Italy As You Imagine

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Italy As You Imagine

Do you dream of visiting Italy? You’re not alone & for good reasons! But don't know where to start.

30/01/2025

WE HOPE YOU SAW OUR EXCITING ANNOUNCMEMT YESTERDAY! 👰 🤵🏻‍♂️ 💍 🌹 🇮🇹 After three years of having to say no, Italy As You Imagine is ecstatic to finally be able to say yes to brides saying YES! Bring your Tuscan wedding dreams to reality with Sogno Toscano Wedding & Experiences from Italy As You Imagine.Ecstatic to welcome my newest associate...and friend, Martina!Martina, a proud Tuscan born and raised, joins Italy As You Imagine from an impressive career of hospitality in both Tuscany and London. Inspired by Under the Tuscan Sun as a young girl, she has dreamed of bringing her beautiful region of Italy to brides and in turn bringing their dreams to life.Celebrating the authentic beauty of Tuscany, Martina is inspired by the natural simplicity of the Tuscan landscape, enriched by a touch of elegance and sophistication, to make your special day an everlasting memory. Craft your wedding or proposal experience together with Toscano Wedding & Experiences through Italy As You Imagine!

30/01/2025

PLEASE SHARE IN OUR EXCITING NEWS!

After three years of having to say no, Italy As You Imagine is ecstatic to finally be able to say yes to brides saying YES! Bring your Tuscan wedding dreams to reality with Sogno Toscano Wedding & Experiences from Italy As You Imagine.

Ecstatic to welcome my newest associate...and friend, Martina!

Martina, a proud Tuscan born and raised, joins Italy As You Imagine from an impressive career of hospitality in both Tuscany and London. Inspired by Under the Tuscan Sun as a young girl, she has dreamed of bringing her beautiful region of Italy to brides and in turn bringing their dreams to life.

Celebrating the authentic beauty of Tuscany, Martina is inspired by the natural simplicity of the Tuscan landscape, enriched by a touch of elegance and sophistication, to make your special day an everlasting memory. Craft your wedding or proposal experience together with Toscano Wedding & Experiences through Italy As You Imagine!

28/01/2025

An Update for Our Clients💚🤍♥️

• all SPRING departures have their itinerary and are well underway with planning

• we are kneedeep in SUMMER - June, July and August - trip planning

• we are also into some FALL trips, where we can be planning

• we love your referrals and always try to prioritize them, even sometimes when we have closed availability to a their desired departure month. Always wonderful to let your friends/family know we generally hit capacity on availability for a month about 5-6 months out.

• AND WE ARE ECSTATIC TO BE ROLLING OUT OUR NEW AND IMPROVED PRETRIP PLANNING GUIDE to clients by February 1st. Look for your updated version coming soon!

• lastly, below are pics from the marvelous Cinque Terre, in the Liguria region but so close we adopt it into Tuscany, as that’s how you generally access it. We are excited to roll out some additional experiences to enjoy there in 2025 after we returned there in September to try them out first.

27/01/2025

As I researched and planned the places to more intimately explore in the Piedmont region of Italy in June, I was stopped to gasp with how much this one resonated.

I feel this one deeply. And after taking a short break from Italy during my kids’ single digit early years, when I returned, she grabbed me even harder than ever, making sure I never went without her again for another 10 years. Ten month is the longest I can go now…and still not without longing every day.

Italy has infected me. I’m confident I’ll never be cured. And I love my clients are the direct beneficiary of my love affair.

(On a personal note, I’m so stinking excited to be taking my husband back on my next trip, God willing, in June. An excruciating part of my work is experiencing some of the most romantic places on earth in Italy without him. Don’t tell him I said so! 😉)

26/01/2025

Lovely Lucca garden apartment we booked this week for a mother/daughter client traveling together in June celebrating a special birthday.

We’re so excited for them to fall in love with this mid-sized Tuscan town, marrying the charm of larger Florence (which they’ll experience too) without the crowds.

The details:
• 1,240 sq ft
• 2 bathroom
• 2 bath
• washer/dryer
• accommodates 4

The price:
$250/night
There’s no commissions included in this cost to the client; this portfolio of gorgeous apartments and villas, who we work with daily, does not work with travel agents (we are travel planners).

