Not long ago I received an email from Bianca of Italian Fix. The email said, “I’m wondering if I could entice you to come to Italy this August and teach a workshop?” As you can imagine, it didn’t take too much convincing. Bianca has worked with other creatives I admire (like Leela Cyd, who I’ve blogged about before) on Italian workshops and tours. And like me, Bianca studied in Italy, fell in love with the country and knows it intimately.
For those of you new to the blog, I lived and worked in Italy for seven years, and even though I’m not Italian, I consider the country to be a second home. I haven’t been back in ages and the opportunity to combine two things I love deeply: Italy and teaching, made this experience a must. And to make the whole situation even more irresistible, the creative workshop will be held in the Cinque Terre, which is the Italian Riviera, and pretty much one of the most amazing places on earth.
And guess what? You’re invited.
We’re calling this a Creative Playcation. We are committed to making this a life-changing experience. As Bianca says, It’s going to be part art school, part walking tour, part creative discourse, part mind-meld pow-wow, and then a whole lot of Italian hedonism (AKA carbs and wine). And as if hanging out together and talking shop for a couple of days doesn’t sounds enticing enough, we’ll be in Italy. We’ll be on the beach. We’ll be among friends and fellow creatives. We’ll be breaking bread together–really good bread smothered in extra virgin olive oil. And did I mention we’ll be in Italy?
If this sounds like an Instagram hashtag you wanna be a part of, sign up for the mailing list below and we’ll powow about all the details. Also, head to this page for more information. I hope you’ll join us. It’ll be the best and most productive playcation you’ve ever had. Promise.
I’m so excited about this Justina!
I can’t wait to meet everyone who joins us.
If anyone has any questions, just ask and I’ll do my best to help.
Baci,
Bianca @ Italian Fix
Oh man, this sounds amazing!!
Yay Erin!
Justina,
I’m surprised to see you support something that is so egregiously overpriced. I just visited the Italian fix website and her week walking tour is $3400 not even including airfare. Cinque Terre is such an affordable place to visit (nice airbnbs and hotels often under $100 per night) and great food and wine and transportation are all affordable.It’s hard to spend more than $50/person at the nicest restaurants there and the mom and pop places are cheaper and more charming. Local transport is affordable, day passes on the train are 12-22 euro and roundtrip boat fare is 16- 25 euro. Even if you ate an expensive meal every day took the train and a boat trip and stayed at a nice place you are still only looking at a $1200 trip (and really that’s high). Here’s a guided walking tour including food and accommodation I found without even trying on Lonely Planet and it’s 30% of what she’s asking:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/liguria-piedmont-and-valle-daosta/tours/hiking-trekking/cinque-terre-guided-walk
Even if she tailors it in fun ways it hardly warrants being 3 times the price of a guided tour and four times the price of self-guided tour.
Hi Allie,
It’s Bianca from Italian Fix.
It’s great to hear you know the Cinque Terre so well and that you’ve helped people understand how inexpensive it can be. You’re absolutely right. The accommodations can be a steal and great food won’t set you back a fortune! It’s a great place to spend some time.
Thanks for also checking out the trips I’ve been hosting over the years out of the villages of the Cinque Terre. I absolutely love showing people the inside perspective of a place I have roots in (I met my husband in the marina of Riomaggiore and we still own a home in the region).
As far as prices — wow — Justina and my trip price has NOT YET been listed. So it looks like you might be an unhappy camper without knowing the whole picture. Won’t you be happy to hear it’s less than 1000 bucks.
As far as my week long guided tours of Italy I run (which are different than the trip I’m hosting with Justina) — you can ALWAYS spend less to travel — wherever you go in the world. I help thousands of people a year with my free advice on my blog — about how to save money and have a great time too!
As you mentioned, there are ways to go to Italy cheaper: 1) Plan everything yourself just as you mention 2) Or book with large tour operators like you mention (like Gap Adventures or Rick Steves) The Lonely Planet Tour you referred to is actually subcontracted by Gap ). The bigger tours definitely suit some travel styles.
I’m not the kind of person who likes to travel in a large tour bus around Europe with a big group of people, or follow guides with headsets. My clients don’t like that either — which is why they choose small intimate experiences with Italian Fix. (You’ll also notice on my site that most trips are sold out, because I sell Italian experiences for real working people.)
