International Tours
We are providing three small group to Europe in 2025
Victoria | Italy | France | Turkey
Although you may have travelled extensively and visited many places in the past. Philip and I provide unique tours where your experiences and every detail is organised for you. We are personally involved in every stage of planning and the execution of the tour.
I’ve always found tour groups to be friendly, inclusive and cohesive. Meals including wine are included each day and reflect the region we are visiting. I have been in hospitality and travel for many years and I pride myself on going out of the way to ensure a good time is had by everyone.
Each region we visit is highlighted with the help of local guides who immerse us in the history, customs and cuisine of the surrounding countryside. It is very important to us that the tour experience is similar to the type of travel that Philip and I would do. We have researched each region and visited and stayed in many of the hotels and restaurants.
My life has been influenced and involved in a world of food, cooking and teaching for many years. Although it is still integral and a love, my focus has now included my dedication to gardening and the world of growing our own fruit and vegetables to be used for simple seasonal dishes for meals and entertaining friends and family and landscaping in our dry landscape using plants that suit our conditions.
Travel enables us to be involved in the story of food and gardens. I want my tour groups be introduced to new cultures and identify with the food, customs and celebrations . To be able to immerse yourself in their culture thorough markets, gardens and restaurants. My tours are not all about cooking classes (in fact very rare) - but a chance to interact with locals, become familiar with our surroundings and enjoy the lifestyle.
We endeavour to make each tour a life time experience and to provide happy fun memories that you can dip into at any time.
Victoria
7th- 18th April
It is time to return to this lovely simple tour which encompasses Melbourne and reflects the food, wine, gardens and Australian hospitality in the beautiful colours of Autumn. One night in Melbourne at the Cullen Hotel is a time to meet up and eat at the very good French restaurant Entrecote.
This will be the first night of exceptionally good restaurants as we travel firstly to the Mornington Peninsula- staying at the Sorrento Hotel and spending a day at Point Leo Estate and Sculpture Park. From here we head to the Dandenong ranges for a day of garden visits and a Japanese lunch. Balgownie Estate is home for the next 3 nights and by day we explore the Yarra Valley, taste Gin and sparkling wine - plus meet two guys at the forefront of modern gardening, firstly Matt at Antique Perennials and then Artist and Gardener Ralph Bristow in his garden.
The Australian countryside is very different and we stop at little villages for coffee and lunches. Daylesford is a popular town and during our 4 days here we will meet and be wowed by the effervescent and amazing chef and personality Annie Smithers at her kitchen garden and restaurant. We will have a picnic lunch in Vicki Hawkdens Autumn Garden - Viewfield in Macedon.
We will have dinner at Alla Wolf Tasker’s outstanding restaurant - The Lake House - plus you will have time to stroll leisurely through many very of Central Victoria’s sweet historical towns. This tour is all about the Australian Victorian culture and landscape and we finish with a drive and two nights at Dunkled to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of the Royal Mail Hotel and its surroundings.
This is a destination, with two amazing restaurants called - The Parker Project and fine dining ‘Wickens’. we will find out what makes this place special and visit its sustainable vegetable gardens and wildlife sanctuary. So it is back for one night in Melbourne to the Cullen Hotel again. Our last garden visit, our last dinner together and hopefully a chance to laugh and chat about our time together.
France
24th June - 9th July
For the Secind time we are offering a tour to Southern France, Provence and the Dordogne. Philip and I spent several weeks in 2023 researching accommodation and restaurants. We visited gardens and special features to enable us to put up this exciting gorgeous trip which will be enhanced by being immersed in the rows of flowering lavender fields in Provence before they are cut down.
We have certainly been influenced by our New Zealand friends Murray and Lynda who lent us their house in the Dordoyne, along with Claire and Hubert in Pyrenees. However, sadly the tour is not going their way next year and to Jacque and Anny who put us in touch with local travel guides in Provence .
