If you are interested in food and wine, there are a lot of great tours out there that can take you to the heart of the subject. Joan Peterson, publisher of the "Eat Smart" series of gourmet travel books, leads regular culinary tours to Turkey. I've seen the itinerary, which seems to offer a remarkable amount for the price, and I'm dying to take the trip! It involves a busy schedule, but everything on it looks fascinating, and Peterson is clearly an expert on the food, wines, and history of the region. You can find information about the tour - and about the entire series of Eat Smart books - at http://www.ginkgopress.com .
If you yearn to be in Bordeaux or Burgundy, check out "France in your Glass" at http://www.inyourglass.com - this company has been leading escorted wine country vacations in France for twelve years, and offers an impressive catalog of possibilities. They remind prospective travelers that most of France's wine country is not open to the public without prior arrangements, unlike American wine country, which specializes in "drop in" wine tours. "France in your Glass" will make these necessary arrangements for you, and open a doorway into some of the world's finest wine producing estates. Their tours are not all primarily wine-related - there are also some interesting culinary tours available - and they occasionally lead tours outside France, in such places as Tuscany and London.
If you are looking for some "Grape Adventures" in Tuscany, take a look at http://www.grapeadventures.com/nindex.ht... - they offer a series of historical and wine/food tours, as well as art tours, walking tours, and custom wine tours. The best part: many of their tours are very affordable day-trips, which means that you can incorporate them into your Italian holiday without spending thousands of dollars on a complete tour!
