A truth of the heart: The transformation that happens on a #yogaretreat is a quantum leap. It is not fully describable with words. But if your heart feels the call, and #Italy keeps popping up in your dreams then come with us!
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June 25-July 1, 2017 #Tuscany #YogaRetreat
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Looking for a female roommate to complete a double $250 OFF to make it easy for you 
Retreat size limited to 14 guests. Last 2 spots!
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https://alchemytours.com/tuscany-itinerary/
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Let’s talk about making your dreams come true 1-206-886-5743

ITINERARY 2017

Day 1

Morning:
10:30am Meet in the lobby of the Hotel Palazzo Vecchio (via Cennini 4, 50123, Florence, Italy)
Walking tour of Historic Center of Florence

Afternoon:
1:30pm Lunch in Santo Spirito Plaza, Welcome!
2:45pm Visit Piazzale Michelangelo and Giardino delle Rose
Tour Basilica San Miniato del Monte
5:00pm Pool time

Evening:
6:00pm Welcome Yoga Practice
7:30pm Sunset Aperitivo
8:00pm Dinner and Brief Logistics Talk

Giardino delle Rose (Rose Garden) houses a collection of roses, lemons, and other plants, as well as a Japanese garden. It contains about 400 varieties of roses for a total of about 1,200 plants.The garden was created in 1865 by Giuseppe Poggi, who also designed the piazzale, on behalf of the City of Florence in anticipation of moving the capital of Italy from Turin. It covers about one hectare of land which offers a panoramic view of the city, sandwiched between viale Poggi, via di San Salvatore and via dei Bastioni.

Piazzale Michelangelo offers panoramic views of Florence and the Arno valley.The Piazzale Michelangelo is dedicated to the city’s most famous Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti. At the center of the square stands a replica of his most famous statue, the David. The bronze statue is set on a large pedestal, decorated with replicas of allegorical statues depicting day, night, dusk and dawn.

San Miniato standing atop one of the highest points in the city of Florence is one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic churches in Italy. There is an adjoining Olivetti monastery to the basilica where the monks sell herbal teas and special honey elixirs. The mosaics and frescoes inside the church are incredible.

Church complex

Day 2

Morning:
8:00am Yoga Practice
9:30am Breakfast
10:30am Depart for Monteriggioni
11:30am Castle Tour & Shopping
1:00pm Picnic Lunch in Monteriggioni

Monteriggioni is, without doubt, one of the most classical and best known Italian walled town. Since the Middle Age its fame was so big that also the great poet Dante Alighieri makes sign to his ’round enclosure’ in the Divine Comedy (Hell, chant XXXI vv. 40-41). Recently a part of the wall walk of the town walls has been restored and made accessible. From the top of the walled circuit, it is possible to admire the surrounding countryside towards Chianti and the Valdelsa and to enjoy a unique view of the town and its fortifications.

Afternoon:
2:30pm Siena
6:00pm Aperitivo on Il Campo (At Bar Il Palio), Siena

Siena preserves its medieval character to a remarkable degree, and has been largely unspoilt by new buildings. In fact Siena retains a ward-centric culture from medieval times. Each ward (contrada) is represented by an animal or mascot, and has its own boundary and distinct identity. Ward rivalries are most rampant during the annual horse race (Palio) in the Piazza del Campo.

Evening:
8:00pm Dinner
9:00pm Restorative Yoga Practice

Day 3 

Morning:
8:00am Yoga Practice
9:00am Breakfast

Afternoon:
12:30pm Lunch at the Borgo
1:30pm Depart for Radda in Chianti
2:30pm Radda in Chianti walking tour and wine tasting

Radda in Chianti is situated on a hill covered with woods and extensive vineyards forming the watershed between the Pesa and Arbia valleys. The structure of the medieval village is still intact; it grew up elliptically around the church of San Nicolò, of 14th century origin and the Palazzo Pretorio. Built about 1415, its facade is adorned with the coats of arms of the podestà (chief magistrates), the latter is now the seat of the municipality.

Just outside the village, in the Vignale farm, are the headquarters of the Chianti Classico consortium (its symbol is the black-cockerel, the former emblem of the League of Chianti), and the Centro di Studi Chiantigiani (Centre for Chianti Studies), founded in 1984, with a small library and an archive devoted to the history of Chianti and its agriculture. The Montevertine farm, near the village, houses the small Museo del Chianti, with displays relating to the farming community.

