Magic Palette & Skillet Workshops General Information
ABOUT FOOD, LOCATION AND TRAVEL TIPS:
This format is designed to give our clients a better picture on details surrounding your stay at Le Casacce in Seggiano, Italy. We would hope that it will be beneficial to the enjoyment and planning of…and the executing of your workshop. For your edification the pronunciation phonetically looks something like this: LE - KA’ - SAR-CHEE.
ABOUT THE ACCOMODATIONS AT LE CASACCE: It is located about 3 kilometers from Seggiano which is 60 kilometers south of Siena. Look hard to find Seggiano on a map….but it is there......just go to Mapquest.com. Le Casacce is truly isolated but witnesses a wonderful panoramic of the Tuscany hills. Their phone # is 0039-0564-950895 Fax: 0039-0564-950970. Go to: http://www.lecasacce.net/index_uk.htm to see the website of Le Casacce. It will give you some visuals of the country side, the structure of the buildings and shots of typical rooms you will be staying in.
ABOUT THE ROOMS: The apartment-like guest suites are located in the various farmhouses dotted around the Estate, amidst the olive trees and meadows. The layouts of the apartment –like suites vary from 1-4 bedrooms. Larger apartments have 2 bathrooms. You will be randomly assigned an apartment suite on a first-come-first-serve basis. We will pair people together based on age and gender unless you request to be roommates with a specific friend. The suites are VERY charming-decorated in the rustically elegant Tuscan style, splendidly furnished with antiques and equipped with a fireplace, chairs and couches, dining table, independent heating, satellite TV, mini frig, sink and dishwasher and spectacular panoramic views – many even with private terraces! Towels will be furnished on the day of your arrival and on the first Saturday into the project. We suggest you bring your own WASHCLOTH and SOAP. Some rooms have “drying” racks on the wall in the bathrooms to hang any damp towels and/or personal garments. Each room facility has a “common area” that would be shared by those occupying the bedrooms. These have a table, chairs, stove, refrigerator, (fill your ice trays upon your arrival) sink, dishes and utensils. Rooms have no A/C and each has ample hot water.
For more details and images of each unit go to the website and click on the apartments link: http://www.lecasacce.net/uk/appartamenti.htm
ABOUT THE CUISINE: The food during this trip will be amazing! The chef at Le Casacce is a true master (and a real character!). He enjoys greeting each guest and explaining what’s in each course and how it was made. Everything is made from scratch from products grown locally if not directly from the estate. Service is excellent as we eat at one large table. Wine, cappuccino and bottle water is not included and can be purchased a la carte at Le Casacce or in town at wine shops or grocery stores and brought in for your personal enjoyment. However, Le Casacce has their own selection of wines and it may be purchased in Euros as you would in any other commercial restaurant. In addition, coffee goes with the meals but Espresso or cappuccino would be an additional charge. During photo excursions lunch is not included. You can purchase your own lunch from one of the local restaurants or bakeries. Suggested meal expense approx 25euro per excursion. Breakfast will be at 7:00 a.m., lunch on the road and dinner at 8:00 p.m…..or 7:00 p.m. depending on our itinerary for that day.
ABOUT TRANSPORTATION AND YOUR ARRIVAL: Be aware that you will be picked up by bus at the Rome airport (Leonardo de Vinci...i.e. FCO) on the first date of the workshop. See “Travel Tips” at the bottom of this section. You must schedule yourself to be there at 1 p.m. The meeting area that you must go to is near a BAGGAGE STORAGE FACILITY on the ground floor of the international arrivals building (terminal). You will have to go through immigration and your exit from immigration is but one single exit. When you come out of this exit…..turn to your right and walk down (with your luggage) approximately 100 yards or so. You will by-pass an escalator, stay to your right of the escalator and continue down to the baggage storage area. There are toilet facilities near the baggage storage facility. Wait there until the bus arrives for your pickup. A representative of MPW will have a sign so you can locate the rep. Do not wait outside of the building
ABOUT YOUR FLIGHT DEPARTURE INFORMATION: As indicated above…..you MUST also let us know your time of departure. On the last day of the workshop there will be a bus run leaving at 7:30 a.m.( and no earlier!) to take all participants back to the airport in Rome. We will be servicing only those people that will be going to the airport destination. There will be postings as to departure times from Le Casacce each day as well as departure times from the plein aire location. We urge all to be on time as we will leave you behind if you are late for either departure schedule.
