, and made famous by the nuns and some of Sicily’s famous chefs and artisans. We wander up to the Castello where you will be taken back in time in the 12th century Norman fortress with its spectacular, panoramic views. You are free to wander the cobblestone streets of Erice for a spot of shopping, practice your photography or to just lose yourself in the 14th Century Baroque architecture. We return to Palermo for siesta and meet in the lobby to enjoy a relaxed night of dining – Palermo Style. Overnight in Trapani B/L/D

To discover more of this Pure Food journey contact me for your full itinerary.

Tour Inclusions and Highlights

Inclusions

The fully escorted tour, 13 days, 12 nights in the beautiful scenic surrounds of Sicily and the Aeolian Islands
Specialised escorted service of Dominique Rizzo, Chef/Author and owner of Pure Food Cooking, Pure Food Wine and Cooking Tours
Private Italian Guide for 13 days also speaks German/English/Spanish
Pick up transfer from Palermo Airport or your hotel in Palermo on the tour start date
Transfer to Catania Airport/train station or hotel in Catania on the tour finish date
Air-conditioned comfortable private bus with our own private driver
All accommodation and taxes in 4 and 5-star Hotels/Agriturismo and Spa Resort
Souvenir apron, bag, maps, printed recipes, travel hints and tips, Dominique’s contact phone number and name, address and phone numbers of the all the hotels on the tour
All Private escorted visits and tastings
Meals – All breakfasts are provided, most lunches and dinners are also included, some morning/afternoon teas and aperitifs are provided as stated as specified in the itinerary
Beverages – All beverages with meals including wine, beer, juice, soft drink, tea and coffee are provided
All guided tours as specified in the tour are included
All transfers by boat, bus, car, taxi as specified in the tour itinerary are included
Admission to all historical sites, galleries and museums mentioned in the itinerary are included
Tips for restaurants and Guides

The fee does not include:

Airfares
Tips for the bus driver (it is customary to tip the bus driver after the tour if you have been happy with the service.)
Everything not included in (Tour Inclusions).
General expenses – phone calls, laundry, room upgrades.
Transfers outside of tour dates, personal transport, excess baggage, security and government taxes, travel and medical insurance.
Beverages outside of described Tour Inclusions.
Meals not specifically mentioned in the itinerary.
Entry fees to places other than those specifically mentioned in the itinerary.
Optional excursions or activities that may be offered but not included in the tour price.

It is your responsibility to ensure personal settlement of any extra charges is made to the hotel or provider of any service not included in the inclusions.

Costs, Terms & Conditions