Tag Archives: private italy tours

Yeah, He’s Been At This A While

Yeah, He's Been At This A While

It’s no exaggeration: when Doug’s in Venice, Italian people ask *HIM* for directions. He’s got that kind of expertise. Here’s a great shot of him with a group of students in San Marco in 1992; he’s being guiding people through Italy longer than many readers have been alive.

It’s hard to put into words, but I’ll try–if you travel to Italy and don’t avail yourself of the opportunity to have Doug guide you, it’s a shame, as you’re missing out on something special. There’s no amount of browsing TripAdvisor.com and reading Frommers and blogs like this one that can serve as a substitute for his insights. Don’t miss out!

Deals on Tours

Ordinarily we’re pretty picky about where we’ll have our customers stay.  We’d rather ask you to spend a bit more money to stay in a hotel we trust, as the risk in lodging guests in questionable accommodations or places far from the attractions we’d ordinarily include on a tour just isn’t worth it.  But we’re willing to do the research and dig for low cost accommodations for clients who have limited budgets or want to go in high-demand times of year with the caveat that they be willing and prepared to take cabs or other ground transport to get to the sites they want to see instead of walking as we’d normally do.

And sometimes it really makes for a compelling offer.  We lined up something for a client today that would be three nights Venice, two Florence, and three in Rome this June for $2750 a person including airfare, trains, hotels, museum and historical site admissions, private tours with Doug Sassi, shuttles, taxis, etc.  This was based on a really cheap flight I found out of JFK; depending on your airfare your cost might be different, and you can source your own flight if you like.

We only have a couple slots available as we strictly cap group size, so if you want to go the last week of June bear that in mind, but we can probably strike the same deal for the week before or the week after.

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This is an unheard of good deal.  Let me know if you want to jump on it or want to know which attractions it includes (there are tons, too many to list here).  This isn’t something we generally do, but once in a while when hotel availability is tight and costs are squeezing clients we’ll try to pass things like this along.

Probably a Good Thing

That Italy is paying its bills.  Italy’s economy relies on tourism bigtime, and the retailers and restaurants we rely on to make tours enjoyable need the economy to have some liquidity.

A Word From the Operations Department

We periodically get emails and web form submissions that go something like “we’ll be in Venice next Monday, what does your service cost?”

Yikes.  Not generally going to be cost effective for us to help these folks.  Our value proposition is strong and I price check us regularly against the competition and find that we’re very, very cost effective for what we do, but what we do is by design a niche market play:  our job is providing an inclusive service that offers a competitive bottom-line figure for everything (hotels, trains, water taxis, museum and historical site admission fees, the tours with Doug, shuttles, taxis as required, etc, and flights if you want us to book those for you as a value-added service).

burano

The short version:  we want you to have a relaxing, enjoyable, deep-immersion experience that affords a memorable emotional connection to Italy and its culture where you don’t have to worry about getting lost, missing something, wasting time in the wrong line, paying for hidden fees you didn’t expect, and so forth.  Our goal is to provide a well planned and inclusive service, and as such we’re not much help to the last second folks looking for a Hail Mary pass for a tour solution next week.  We’ll try to help everyone!  But help us help you–plan your trip months or years in advance, not a week.

Grazie mille!

Risotto con Funghi Porcini

Risotto con Funghi Porcini

When you have a two and a one year old, having a dish that you know finicky eaters will chow down on is key. And it’s pretty rare that my little ones turn their noses up at risotto.

I start with garlic in olive oil and butter with some diced shallot. After the arborio is warmed up and glistening, I cook in a shot of sherry, some porcini mushrooms, and this time I also added some roasted squash. Lots of broth, a fistful of romano once it’s cooked, and half an hour of stirring later, I have a simple but incredibly savory dish that the kids can’t get enough of.

Nothing cuter than a 1 year old with risotto all over his face grinning :).

As good as this is, one of the perks of Doug Sassi’s tours is finding a lot of risotto that blows mine out of the water. Much to learn I still have.

Drawing Classes

raph's drawing doug raeDrawing Classes

You don’t have to go all the way to Italy to enjoy one of Raphael’s drawing classes.  If you’re on the east coast, the drive to MD’s beautiful Eastern Shore is well worth it for this.

Mama Isa’s Gnocchi con Porcini

Mama Isa's Gnocchi con Porcini

This looks insanely delicious. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats the way porcinis are integrated into northern Italian cuisine. The savory, rich flavors…yes!

We love sending clients to her classes, as they’re both informative and delicious. Let us know if you’d like us to coordinate one for you.

Pics from Pasta Making Night

Finally got some pics downloaded from the pasta making demonstration we gave for the local “Gourmet Gals” MeetUp.com group.  A good time was had by all and everyone’s interest in traveling to Italy was piqued by the discussion…and the tasty grub.

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The nice lady in the background was making gnocchi…needless to say, no one went home hungry.
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I look thrilled, don’t I? At least my lovely wife lights up the room even when I have my serious wannabe chef face on.
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Pappardelle are great in many ways. Thick noodles really soak up the sauce and are fun to eat, and you can cut a bunch in a hurry.
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Time to cook ’em! We had them with someone else’s arrabiata sauce…it was darn good, but not as spicy as I’d make it.  Then again my idea of not spicy enough has most folks in tears and reaching for a glass of milk.  A good time was had by all. Note to self: check to see if the host has any reggiano before you start!  I neglected to like a dummy, and where’s the fun in that?  It’s all about the cheese!   Mi piace molto il formaggio.

To Seed or Not To Seed?

To Seed or Not To Seed?

Perhaps some confirmation bias on my part, but I was glad to read this.  I don’t bother peeling or seeding either.  My pomodoro sauce is world famous (by “world” I mean my one and two year old and wife can’t get enough of it), and I use the whole tomato.  Just seems like more trouble than it’s worth, and nutritionally I’m a fan of using as much of the plant as I can.  A good pomodoro is a blend of sweet and bitter, savory and spicy–the flavor contrasts come together to really hit you, and it wouldn’t surprise me a bit to learn that seeing/peeling tomatoes is one of those venerable but dispensable myths.

Speaking of Pottery…

Speaking of Pottery...

…everyone who books a Sassi Italy Tours tour gets a free http://www.sassi-italy-tours.com coffee mug like this. You can ask for one in any of the glaze color combinations Doug can offer (inquire for details).