We didn’t know much about wines, but were willing to learn. So we entered a tiny wine shop in Lucca thinking this was going to be a quick stand-up tasting. "No, No, No," motioned the owner. "Follow me," and we went to the back of the store, down some stairs and entered a cavern filled with more than 25,000 wines from all over the world. So this was where they keep the good stuff. "We’re not there yet," and he motioned for us to continue into the deepest reaches of the cellar where he had set up a long table and bench. It was here we’d get an education into Italian wines... in the cool depths under the city of Lucca...

First, I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful our time was in Lucca and Chianti. It so exceeded my expectations. A Season Away is not just another villa brokering company. The "special sauce" of the VillaHosts Fedra, Cecilia and Irene and the "expand-o-matic" concept of flexible rentals to accommodate different sized groups over different time periods of an extended holiday is leaps and bounds what other more traditional companies are doing. It is also clearly evident you have carefully and lovingly chosen villas and VillaHosts to be receptive to the American market.

The most precious and enduring gifts we can give ourselves and our loved ones are shared time and fascinating, enriching life experiences. A Season Away offers in-depth, unhurried opportunities to live in and explore wonderful areas, to be introduced by welcoming and knowledgeable local VillaHosts to the life, people and highlights of fabulous destinations and to come to know and be part of the fabric of a place.

Whose idea was it anyway... to have a local pizza master from Lucca come over to show us how to make pizza? Somewhere around the 20th thinnest crust pizza you’ve even seen, and a few bottles of wine, the night turned into a disco pizza party with all the great tunes of the early 80’s blaring as we rolled out the dough, topped it up with delicious ingredients and slid it into the pizza oven for a few minutes.