In an apartment, they’ll enjoy an in-villa chef, “home” to come back to after exploring the Tuscan region each day and a far more authentic experience. NOT TO MENTION with far more room at a far lower price than sharing a single hotel room.

Plus they can have the confidence of staying with a partner of Italy As You Imagine, and as with each villa/apartment we book from this portfolio, they’ll have their own client services greeter, who we connect them with via a group text with us before they even leave the USA. Their greeter will personally introduce them to the property and be available throughout their stay for any assistance, which is most commonly wonderful local recommendations.

It’s 10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews include the following description:

The perfect balance of old meets new world elegance.

Located on the ground level of a quiet street inside the City Walls, this stunning spacious 2-bedroom apartment offers all the modern comforts of home while paying homage to its Tuscan roots. Guests will feel pampered in this state-of-the-art newly restored apartment that is classified as the only A+ energy-efficient building in all of historic Lucca. Heated geothermal floors and central heating and air conditioning in each room will ensure your year-round comfort during your stay.

This casa boasts an enviable location, just a 2-minute stroll from both Torre Guinigi and Piazza dell'Anfiteatro. Additionally, it is conveniently situated within a 15-minute walk from the bus and train station. This central position ensures easy access to restaurants, shops, and grocery stores, all within steps from the apartment. Public parking facilities are also conveniently located nearby, ensuring a hassle-free experience during your stay in Lucca.

25/01/2025

We’re excited to share a new collaboration we have forged after numerous inquiries from clients struggling with the age-old question that's been around since the toga - - - what to wear...and what to pack for Italy.

We have partnered with Steph Mahoney Style for clients seeking assistance with a number of extra obstacles Italy presents, including:

• the need to pack light

• adhere to strict dress codes in religious sites and other cultural norms

• as well as how essential it is to dress comfortably for all the steps you’ll be logging

• in addition to wanting to look your best in the lifetime souvenirs of pictures taken along your travels.

When you work with Steph, you combine her fashion sense with Italy As You Imagine's expertise in Italy. She will coordinate with us to provide a travel wardrobe plan based on your customized itinerary and our cultural guidance.

See below and reach out to Steph for your consultation.

24/01/2025

8 • EIGHT • 8

As expected, January has almost filled our availability for 2025 departures.

Repeat clients alone make up about 20% of the trips we are currently planning for 2025.

Accordingly, we will take 8 more clients for 2025 for travel dates prior to November 1st.
July
August
September
October
all still have availability, but after 8 more clients, we will close all these months.

November and December still wide open.

In honor of 8, here’s 8 pics from my iPhone of Italy that I’ve never shared.

24/01/2025

Part #4 of Common Mistakes Americans Make When Visiting Italy

This one is all about flights. There can be many mistakes made in this important step in planning in your Italian adventure.

1️⃣Booking flights too soon.
Believe it or not, and often very different than domestic flights, you can pay more by booking too soon. Generally speaking, pricing for flights to Italy are priced at full retail with more than six months until your travel dates. After identifying the best flights for their itinerary, we assist our clients in the best time to purchase and how much they should expect to pay for the time of year they are visiting as well as the airport they are using based on historical data.

Many think the order or operations in planning is the flight first. Generally, that is not the case for Italy. We manage the appropriate order for our clients.

2️⃣Not planning around common Italian airport strikes.
If you have not heard, transportation strikes in Italy - for planes, trains and taxi - are about as common as pizza. 2024 was a record year for strikes, with a total of 622 stoppages recorded across Italy. Not planning around them can be devasting to a trip, and something we spend a great deal of time preventing for our clients. Generally airport strikes fall on a Friday, So whenever possible, avoid departing the USA on Thursday (which means landing in Italy on a Friday) or departing Italy on a Friday to return home. If a strike falls on a Friday and you are scheduled to land in Italy on a Friday (having left the USA on a Thursday), you are essentially rolling the dice.

There are less-clearly defined patterns to the train and taxi strikes that we monitor and have learned to avoid as well.

