About travel in general:

• Slow Traveler is an independent website for travel in Italy and other countries in the slower way. Lots of practical information, great resource for trip planning, dozens of reviews of villas in our TuscanHouse collection, and a helpful message board.
• Slow Europe is the new site by Pauline who created Slow Travel, this has fresh content and good trip planning info for all of Europe and she welcomes your reviews.
• Joe Brancatelli has an extensive independent website called JoeSentMe that is dedicated to the business traveler and covers tons of useful topics of interest to all, so sign up for the weekly news letters and good travel stories.

          Italy in general:

• Current Weather in Italy, you can select regions and cities for 3 day forecast
• goItaly , Italy for Visitors: news, stories, travel information
• Italian tourist Web Guide , an extensive site with great information, in English
• Driving in Italy excellent practical advice on driving in Italy

          Museums:

• Museums In Florence , in English
• Uffizi Gallery in Florence, advance ticket reservation info
• The Borghese Gallery in Rome. If you can only see one museum, this is it!
• Vatican Museums , the Vatican official site for information

          Trains:

• Trains in Italy official site in English for schedules and ticket sales on-line
• Trains in Italy a better booking site, but charges a service fee.
• Trains in Europe trains schedules in all of Europe

          Car-service and airport pick-up:

• Airport transfer specialist all over Italy, at Lucca Limo , contact Julia and Valter by e-mail valter@luccalimo.com tel/fax +(39) 0583 971464 - Cell: +(39) 348 4406367
• Airport transfers from Rome to Tuscany and tours in Rome, contact Giovanni Musella, his website has all the details: www.allroadsleadtorome.com
• Siena Province local car & driver, airport pick-up, guided tours in English, contact Michael Aprile by e-mail mikaprile@katamail.com,
• Lucca area Autonoleggio Giglio, car & driver, airport pick-up, local rental, tours, www.autonoleggiogiglio.it
• Tuscany, from car service to van & coach rentals, Tuscany Limousine

          Walking tours, bicycles:

• Walking Tours  in Tuscany, other regions of Italy & Europe. "Piccolo" organizes guided walking tours for small groups, ask Gillian for all the details.
• Emily at A TuscanTable, offers wine tours and walking tours with  picnics
• abc-rent.com cars, bikes, scooters, 2 locations: Buonconvento, Colle Val d'Elsa
• autonoleggiocaroti.it, car rental agency at Chianciano also has bikes to rent
• Cicloposse in Pienza for bicycle and walking tours in Tuscany & Umbria

          Chefs and cooking classes, local and in Florence:

• Bellaria Catering, based near La Foce and Pienza, Chef Jeannine can prepare delicious dinners at your villa, or lunch at her own villa under the wisteria covered pergola with panoramic views, also cooking classes, wine tasting, please contact her by email: j.e.salomons@tiscali.it 
• Cooking for you, Doriana is a chef based in Sarteano, southern Tuscany, her team can give cooking lessons at your villa, be your personal chef for dinners and lunches, and provide catering for special events,  Info@cookingforyou.it  
• Emily at A TuscanTable, offers catered dinners, cooking classes, wine tours and walking tours with gourmet picnics, contact her at www.atuscantable.com/
• Divina Cucina , "Discover the art of eating and cooking with your own custom culinary program. Come and enjoy hands-on cooking lessons in small groups, never more than 6 students. Let Judy be your Italian life coach and give you a real taste of living in Tuscany..."  E-mail: info@divinacucina.com
• Cook with Passion , an Italian Cooking School with an emphasis on Italian culture and relationships. Fun half-day cooking classes in Florence, Italy.

          Rome:

• InfoRoma , personalized expert tours of Rome, good information
• Guided English speaking touring for private groups with vans or a minibus,
  contact Angelo: tel. (011-39) 06-868-02159, fax 06-868-00223

          Florence:

• Friend in Florence offers you Self-Guided Itineraries, Custom Chauffeured Tours of Tuscany and Private Walking Tours of Florence. Each tour, event or itinerary is customized to your interests and travel experience.
• Pauline Priore is an expert private tours of Florence & Tuscany, wedding planning, shopping and culinary tours, fresco painting, etc. paulinep@tin.it
• Mia Antonia, professional wedding planning, info@tuscaniaevents.com
  Tel/Fax: +39-055-5357881 (Italy) - Tel: 916-273-3652 (USA)

          Siena:

• Tours by Roberto  he offers a group of travelers, however large or small, a customized tour of Tuscany. Roberto offers both exclusive, full-service customized tours, and also single day and half-day tours that can be joined by those traveling independently, 
• Tours around Tuscany   a tour company based in Siena with a specialty in very small group tours of Tuscany (max 4 people), also airport pick-up and transportation, contact Gianni, cell (+39) 347 2450225 (24/7)

          Lucca:

• Divertimento Tours , Dorene is home in Lucca, let her plan a tour around your dreams or simply select one of her unique excursions. Dorene can show you a glimpse of life in Italy that few travelers ever get to see.
• Lucca Limo , services include airport transfers, city centre chauffeur driving, business meeting transfers, special events and weddings, concierge services, and, for a true Italian experience, Tuscan excursions comprising wine itineraries, bustling cities and undiscovered towns, shopping highlights and chefs journeys.