“Thankyou to our wonderful women hostesses who saw to every detail!

There were 8 of us in our group and we are all still raving about our fabulous experience! We were greeted by Margaret at the train station with open arms. When we arrived at our beautiful villa for the week we felt we were welcomed into Nat and Rosie’s home. We were pampered for our week. With wonderful tours of the area including a few vineyards . Home cooked meals and a wonderful cooking class taught by Siobhan. Would highly recommend this tour it was a 10 in our books.
Thank you to our wonderful women hostesses who saw to every detail!!!”

“A bucket list definite.
Our stay in the villa at Cortona with Sioban was brilliant. They were the perfect hosts. The variety of villages, places of interest and restaurants we were taken to by the team made for an unforgettable week. We were able to savour the flavours of Italian slow food under the trees in the countryside, in wineries and other quality restaurants. This is a must do experience for anyone. We loved every minute of our week. ”

“Luxury week in a 13th Century villa...
An excellent mix of good company, yummy food and wine and spectacular scenery. Time to explore and relax. We had a wonderful time with great memories and incredible photos. ”

“Beautiful villa, wonderful hosts and the scenery was out of this world. Photographs do not do it justice and our host Sioban took us to some wonderful villages and towns we would never have found ourselves. Enjoyed every minute including all the meals we experienced in some wonderful settings. Sioban’s cookery class was a great experience and have already tried out one of the recipes on our return to Edinburgh. If you are foodies like we are then this is a holiday not to be missed. ”

“Our week with Sioban in Tuscany was the highlight of our holiday. They love their home town of Cortona and their passion is infectious.
Beautiful scenery, beautiful meals prepared by local enthusiastic chefs who are all individual characters in their own right. Sioban’s cooking school was full of fun and great ideas.
It was like being on holidays with loved family members. Thoroughly recommended. ”

“We are 5 sisters who loved our time in Tuscany with our wonderful hosts, Sioban and team. The villa and grounds are exquisite, with breakfast prepared and served each morning. Each day’s outing took us to a unique and lovely Tuscan hill town to tour a winery, enjoy a fabulous meal, learn some history, shop and learn about local produce and craftsmanship - simply divine. And they helped us plan our free day, taught us some delicious Tuscan recipes, converted us from American coffee drinkers to cappuccino and espresso, assisted a sister who became ill and made us all feel so very welcome. They embody customer service and attention to detail at the finest level.
Mille grazie for the memories!
Cinque Sorelle ”

“Sioban is awesome. The team have separate roles but each is as passionate as the other. The local knowledge of Cortona and the surrounding towns makes every day of the tour an adventure, from the unknown little village, to the vineyards, to the Michelin star restaurant.
Sioban is an excellent cook and we enjoyed every meal cooked by her. Even the reluctant and uninitiated “cooks” enjoyed the cooking lessons. Everything was taken care of and all we had to do was enjoy the teams surprise for us each day. Highly recommend MAD tours! ”

“Just got back home from our beautiful vacation in Tuscany. My wife and I have travelled quite a lot since my retirement (less so during the last couple of years) but this “all inclusive” vacation is at the top of the list. It started with Margaret meeting us at Camucia train station and welcoming us with her vivacious personality, then guiding us to our villa near Cortona. We were met by Nat and Rosie, who together with Margaret, made sure we were comfortable. Margaret guided us to out-of-the-way local villages, small lovely cities (like Pienza) and larger ones (Monticchiello and Montepulciano, where some of Twilight New Moon was filmed) and cities like Siena. We lunched and dined in 5 star restaurants, local hidden-away trattorias or had specially prepared meals at the villa. We had local house wines (in no name litre carafes) and vintage wines and in between – but all tasted great. Even had private wine tastings in the villa by our own expert several nights (thanks Rosie). We stopped by Bramasole and spent our free day in Cortona (say “Under the Tuscan Sun”). Sioban gave us our own cooking class in the villa (I did the cutting while my wife did the memorizing) and made sure all our requests were met. Sioban and Nat and Jeanette prepared our final dinner, Fiorentina di Chianina Steak (look it up) with local wines (my choice, Chianti, of course). Finally, our week was ending. Like the end of summer camp, we were sorry to leave our new friends behind, but wish them the very best.”

“Me, My sister, brother and his partner, all spent a week together with two other couples from USA. The two story villa was located on the side of a hill and allowed for pleasant evening strolls along the quiet countryside lane. Sioban is such a gracious host, who educated, fed, transported, advised, and took care of our every need. The cooking lesson session was very hands on as we all helped prepare scrumptious courses that were served with great Italian wine. The sightseeing day trips were at a relaxed pace, with shopping opportunities, great food and wine experiences and interesting historic towns among the rolling Tuscan hills. Looking forward to repeating the experience another time. ”