23/01/2025

Sneak peek 👀
We are extremely excited to announce something and someone new coming to Italy As You Imagine…straight from Italy! 🇮🇹
We’ve had to say no for too long to those who dream of saying yes.
Finishing up the details this week to bring to you next week.
Stay tuned!

23/01/2025

We ask each of our clients to join us in a post-trip call to review their Italian adventure. One of the most gratifying things we hear is when we ask a client why they chose to visit a less commonly visited area of Italy, and we hear that we are the ones who inspired them. At the top of that list is the Italian Dolomites, which are remarkable to visit in any season. And you may be learning about them even more as the cohost the 2026 Winter Olympics with Milan. Until then, their incredible secret is safe with us and our clients.

22/01/2025

Each morning, I start my day with reading our subscription of news directly from Italy. I thought it would be fun to share an article from today and see where our followers would pick to live in Italy…

Maybe there is something to gleam from where people actually decide to live in Italy. Below is a map just released of the most popular spots for Americans to become residents of Italy. 🇮🇹

Of the 16,534 Americans who have officially registered their residency in Italy (and NOT including dual residents and American living in Italy part time), the latest data reveals:

• When it comes to native Anglophones, Americans are the second-largest English-speaking group in Italy.
Brits come in first, with a total of 26,202 residents.

• Northern regions are preferred.

• Around 18% of Americans residing in Italy live in the central Lazio region, which is home to Italy’s capital of Rome.

• Almost 10.5% live in the Lombardy region, where Italy’s economic powerhouse of Milan is located.

• Next Tuscany has 9.5% of the Americans in the region famous for its art heritage cities and stunning countryside landscapes.

• The Veneto region is home to just over 5% with its the iconic city of Venice and the town of Vicenza, where an American army base is located.

• Two other northern regions with notable numbers - albeit single digit percentages - of American residents are: the northwestern Piedmont, which includes the industrial hub of Turin, has and northeastern Emilia Romagna region, home to Bologna, Parma and Modena.

My family is currently looking to buy property in the region my family originated, Tuscany. Where would you love to live in Italy?

21/01/2025

September in the Val D’Orcia. This was quite literally the first day they began harvesting the famous Sangiovese grapes, used to make many Tuscan red wines, including Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Chianti. These specifically were for my very favorite, Brunello! 🍇 > 🚜 >🍷 > ♥️

20/01/2025

Italy As You Imagine will be closed tomorrow. We will return to planning on Tuesday. In the interim, enjoy these pictures from Taormina, Sicily in October.

19/01/2025

Incredibly gratifying to receive holiday cards with pictures from trips we’ve planned. I love sending our clients - current and past - our Christmas card each year too.

Let us know if your mailing address changes so we can keep you updated on our Christmas mailing list.

16/01/2025

‼️So stinking excited to share an update‼️

All of our spring clients are now well into the planning process. March • April • May

And we are now moving knee deep into Summer 2025 planning June • July • August and Fall 2025 September • October planning.

We are no longer accepting clients with departure dates prior to July 1st (with the exception of those we’ve already talked to who appreciate a two week buffer).

Crazy to say, we already have clients with 2026 travel plans.

Planning the right way in Italy is very much like peeling away the layers of an onion. 🧅 Selecting from the best options in each locale, we deal with many many different timeframes. There is an important order to successful planning in Italy which is so far from simply sitting down and jamming out an entire trip in one sitting.

🏠 Accommodations always come first. Yes often before flights! ✈️
Seemingly counterintuitive, but most flights to Italy are priced at FULL retail prior to 6 months out. We help our clients with this foreign - literally and figuratively - concept. We also take into account when NOT to land in and depart from Italy to avoid the ever-present transit strikes.

⚓️ Each trip also has an anchor. Maybe that’s a client’s desire to stay in a Tuscan villa with a pool in peak summer. Or you want to tour of the Dolomites. A whirl around the test track in a Ferrari in Modena. A cherished reservation at Mossimo Batturo’s restaurant. Each of these are perfect examples of hard gets WHICH WE GET and plan around accordingly as the anchor of your trip.

