Melissa & Liz, (Little Loggia)

We have returned from beautiful Italy, and want to express our sincere thanks for all you did to make it happen.  Kim and I are sorry we did not get in touch in Florence.  As it turns out, we shortened our daily
activities a little...turns out that being pregnant makes one tired!!! (we found out after we planned our trip)  But, if you are ever in Boston, please consider this an open invitation to visit.

We had a marvelous time!  The Old Castel Estate was quiet, beautiful, and wonderfully located. 

We found San Casciano to be a great town for all our needs.  We tried all the food we could (went a little light on the wine with the baby on the way) and saw such beautiful sights and wonderful people.  We felt right at home.  The only thing I wanted to pass on is to warn people about trying to bring pork based foods back to the US.  The airport Customs agents took my salami and my cinta sinese bacon!!  I was heartbroken. But we did get to bring in wonderful cheese and some wine (for April!!)  I could go on all day about how much we enjoyed ourselves.  We will cherish our memories of Italy.  Thank you Melissa again for being a fantastic person to do business with.  We wish you the best.

Sincerely,

Daniel & Kimberly

PS Could you email us Stephania's email so we can get in touch about buying their wine in the US (she said you could).  Thanks.

Dear Elizabeth

The Caruso Apartment was a great find for us.  The authentic artwork in the apartment made our experience truly unique.  The Toffani family were wonderful hosts and very welcoming and helpful.   We enjoyed our stay and had a truly unique experience and after 5 weeks felt like a local.  Thanks again for all your help  in finding this little slice of heaven, in getting us settled initially, and information about the area. 

Mary especially appreciates the reference with your hair dresser in Firenze. Elizabeth I hope all is well with you and that business is good.  We enjoyed our time in Lastra Signa and our entire Italian experience.  I must tell you it is not easy to be back in the US with the events of the world after living in Europe for 6 months and experiencing a totally different attitude to world events.  We will be back in the future and let you know when we do. I have attached a picture of a sunset we took in Senegal West Africa on the Island of Mir Loge in the Saluomne river.
Thanks again.
Ciao
Bill & Mary Gumpenberger

Dear Elizabeth: Villa Monte 3

Sorry for the delay on the testimonials, here goes:

Our holiday at the estate would be like a dream come true except that the reality was better than the dream.  We planned a birthday celebratory week with family and close friends.  Our villa was large enough for our party of 20 to have a little solitude when necessary and yet feel very together.  It was the first time I've ever stayed at a villa in Italy and so I assume that many of the features like the stonewalls and floors and wood beams may be typical but there was nothing typical about the gorgeous textile used in the bedrooms.  I remember looking at the photos of the villa before the trip and thinking if it is even half as beautiful as it looked that would be wonderful.  It was more beautiful.

Our group settled into villa living very quickly.  My husband and I had scheduled cooking classes for us as a birthday gift and others in our party signed up also.  Lisa & Maurizio are very good teachers and excellent cooks.  They did all the cooking for our birthday party the day of our last class and everything was delicious.  They made a lasagne with béchamel sauce that is my particular favourite.  Some in our group were early risers and would go off and shop nearby in Ambra for breakfast for the house.  Others were sightseers and would go off to Sienna or San Gimignano.  We checked out a few local restaurants including the one on the estate (very good) the first few days.  After that since we had a few good cooks in the company, dinners started occurring at the villa every night, which suited me.  I felt before arriving that I wanted to spend as much time as possible in the villa and my husband concurred.  As the villa turned out to be better than we could have expected we did spend most of our time there.  We had informed everyone beforehand that they all had the freedom to go off and do as they wished and they did but the villa and the pool were a big attraction.  For the most part we all spent a good portion of the week splashing about the pool, including stretching a piece of fabric across the pool and playing games of water volley ball, gathering in the kitchen and eating and drinking on the terrace dinning area.  We would start eating in the light and during dinner watch the sunset from our fabulous vantage point, and end up still drinking and smoking and talking till whenever.  Speaking of drinking we drank the estate's excellent wine all week.  My personal favourite was the Anne Di Fiori.  We also drank lots of Evento.  There is never a wine crisis at the Villa!