France along with Italy is highly influenced by its food and wine from each region. Locals are passionate and buy at the local market which show cases the abundance of produce available and specialities distinctive to the area. A long history follows many delicacies like Foe Gras, Salamis, cheeses etc etc. The landscape is surrounded with Villa’s Castles and Chateau’s, stunning oak forests, and more cute villages than we could ever visit.
Italy
2nd – 19th June
In 2023 my tour to Italy was highlighted by a week in a Villa in Val D’Orcia- Tuscany. Spoilt with the luxury of the Villa, the relaxed informal time together and the food by Alessandro. We now endeavour to include this experience in each tour. In 2024 Philip and I spent 4 days in Puglia with Alessandro who grew up here and spoilt us with a true locals experience. Although I have been to Puglia several times we felt our visit was well worth including in a tour. After securing the stunning Masseria Pistola with its amazing gardens we have based our tour around our week in Puglia. Arriving in Rome and staying for one night in Frascati gives us a base to meet for one night before 4 days exploring Umbria, staying in Palazzo Bontadosi in Montefalco.
Our base is gorgeous and we will have unrivalled views of Umbria as we visit the hill villages each day. Heading south to Puglia will be via the famous village of Norcia - famous for its pork products, before driving through the stunning wildflower fields of Castelluccio. By the end of the day, we will be on the Trobocchi coast and have one night beside the Adriatic. For the next 7 days, our accommodation will be at the outstanding Masseria Pistola. I still can’t believe I managed to secure this beautiful setting that we will use as a base to get to know Puglia. Complete with a chef (not Alessandro sadly), guide Michele and with an internationally recognised garden to enjoy. Abruzzo is a region not visited by many tourists. It’s exceptionally beautiful and we have two nights in very different accommodation in the historical village of Santo Stefano Sessanio.
Our drive back to Frascati will include two famous gardens - firstly Villa d’Este - the famous terraced hillside Renaissance garden in Tivoli and then onto the Gardens of Ninfa - rated as one of the best gardens in the world. A very exciting day! With one night left, we have a chance to dine together and reminisce about our time together over the past 18 days .
I host this tour with guides Alison and Hasan. They live and works in Turkey and with all their contacts our small boutique tour is terrific fun.
So…. I am thrilled to advertise this lovely tour again which will ensure you get to enjoy a taste of the history, culture and cuisine of Turkey. I continue to have a long time love of the Turkish cuisine and I am delighted to bring this tour to fruition. Travelling in a small group with experienced tour guides Alison and Hasan – they are expert in local knowledge and customs. Alison and I have been in contact for a number of years and recently after a planning day in Auckland we made the decision to take a tour to Turkey for May 2013. She has been involved in tours throughout Turkey for a number of years and I feel very privileged to have Alison and Hasan as my tour guides in turkey.
This tour gives you a taste of the history, culture and cuisine of Turkey. Turkey is a land at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Across the centuries, this land was populated by great empires including the Greeks, Persians, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans. The vast Ottoman Empire covered three continents for almost 600 years and controlled the spice road. Our tour will introduce you to the history – back to the days of Byzantium – with visits to key historical sites from Greek, Roman and early Christian heritage (such as Ephesus, Troy and Aya Sofia) as well as the palaces and mosques built during the Ottoman period (such as Topkapi, the Dolmabahce Palace and the Blue Mosque). We will also visit areas of natural beauty on the coast and the magical area of Cappadocia with its Fairy Chimneys, early Christian churches and underground cities right in the centre of Turkey. And of course you will be given the opportunity to taste and learn about Turkish cuisine, by visiting restaurants, cafes and private Turkish homes. We will taste all the most celebrated dishes from Turkish cuisine and you will learn how to cook some signature Turkish dishes which can easily be prepared by you at home in New Zealand.
Our tour gives you a balance of organised activities such as visits to main historical sites with qualified guides and free time to explore at your own pace.