Evening:
6:30pm Yoga Practice
8:00pm Dinner at the Borgo

Day 4 

Morning:
8:00am Breakfast
9:30am Yoga Practice

Afternoon:
12pm Lunch at the Borgo
1:00pm Depart for Volterra
1:30pm Walking Tour of Volterra
2:30pm Free Time & Shopping in Volterra

Volterra “is situated in the middle of the triangle formed by the cities of Pisa, Siena and Florence. On clear days you can easily see the sea, with the islands of Capraia and Corsica on the horizon. Far from heavily-trafficked roads and industrial areas, Volterra is surrounded by rolling patchwork hills with fields of grain and woodlands. In Summer, as the spring rains slow their trickle, the green fields turn to gold as wheat is harvested and sunflowers raise, and then bow, their proud heads. Volterra is one of the most important towns in Tuscany: its unique position and its ancient history leaves everyone enchanted.” From our friends at Tuscan Tour.

Evening
4:30pm Depart for the Borgo
5:30pm Yoga Practice
6:30pm Dinner at Borgo
7:30pm Explore Casole D’Elsa after dinner

Casole d’Elsa is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 50 km southwest of Florence and about 25 km west of Siena. It is a charming medieval hilltop town situated in wonderful countryside around Siena. It is situated 70km from Florence and 35km from the town of Siena.

Originally it was a domain of the Bishop of Volterra but in the middle of the 13th century it passed under the control of Siena. The Sienese strengthened the fortifications because of its strategical position. In 1554 Casole surrended, after strenuous resistance, to the imperial and Florentine armies during the war against Siena. The dualism between Siena and Volterra still survives in the daily life of Casole for political purposes it is in the Province of Siena, whereas it falls under the Diocese of Volterra for religious matters. Verrocchio Art School Tuscany Italy.

Day 5

Morning:
7:00am Breakfast
7:30am Depart for Beach Day on the Mediterranean!

Afternoon:
11:00am Arrive Fonteblanda
12:00pm Catered lunch at Beach Club
1:30pm Depart for Petriolo Natural Hot Springs & Spa

At the Petriolo, you can indulge at the brand new spa center by the natural hot pools, which offers massage, beauty and health treatments, or you can enjoy the hot springs (43°C), open to the public free of charge, where you can relax in the pools along the banks of the river Farma.

The spas at the Petriolo are open from May to October. The Petriolo’s thermal baths are very ancient. The Romans knew and appreciated them. It is very likely that these are the baths mentioned by the orator Marco Tullio Cicero in his pro Marco Caelio.

Of the original baths, composed by four groined vaulted rooms, only one room still exists. It opens onto the river Farma with arches built on octagonal pillars.

Evening:
7:00pm Restorative Yoga Practice
8:30pm Dinner

Day 6

Morning:
8:00am Yoga Practice
9:30am Breakfast
10:30am Depart for Wine Tasting Tour and Explore San Gimignano

‘San Gimignano delle belle Torri’ served as an important relay point for pilgrims travelling to or from Rome on the Via Francigena. The patrician families who controlled the town built around 72 tower-houses (some as high as 50 m) as symbols of their wealth and power. Although only 14 have survived, San Gimignano has retained its feudal atmosphere and appearance. The town also has several masterpieces of 14th- and 15th-century Italian art.

The People’s Palace is one of the most important monuments of San Gimignano, being both the home of the Civic Museum and rich in paintings by the Florentine and Sienese schools (dating from the 13th century) such as the “Crucifix”, painted by Coppo di Marcovaldo, the triptyches by Niccolò Tegliacci and Taddeo di Bartolo dating from the 14th century, and other important works of art dating from the 15th century painted by Domenico Michelino, Pinturicchio and Filippino Lippi.

Afternoon:
2:00pm Lunch at Borgo (Post lunch: Optional Massages)
2:30pm Pool time, R&R, Nap

Evening:
6:30pm Yoga Practice
8:00pm Bruschetta making class & Closing Dinner at Borgo

Day 7 

Morning:
8:00am Closing Yoga Practice
10:00am Brunch
12:00am Departures – Ciao for now!
1:00pm Arrive Florence