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Gira! Italian Vacation Rentals Announces Its 2002 "Experience Italy Firsthand" Series

Denver, Colorado, December 6, 2001—Gira! Italian Vacation Rentals (www.italyrentals.com), a U.S.-based travel consulting firm specializing in weekly vacation rentals in Italy, announced today its 2002 "Experience Italy Firsthand" Series, in collaboration with its partners in Italy. These new and unique partnerships will significantly enhance the travel experience by bringing the visitor closer to the traditions and culture of Italy.

Gira! is a full-service provider of a wide variety of vacation rentals in Tuscany, Umbria, the Veneto, the Amalfi Coast and many other parts of Italy. Guests experience the traditions and culture of Italy firsthand from a stone farmhouse, medieval monastery or tower, working farm or vineyard, or a village townhouse. Through the offerings of the "Experience Italy Firsthand" Series, visitors can also engage the expert services of local providers, all at reasonable rates.

Visitors to Italy have long been attracted to the natural simplicity and tradition of Italian cooking. Gira!'s Tuscan Feast Experience offers the possibility of having an authentic Tuscan meal prepared by the renowned staff of Andrea Moradei, owner of Enoteca de'Giraldi in Florence. These superbly trained chefs will come to the vacation property not only to prepare a typical regional meal, but also to offer hands-on instruction, inviting the guests to join in the preparation and cooking themselves.

Another unique cooking opportunity, Gira!'s Tuscan Cooking Experience, involves a week-long stay at a 15th century villa in Versilia in western Tuscany, with breathtaking views of the sea. Here guests spend a week enjoying structured classroom experiences, culminating in the enjoyment of their own prepared meals, complete with excellent local wines. Ample time is provided for guided excursions to Cinque Terre, Pisa, Lucca, Florence and many other accessible points.

Italian wine is essential to any good Italian cooking. Gira!'s Tuscan Wine Experience offers the traveler an opportunity to visit firsthand the renowned vineyards of Chianti, Vino Nobile and Brunello wines, to name just a few. Also operated by Andrea Moradei, these intimate van excursions start at the client's villa and proceed to various handpicked wineries, with whom Andrea has close friendships, and from whom he purchases the fine wines served at the Enoteca in Florence. These visits include wine tastings and cellar tours at private estates and wineries, and can be designed to fit the client's specific interests.

For the active traveler, Gira!'s Italy Biking Experience provides a fresh and close-up encounter with the Italian countryside, hill towns and villages. Short, customized rides and formal group tours can be arranged in Tuscany and Umbria.

Gira!'s Experience Italy by Foot offers a unique opportunity to explore those places that are best seen on a walking tour. Hikes in the Cinque Terre and the Italian Riviera highlight these intimate excursions.

And finally, for the romantics at heart who have always dreamed of getting married in the Italian countryside, Gira!'s Wedding Experience allows for the couple-to-be to work directly with a professional wedding consultant who is onsite in Italy. Wedding planners well versed in Italian customs and law will not only help find the ideal location, but will facilitate a successful wedding celebration.

For additional information on travel in Italy, readers can visit Gira!scope Online Magazine, also at www.italyrentals.com. This unique publication features helpful travel tips and photo essays, and also provides a forum for emerging travel writers to tell in their own words what they have seen and experienced while touring Italy.

For more details and booking information, please contact Susan Broyles at (303) 733-6030 or susan@italyrentals.com.

                        

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