🍋 Activities ALL have different timelines. Many experiences we plan for our clients are NOT available on the internet. And from the ones that are, we know the good ones from the bad ones. There’s a lot out there. And a common mistake is using third party websites, which are NOT the tours themselves but instead are marketing websites that you’re literally paying MORE for the the same tour versus if booked direct. There are many touring companies out there. We ONLY work with the ones who are partnered with the venue (for instance, the Vatican and the Colossuem) to avoid devastating cancellations which are too common at both sites with tour providers not in official partnerships. In addition to not paying the marketing middleman, we have discounts with the partnered tours for both sites.

🍝 Dining. We take care of that too. That may be a chef coming into your villa, which requires additional planning time. Or a coveted reservation which requires the same. Some will only accept reservations a short period out…and we get an extra few days lead time on that, like a cherished always-sold-out steakhouse in Florence who gives us five days in front of the general public. Some places don’t take reservations at all, but we share with you tips to guarantee you get in first.

🚗 Transportation may just be the hardest code for those visiting Italy to crack. Understanding whether a car rental, private driver, train, ferry or even golf-like cart makes most sense in a particular locale is only something that comes with expertise…although everyone who’s been once will have an opinion to share. 😜 And each locale is different! Avoiding train and taxi strikes can be exhausting. We’ve eliminated the issue of taxi strikes with our own drivers in each locale. Drivers who you may only see once but who work with us daily. You’re connected with them on a WhatsApp with us in advance and can have full confidence in their services. Some of them may even become like friends. Transportation is an entire can of worms of intricate timelines. And frankly maps do not necessarily give you the information you need to crack the code.

🆘 The most challenging part of planning is the delicate understanding of how one decision affects another. Every decision has a domino effect. We’ve even learned the hard way over the past two and a half years what works and what we’ve needed to fine tune to give our clients Italy As They Imagine.

16/01/2025

Part #3 of Common Mistakes Americans Make When Visiting Italy

👟 Not Wearing Comfortable Shoes 👠

Save the room in your luggage (a post is coming on this soon), leave the stilettos at home…and dare we say, the flipflops too!

Regardless of where you plan to travel in Italy, walking will be a big part of your adventure, and comfortable walking shoes are essential. Keep in mind cobblestone streets are a charming staple of Italy. As are stairs, lots of them!

If sneakers are the shoes of choice, we suggest bringing along a pair of nicer shoes to wear to a restaurant for dinner. Wearing sneakers out to dinner is a faux pas to Italians. While avoiding heels, opt for wedges or ballet flats, which you can pop in your bag for a quick change when going from touring to dinner.

And always make sure the shoes you pack are well broken in before the trip Keep in mind when packing that blisters can put a damper on your trip (see our solution in our Italy Shopping List), but twisted ankles certainly ruin trips.

Lastly, Italians are NOT fans of Americans' affinity for flipflops. Leave them at home or limit them to post-touring activities and prepare to be called a piedi nudi (naked feet 👣) if spotted wearing them. Most of all, do NOT wear flipflops to the Vatican.

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https://calendly.com/italyasyouimagine, https://tinyurl.com/Italy-As-You-Imagine

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Buon 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ & a last look ok back at 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣! • 2024 brought more than 40 client departures • 2025 will see our 100th departure before we hit our 3rd anniversary • 2025 will also see at least 5 repeat clients … no better compliment! • In 2024, I experienced some incredible firsts in Italy to share with our clients, including: - Opening the Vatican/Sistine Chapel (My third time in the Sistine Chapel, but the only time with only 9 other people.) - Closing the Duomo in Florence - Traveling as a solo adult, accompanied only by my 13-year-old son - three weeks of even more in-depth exploration of Tuscany, the region I’ve spent the most time in over the … {ahem} decades and where my family’s from originally - explored the Italian Dolomites for the second time in a year and a half, this time in warm weather and including World War I bunkers - took Gondola-driving lessons - took steps to begin looking for property to buy in Italy - revisited my favorite hotel in Roma to witness for myself their renovation • 2024 also saw the greatest number of new discounts for my clients for tours, accommodations and other unique experiences. • 2024 saw the expansion of Sicily for our custom planning.services • And 2024 added a wonderful new trusted relationships with our Milan drivers to compliment our trusted driving partners in Rome, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, Sicily, etc. 2025 brings with it: • at least 2 more research/exploration trips in June and September • opening the last three regions to custom planning, including: - Sardinia - Calabria - and Puglia (Italy As You Imagine only plans in areas we have in-depth knowledge of) With that, Italy As You Imagine reopens today after the holiday season, and we could not be more excited to pursue our passion for sharing Italy with others. #italy #italyasyouimagine

