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The TE prides itself on having created five unique trips to Italy. This year we will be offering two of those five. The first is a trip to the Lake Region in Northern Italy. Our group will be staying at the Hotel Astoria in Stresa, a town on beautiful Lake Maggiore. The Astoria is a family-owned hotel with lots of charm. All rooms will have balconies and views of the Lake. (Don’t miss the sunrises!!) The hotel will be our base for the entire eight nights of the trip. In addition to the quaint town of Stresa we will be touring the three Boromean Islands in Lake Maggiore which are visible from our hotel rooms. Two free days are planned to allow you time to rest, shop, stroll the lakeside promenade, grab a gelato, piece of pastry or cappuccino, write those postcards, make entries into your journal, explore other hotels along the lake and even take a funicular ride.

Buffet breakfasts are included every day and dinners are included on two evenings, the first and last. In the interim we are likely to have impromptu wine and cheese parties on the hotel’s roof garden. The cost of the trip also includes R/T air, and all taxes and tips at the time of printing and many excursions as described in the itinerary.

Day 1 – March 23 - Flight from NY/ JFK – dinner & movie on board

Day 2 – March 24 - Arrive in Milan, Italy. Transfer by coach to the Hotel Astoria located in Stresa on beautiful Lake Maggiore, in Northern Italy, with its fantastic Alpine backdrop. Enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure. Soak up the panoramic views of the lake, islands and mountains from your hotel room window/balcony. It's a good time to scout around for ATMmachines and restaurants you might like to try during our stay. TE will conduct a short orientation tour of the quaint town of Stresa. Group dinner included tonight. Over night at the Hotel Astoria, Stresa. ( D)

Day 3 – March 25 - Following our buffet breakfast, the tour will take a short, peaceful stroll, to a nearby dock and we’ll board a boat that will whisk us to the Borromean Islands, which are clustered in the lake and seen each day from your hotel rooms. We will visit Isola Bella, home of the 17th century Borromeo family palace and beautiful garden of landscaped terraces and grottoes. Then it will be off to Isola Pescatori ( Fishermen' Island) for a lunch break and rest before heading to Isola Madre and its botanical garden. Following the island visit our boat will return us to Stresa and the rest of the day and evening will be free for you to explore and have dinner in the town. (BB)

Day 4 - March 26 -After breakfast, our coach bus will take us to Milan (Milano), the fashion capital of Europe. Our guided tour will include the Sforza Castle, the magnificent Duomo Cathedral, the Galleria and Santa Maria Delle Grazie to view DaVinci’s Last Supper. There will be free time as well to explore, grab some lunch and visit the roof of the Duomo for a terrific and unusual experience. You may also choose to take a tour of the legendary and world renowned La Scala Opera House. (BB)

Day 5- March 27 – FREE DAY AT LEISURE FOR YOU TO USE AS YOU CHOOSE. Today is yours to enjoy. Stroll the lovely, lakeside promenade, visit the shops, stop in and see some of the other hotels that abut Stresa's lakeside, enjoy some gelato or cappuccino at one of the several outdoor cafes in the main piazza or take the funicular ride. (BB)

Day 6- March 28 - Today’s tour begins after our buffet breakfast. Our coach bus will take us to Lake Como, another of Northern Italy’s wonderful lakes. There will be a leisurely boat excursion to the village of Bellagio, where you’ll have time to explore and have lunch. Sit back, relax and enjoy the shoreline views along Lake Como, which are delightful to see as our boat gently meanders from one lakeside town to another sailing northward to Bellagio and later returning to the city of Como. A short visit to Como, time permitting. Over night at the Hotel Astoria in Stresa. (BB)

Day 7- March 29 – Turin (Torino), is the capital city of Italy’s Piedmont (Piemonte) Region. Our coach will take us through the broad plain of the Po River, with its noted rice producing areas around Vercelli and Novara. Turin is also the home of the Fiat car company, the Juventus soccer team and the Shroud of Turin, said to be the burial cloth of Christ, which bears the imprint of a crucified man. It is also home to superb Baroque architecture, spacious arcades and excellent museums, including the Museo Egizio, one of the most important Egyptian museums in the world. The symbol of the city is the Mole Antonelliana, an eccentric building akin to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The XX Winter Olympiad was held in Turin in 2006. The city of 1.7 million, was the largest city ever to have hosted the Winter Games, but it will lose that distinction in 2010 when the Games move to Vancouver. Turin is also known for its innovative cuisine and fine restaurants. On the return trip our tour will stop in the noted vineyard- clad hills of Barolo for a wine tasting at Marchesi di Bartolo. The Piedmont region produces some of Italy’s great Italian red wines including Barolo, thought by many Italians to be the best. The local enoteca (wine shop) will surely have a large selection of local wines as well.

Day 8- March 30 –Today’s excursion is to visit Sirmione on Lake Garda, the largest and easternmost of the Italian lakes, which borders on three regions of the country. After our arrival, a boat will take us around the peninsula that juts into Lake Garda. You will have time to explore the town and its environs. In addition to its beauty, Sirmione is noted for its fascinating medieval castle, the Rocca Scaligera, which dominates the town. Not to be missed are the nearby boiling sulfur springs and Roman ruins.

Day 9- March 31 – Aosta, is a city in northwestern Italy, very close to the French/Swiss border and dramatically surrounded by Alp Mountains. It is a place very few tourists visit, other than Italians. Once our coach drives into the Valle d’Aosta you will begin to view gorgeous, panoramas of snow-capped Alpine peaks that lie between Italy, France andSwitzerland. However these imposing mountains did not provide enough protection so many castles and forts were built in the valley plain. Many of these, in various conditions, will be visible from our coach as we make our way toward Aosta. Once known as “Augustus Praetoria”, in honor of the Emperor Augustus, it is today known as “the Rome of the Alps” for its environment and its treasures from Roman antiquity dating to 25 BC. Aosta has many squares, shops and restaurants. Stop in at a local fromaggeria (cheese store) or salumeria (delicatessen) and treat yourself to a piece of semi-hard Fontina, the local cheese, with its nutty, slightly sweet taste.

Day 10- April 1 - FREE DAY AT LEISURE FOR YOU TO YOU TO USE AS YOU CHOOSE– Catch up on your rest, the things you want to go back to for a final time, shop for ceramics and souvenirs and have a light snack before attending our group’s included final night dinner.

Day 11- April 2 -After breakfast we bid arrivederci to Stresa and Lake Maggiore and transfer to the airport for our return home filled with photos and lasting memories of a wonderful trip.