The villa is meticulously kept and very comfortable.  We had a problem with the television one afternoon and the next morning a new television was installed before the CNN addicts could go through withdrawal.  The pool was cleaned every day.  We had a cleaner come in every day and she was very good and thorough. 

The estate is very beautiful from the sunflowers nodding in the breeze on the way in to the sight of deer jumping through the vineyards in the early morning.  It was very hot in Italy the week we were there but we were very comfortable in our villa and by the pool.  Sitting by the pool and seeing the mountains in the distance was incredible. 

I really can't say enough nice things about the villa.  I also can't say enough nice things about Elizabeth Morris.  She was extremely helpful in planning our holiday.  She had many helpful suggestions and was extremely responsive to all our questions and requests. 

Thank you very much Elizabeth! 

Thanks Elizabeth!

Also, I wanted to thank you for all your help - you've been great.

  I arranged a villa for a group of people about 3 years ago in Italy.  It was through The Parker Company.  I'm sure you've heard of them, they're good, reputable, but no where near the intimate/personal/friendly service I have received from you (and Meaghan).  For that I thank you! 

I'll be in touch when we return to tell you the wonderful time we had at the Villina Cottage !

Leslie Dacey

Hi Elizabeth

it's me again!  Just in case you felt a little lost without all my emails bombarding you...!
I'm back in Dublin but my mind is still in Italy!  I had such a fabulous wedding day.  It was great to finally meet you - thanks for coming down to be part of the day at Villa Monte 3 .  We were watching some of the video at the weekend that Dermot's brother-in-law took, it was such a marvellous, idyllic setting.  You chose well with the church too!  Please thank once again the hairdresser, the musicians, the florist and the caterers on our behalf - they were all excellent. And of course, the photographer.  He was very good, and a lot of fun!
Please could you let us know what we are to do now as regards getting the photos.
Thanks a million
Helen

Piccolo Torrigiani

Just a short note to let you know how fantactic the Villa was. The girls who met us were so helpful, and the villa, pool and grounds were spectacular.

Will be back in touch to book again some time.

Big Thanks

Phil.

p.s. I have passed your info to a work collegue. thay are travelling around europe, mainly Italy later this year, so they may get in touch.

Dear Elizabeth,

I wanted to write to thank you all for making my family vacation so wonderful! It was an unforgettable experience.

The Tuscan region is such a magical place to visit, and your accommodations and service were nothing less. The villa ' Santa Maria ' that myself and seven of my family members stayed in was just gorgeous. We especially loved the beautiful patio area looking out on the Tuscan countryside and the authenticity of the décor and furnishings. It felt like we had stepped back into a much more romantic time!

The service all your staff provided was exceptional. We really appreciated you organizing a private chef to come into our villa to cook a traditional Italian meal for us. It was defiantly one of the highlights of our family vacation.

You were all so kind and made us feel like we were special guests on the estate. It is rare that you find services like yours that are willing to go the extra mile to make your stay as memorable as possible. The wine and extra virgin olive oil you make on the estate was just wonderful, we all wished we had brought back more bottles to the States with us!

Thanks again for your hospitality. It was by far the best family vacation we have been on, but not the last. We'll definately be back!

See you again,

Angela Bailey and Family

OUR SERVICE

Dear Elizabeth
Am shattered from just getting back from long weekend away in Seville, but know from my mother that you called.  Unfortunately the 28 June is no good for us... children don't come out of school until mid-July.  However, feel it only fair to warn you that it now looks like I may have had luck with different house in completely different area (in fact, another country... Greece).  I will know within the next day or so whether it looks like the whole family will be shipping out to Greece for a few weeks.  I will, of course, come straight back to you if it seems that Tuscany is 'on' again.  And if we don't get out to your neck of the woods for 2003, then maybe 2004? May I take this opportunity to say a big thank you for your efforts on my behalf... you were definitely the company with the best and most personal response,
Very best wishes
Candida Jones

I want to thank you very much for your time and excellent service. The 'Casa dei Lecci' has everything we need,unfortunately just short of a couple of beds for our large group . I am sorry to say that we've opted to make other arrangements in a different locale. Thank you once again for the responsive service, I would not hesitate to recommend your services to any who ask.