In the golden hills of Toscane - The former Casalunga farm is hidden away where the virgin hills and valleys of Tuscany turn gold in autumn. The first introduction to Superhost Elena was the receipt of a detailed route description, which took us on an unpaved road. A tall, long row of cypress trees in the distance kept watch over us like soldiers. Elena continued to provide us with information that you certainly do not always find in tourist guides or websites. Local festivals, good restaurants, a spa with medicinal springs where almost only Italians come, a small wine farm, a beach on the coast shaded by very old umbrella pines. On our daily walks in the immediate vicinity of Casalunga, we discovered a rounded hill, so high that we could make a 'virgin' 360 degree panorama over the landscape of Tuscany, looking out to the Val d'Val d', which has been declared a protected heritage site by UNESCO. Orcia. We walked through the flowering clover, a natural soil fertilizer, butterflies fluttered around us. Can't be found in any guide, even the 'all-knowing' Google Maps makes only minimal mention of it. Very special to me were the smells in and around the farm, which brought back old memories of my own grandfather's farm. Unforgettable. My family members also enjoyed it: the grandsons could make a huge noise undisturbed in 'our' own swimming pool. And Casalunga can accommodate many, many people. No fewer than six bedrooms, plus sofa beds in the living room. Five stars for Elena Lorenzini and Verdidea in Siena, the agency that arranged the booking perfectly for us! We stayed here for a beautiful sunny September and drove back to Amsterdam with a lot of melancholy. I found no fewer than 914 photos on the memory drive of my Leica at home. Wherever you looked, in the valleys or in the towns or villages, the beauty of the 'Crete Senezi' continued to amaze us for four weeks.

My dream turned to reality - Such a wonderful experience! This made my entire trip. My dream of taking a class like this didn’t compare to the reality of it. Such an amazing family who made us feel so welcome. Next time we would also take advantage of the bed and breakfast they run.

Best excursion of my trip to Italy - This was the highlight of our trip to Italy. Anna Maria, our chef instructor, is simply delightful, informational, collegial, and fun. I highly recommend this experience!!

Great Food, Family Style - An amazing experience. Our chef was fantastic! Can't say enough about this. We were picked up, which was good because it's high up in Sorrento and the roads are precarious at best. We watched our host cook and we joined in. We drank wine and shared this experience with only 1 other couple. It as a beautiful night eating in the patio while watching the sun set over Sorrento. Our meal started with cheese & meat and we made Italian meatballs in tomato sauce with potato fritters and ravioli with ricotta & zucchini. Our dessert was lemon pannacotta. We were so full. Of note, I would say 90% of everything we used to cook with were from the chef's farm or she's made it from scratch, that includes the wine, olive oil, butter, canned tomatoes, ricotta cheese, the list was endless. The only reasons I did not rate this as 5 star is as follows: there seemed to be some differences in food safe. I'm not sure if it's a cultural thing or not. One if the other couple was making the meat balls and was directed by the chef to add salt & pepper and he had to add it "from his soul" cause he was making the meatballs. However, the salt & pepper was in a dish each (not shakers) and the other person put his fingers in the dishes with raw meat on his hands. This salt & pepper was then used to season the ravioli. I figured it was all being cooked so should be fine. Then a ravioli fell on the floor. The man from the other couple said "2 second rule" as our chef was about to throw away, she said she thinks that way too, and put back the dropped ravioli. Again I figured it would be cooked. My partner also noted, as we were all outside enjoying the views, the chef was smoking in the kitchen. Her son called out as my partner got near and he saw her put it out. This IS a culture thing, everybody smokes here. My only other comment was when I booked this, the menu read white fish, eggplant Parmigiano and tiramisu, gnocchi. All of these I can eat, however, I've an intolerance to pasta. I tried 1 ravioli to try, but I did book this based on the menu I read. I'm not made it changed and there was plenty I could eat. We left full. Overall, the positives outweighed the negatives. Just some thoughts to consider.