Oh, and speaking of elite trips — have you seen the walking tours for $6000 in this region? They look quite nice too.Butterfield and Robinson runs those.
As you can see Allie — many trip styles, many prices and many different offerings out there.
As far as I know — no one is doing Creative Playcations in Italy. :) We KNOW that for sure!
Thanks Allie,
Love Bianca
Sorry – I also noticed it’s actually $3499 and only includes 2 dinners and ‘most lunches.’ Crazy.
Holy ravioli!!! Brava! How exciting!! I just might…sign up… ;)
Wow. I am so glad that Allie won’t be on the trip! I think it looks amazing. I’m not in college anymore so am very willing to pay for high quality, willing to pay for expertise and willing to pay for someone to plan a delicious, interesting and unique trip to a part of the world I know nothing about. Yes, it’s sometimes fun to explore with the Lonely Planet Guide with every other tourist in the world, but how fantastic to have a tailored time with a bilingual local. Enjoy!
OMG. I’m the granddaughter of a Sicilian and a Napoletano and I’ve never been to Italy–it’s horribly tragic! But this basically sounds like my DREAM!!
This trip will be a wonderful experience. I have traveled with Bianca in the past and the memories that she helped me to make are absolutely incredible! I happen to be in the vision industry, so I tend to relate travel to glasses. There is such a difference between seeing, and seeing well. Bianca has the knack of helping people see the world well. I can’t wait to join her on another adventure:) This playcation looks like a unique opportunity to collaborate with others in an inspired way, which always boosts creativity!
Bianca is a fantastic guide and every dollar spent on her trip is so worth it. Allie should definitely be travelling on the over crowded discounted buses. If you search, you can always find something cheaper. If you want an incredible experience, where every little detail has been thought out and better yet, sorted out, travel with Italian Fix. I did and have never looked back. If you want champagne, you need to pay for champagne.
Sounds like soul nourishing goodness. I wanna go back!! The beautiful awe inspiring CInque Terre with a host as gracious, dynamic and caring as Bianca…how could you lose?
I think it’s great for people to travel in whatever manner they find comfortable and can afford (my in-laws just did a much more expensive trip in this region). If people want to pay $3500 for a $700 trip shared with 14 tourists (incidentally, the same size as the lonely planet tour) that’s great. I am just disappointed to see such a poor value being shilled on this site as I’ve always thought Justina does such a great balance of being relatable and aspirational in her design and lifestyle posts. As an avid traveler – I’ve been to over 35 countries, never been on a tourist bus (or travelled with a group of 14 tourists- egads) I think it is a shame to endorse a trip like this where the organizer is probably making a 400% profit per person on her week long tours in an extremely navigable region. I would expect to read about a tour like this on GOOP, not The Jungalow. But as for people’s enjoyment of the tour itself, more power to you if this is your thing. It would just be a shame if people who can’t afford it think they are missing out, or over-extend themselves to make the trip. Too many people miss out on traveling because they think they can’t afford it (or will have to ‘slum it’ on a low-brow tourist-y tour as so many commenters were quick to pipe in) and trips like this reinforce that perception.
Hey Allie~
I hear what your saying and you are right, I do try and be relatable and aspirational on my site. I try and balance affordability with the occasional splurge–because that’s how I live. That having been said, the trip that I’m doing with Bianca is not a simple walking tour –it’s a creative workshop. I will be teaching and sharing ideas and tools that I’ve learned over the past 10 years of being a creative professional. Is the trip a splurge? Absolutely. Will it be totally worth it? I think it will be.
This trip sounds be amazing!! I’ve done lots of different types of traveling – from $1 night bungalows to fancy pants places. I think it’s all about what works for you. But like one of the previous posters, I’m at a time in my life (39) where I want to travel a little different. I work hard and sure, I could do this area for less on my own. But I am lucky to be able to choose to do a trip like this. The best times I’ve had traveling are when you get the local perspective. On a short trip this can be tricky. I totally welcome the help as well as getting to meet others/make friends. I don’t know anyone in Italy and have always wanted to go. Perfect!
Me too Leah! I feel the exact same way! xoxo!!