I decided to take a few months leave from work before heading back to school in the fall to partake in a lifelong dream of going to Italian cooking school. I was nervous to embark on my first vacation alone, and was pretty fried from basically 6 nonstop years of work.

Casa Ombuto ended up being the perfect place to recharge and gave me one of the most relaxing and rewarding weeks of my life. I went from May 13-20, 2017. The property is beautiful, immaculate, and has tons of amenities. The rooms are peaceful and the bathrooms are great. The pool is like heaven; the workout machines, games, and hot tub/steam room are all added complements.

The Italian cooking classes are fantastic - in depth and intensive but by no means overly long or overbearing; they were the perfect combination of educational, intense, and enjoyable. The food is out of this world, both the dinners you prepare and the breakfast and lunch that await you each day are among the best meals I've ever had.

But what really makes the experience are the people. My fellow classmates were friendly, outgoing, and from all parts of the world; we stayed up laughing and eating past 11pm each night. And the staff on hand - from all the helpers and sous chefs, to Katya and Alex who went above and beyond to take care of us during our stay (Alex literally spent part of his Saturday off to take me to a mechanic when my car broke down and stayed with me until the situation was resolved), to Chef Paola, who brought so much joy and laughter to every class with her incredible knowledge about cooking and passion for good food and good company - are all so friendly, kind, and helpful.

I will most definitely be coming back next year and have already encouraged my family and friends to do the same. If you're reading this, stop now and book your week at Casa Ombuto with Tuscookany! You won't regret it!