Pian di Marte Ospitalità Rurale view learning Italian and English

There’s so much to see and do on an Oakfield Italian Language holiday!

ARRIVAL, DAY ONE:
In the afternoon, settle into your accommodation and join us for a welcome dinner at the Pian di Marte Ospitalità Rurale together for your first taste of Umbria and Tuscany! Then get a good night’s sleep in the peaceful Niccone valley to prepare you for your first day.

DAY TWO:
Wake up ready to begin your Italian Language Holiday, starting with breakfast in Italiano…Naturally! We’ll learn some new vocabulary and chat about everyday things together. Find out how Ezio makes his homemade fig jam; talk about a news story together; hear more about the Niccone Valley.

It’s time to start lessons. Obviously, the lessons will be geared towards the level of the learners. They will be dynamic and fun classes with plenty of pairwork, small group activities and we certainly won’t be sitting at a table for the whole three hours. Part of our class together will be dedicated to preparing for our afternoon excursion to Lake Trasimeno. We want you to start using the new language you’ve acquired straight away, but not before we’ve had lunch together and a well-deserved break / siesta.

After enjoying our first excursion together, we’ll stay in Passignano sul Trasimeno in the evening where we’ll have dinner at the Trattoria del Pescatore. Here, Serena and Carlo will explain some of the local specialities that their family has been cooking at the Trattoria for several generations. A delicious way to conclude our first day.

DAY THREE:
After our breakfast in Italiano, we’ll start our lessons again. Naturally we’ll review and recycle some of the things from the previous day as well as introduce some new language. After our lunch together at Pian di Marte Ospitalità Rurale, we’re going to head over the ‘border’ to Cortona in Tuscany. This charming hilltop village made famous by Frances Mayes’ book “Under the Tuscan Sun” and the subsequent film starring Diane Lane, is always a favourite with our learner guests. You can see the Annunciation by Beato Angelico, visit the Etruscan Museum, The Santa Margherita Basilica, and the Girifalco Fortress or just wander around enjoying the atmosphere. We’ll have dinner in a typical Tuscan trattoria in Cortona, where you can again try some local specialities, such as the “Pici alle Molliche”.

DAY FOUR:
Following a good night’s sleep in the peaceful Niccone valley and after our breakfast in Italiano, we’re going straight out this morning to find out about the local olive oil and wine production at the Azienda Agricola Mezzetti with Stefania. We’ll have a tour of the vineyards and tasting of local Umbrian and Tuscan products. We’ll go back to Pian di Marte for lunch together, then after some relaxation time, we’ll start our lessons in the afternoon continuing to consolidate what we’ve been learning so far and building on that. By this time, you’ll be really feeling how much your Italian has improved.

We’ll stop lessons in time for an aperitivo at Pian di Marte before we start our cooking lesson plus dinner together in the evening. If anyone still has enough energy, we’ll then watch a movie together or play a game…in Italiano naturally before going to bed.

DAY FIVE:
You’ve probably been dreaming in Italian by this time! Now you know the routine: breakfast in Italiano as usual followed by our fun and interesting three hours of lessons in the morning. After lunch and a break, we’ll be heading to Perugia, the capital of Umbria. We’ll start with a tour of the Casa del Cioccolato – home of the famous Baci chocolates. We’ll have a guided tour and find out all about these famous chocolates. (Sweet dreams are assured tonight!) Then we’ll head into the centre, wander down Corso Vannucci, the main street in the historic centre and see the Palazzo dei Priori, home of the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, the Sala dei Notari, the famous Maggiore fountain and much more! We’ll stay in Perugia for pizza this evening.

DAY SIX:
Sadly today is our last breakfast in Italiano! Time to think back on what you’ve learnt during our week of breakfast discussions together. Then it’s time to re-cap and consolidate what we’ve done this week in our lessons, answer any last-minute questions, put it all into practice one last time and make sure you all go home feeling excited about how much you’ve learnt. Naturally we’ll finish with a celebratory lunch together at Pian di Marte Ospitalità Rurale. Departure time is in the afternoon; we’ll be sad to see you go but know that you’ll have had a wonderful experience here with us at Oakfield Umbria.