Ever dreamt of setting aside your life with its nightly stops at the grocery store for wine and cat food for an Italian horseback riding vacation during which you mount a beautiful white steed and ride through the Tuscan countryside with an equally gorgeous Italian riding instructor?
Located in the heart of Tuscany, Il Paretaio, a country house and classical horseback riding center, offers you the chance to achieve that fantasy vacation in much more fulfilling fashion than just diving into a bodice-riper with a glass of Chianti after work. (Of course, there’s no guarantee the dashing riding instructor will return your advances.)
For your horseback riding vacation, Il Paretaio offers
- 30 high-quality horses
- lessons for beginners through advanced riders
- riding out and classical dressage riding
- instructors who speak English, German, French, Dutch and Italian
You also can leave the horses behind and taste wine at some of Tuscany–and the world’s–best vineyards. Or you can leave your horseback riding vacation behind and drive to Florence or Siena: both are just 30 minutes away.
Regardless of whether you go horseback riding or elsewhere during the day, you’ll want to return to Il Paretaio for its delicious four-course dinners (with Chianti) that are included with your stay. And mingling with guests from all over the world can prove just as enjoyable as mingling with the ponies.
Il Paretaio has eight double, triple and quadruple rooms, as well as two self-catering apartments.
For adults, seven days accommodations with buffet breakfasts and dinners and six days of horseback riding start at €710 during the low season and €790 during the high season (which in 2009 is Jan. 1-6, April 4-17, May 9-Sept. 26 and Dec. 19-31).
Il Paretaio
Giovanni e Cristina De Marchi
Strada delle Ginestre, 12
50021 Barberino Val d’Elsa (FI)
Italy
39-055-8059-218
info@ilparetaio.it
(Photos: Courtesy of Il Paretaio)
Guest post by Zach Everson