Buon 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ & a last look back at 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣! • 2024 brought more than 40 client departures • 2025 will see our 100th departure before we hit our 3rd anniversary • 2025 will also see at least 5 repeat clients … no better compliment! • In 2024, I experienced some incredible firsts in Italy to share with our clients, including: - Opening the Vatican/Sistine Chapel (My third time in the Sistine Chapel, but the only time with only 9 other people.) - Closing the Duomo in Florence - Traveling as a solo adult, accompanied only by my 13-year-old son - three weeks of even more in-depth exploration of Tuscany, the region I’ve spent the most time in over the … {ahem} decades and where my family’s from originally - explored the Italian Dolomites for the second time in a year and a half, this time in warm weather and including World War I bunkers - took Gondola-driving lessons - took steps to begin looking for property to buy in Italy - revisited my favorite hotel in Roma to witness for myself their renovation • 2024 also saw the greatest number of new discounts for my clients for tours, accommodations and other unique experiences. • 2024 saw the expansion of Sicily for our custom planning.services • And 2024 added a wonderful new trusted relationships with our Milan drivers to compliment our trusted driving partners in Rome, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, Sicily, etc. 2025 brings with it: • at least 2 more research/exploration trips in June and September • opening the last three regions to custom planning, including: - Sardinia - Calabria - and Puglia (Italy As You Imagine only plans in areas we have in-depth knowledge of) With that, Italy As You Imagine reopens today after the holiday season, and we could not be more excited to pursue our passion for sharing Italy with others. Below is the almost month of time I spent in Italy in 2024, my 5th adventure in

Buon Anno!

Buon Anno! Almost live from Venezia, where it is already 2025! #italy #venice #venezia #newyears #italyasyouimagine

Buon Anno!

Continuing with Venice for the holidays, a spectacular firework show will ring in the new year over the water at midnight, six hours before 2025 arrives to the east coast in America. #italy #venice #italyasyouimagine

Christmas in Italy! I mean is it even a coincidence their colors are red and green? I think not! It’s the perfect place to celebrate the holidays! #italy #christmastimeinitaly #italyasyouimagine

I’m so fortunate to bring this incredible country to my clients. It genuinely fills my soul living through their experiences. Being very honest, they’re days I have a hard time being away. So buyer beware - it’s a hard place to leave. Well really the leaving part is easier than the longing which follows. #italy #italyasyouimagine

Posh, poetic PORTOFINO #italy #portofino #italyasyouimagine

POSH POETIC PORTOFINO

Enjoy posh, poetic Portofino from my iPhone. #italy #portofino #italyasyouimagine

One of those IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW (IYKYK) kind of things. Planning for our fourth peak season of trips to Italy, I think how much I’ve learned each year. How deeper the connections have grown to truly bring my clients the very best of Italy. Italy As You Imagine isn’t about booking a bunch of group tours on Viator. Anyone can do that (and pay more!). Much of what we plan you can’t even find on the internet. Instead of endless tours, these experiences, like this one along the Amalfi Coast, are cultivated with people passionate about what they’re sharing and when possible, away from the masses of tourists. Here Chef Fiore takes you out on the Amalfi Coast to share his ancient lemon trees and through the steps of making their famed limoncello. Then you return to his family-run restaurant, right on the coast, to enjoy what many clients call one of their best meals of the trip. There’s no inundation of tourists because again, this isn’t a mass tour offered on the internet. And his restaurant is located on the Amalfi Coast in a town WITHOUT the trappings of a port where day trippers are dumped daily. Instead Italy As You Imagine clients can enjoy an authentic, tasty experience with views unencumbered by overtourism. Italy may not have changed a whole lot over the decades, but how we want see it most certainly has. #italy #amalficoast #italyasyouimagine

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