IMPORTANT: It is very, very necessary that you let MAGIC PALETTE WORKSHOP know your arrival time, date , flight number and airlines you will be arriving on. In theory…...most international flights arrive in the a.m. from the U.S…...however, there are some that could arrive a little later in the day. WE MUST HAVE THIS INFORMATION !!. There is only one bus run which is a 3 hour plus drive to Le Casacce. Of course, those of you who may well arrive to Italy earlier and plan on going to Rome….be sure to catch the Metro that takes you to the airport in time to meet with the group. If your flight arrival is late and you miss the bus......you can arrange to take the train to Grosseto....and from there a bus to Castle di Piano. We would pick you up there. You would, however, have to communicate with us either on our cell phone or the land-line for Le Casacce to let us know your final arrangements. We suggest going to http://www.raileurope.com for train schedules. The bus schedules can be noted upon your arrival to Grosseto as the bus leaves from the train station.
ABOUT PACKING: We are suggesting you create a packing list...something you can “tick” off as your loading your suitcase. We suggest strongly that you pack as light as possible. There are clothes washing machines that are used for Le Casacce but an appointment can be arranged to have your personal belongings washed and ironed…approximately 10 E per load. There are no clothes dryers as all washed items are hung out to dry. Be sure you have a large hat while out in the sun along with sun lotion if you use it. Walking shoes are better desired. Pack a light jacket or heavy sweater for any cool evenings we may have. Also, be sure to pack an electrical converter to use European power for hair-dryers, computers, camera batteries, photo printers, cell phones, shavers etc…. Etc.
ABOUT MONEY: As you all know…Italy is a member of the European community so the form of currency is the EURO. Check your paper or computer to ascertain the value of the USD to the Euro.. We are suggesting that you consider bringing along Euro Traveler’s checks....I take no less than $500. Following are some hints and / or suggestions that may be of benefit to you. First….we recommend purchases by credit card as much as possible. Most all merchants take them and in the past they have proven to generate a better exchange rate, However, the BOA bank will be charging a 3% fee on the value of your purchase. We suggest you first call your credit card company to find out just what interest charges they will be tacking on for foreign exchange purchases. As well...take an ATM card along for immediate Euros. The machines are plentiful. While at your U.S departure airport…..buy about $50 worth of Euros to sustain you for your arrival into Rome…..get some coin to either buy a snack or handle the rental of a cart if you would need one at the airport. The coins and bills are easy to read. In changing your USD to Euro….it varies from bank to bank as to their exchange charge.
ABOUT ART SUPPLES: Our instructors will be furnishing you with a recommended list of art equipment and supplies that you should consider bringing. They will communicate with you directly if you have any questions. For painting students we suggest that if you pack your art supplies in your suitcase…..that you make a list of them on a sheet of paper and lay it right on top of your suit case before closing it. Assure the inspectors that you have no toxic matter included with your supplies. For your “carry on” I always take a book of watercolor paper, a small palette of paints, a couple of small brushes, a small spray bottle of Vodka as a mixing medium (it dries faster than water), pencil or pen and a small rag to wipe my brushes. I also take a sketch book with proper pencils and pens. You’d be surprised how fast your flight time will be when you’re busy creating.
ABOUT CAMERAS: If you plan on bringing a digital camera…..be sure that you have enough memory cards (or portable mini hard drive to transfer them onto so you can then reuse your memory cards) for your camera to sustain you for the entire workshop.
Along this line…be sure that you buy an electrical “CONVERTER” for the Italian power outlets….allowing to recharge the batteries in your camera. Some of you may be taking along a small photo printer for downloading…..which also needs a source of power…..plus hairdryers, toothbrushes etc. Any of your larger department stores, K-Mart, Fred Myers etc. should have the converters.
ABOUT GRATUITIES: As is common in the industry of travel it is customary to extend a gratuity to those people that serve our needs. We have made a practice in extending a gratuity (tip) to the following people. The bus driver, the personnel who tidy up our rooms, the people who serve our food and our guide. We make a suggestion only that each participant considers no less than 50 Euros for the entire stay….plus 3 E per person per day for the guide....or more if you feel the service warrants it. If you divide the 50 E figure by 14-days it comes to only 3.57 Euros per day. None of these monies goes to the owner of Le Casacce or Magic Palette Workshops. These monies would be collected at the end of the workshop and distributed by Magic Palette Workshops in accordance to their formula.
ABOUT INSURANCE: We suggest that you contact an insurance carrier over the internet….ACCESS AMERICA or TRAVELGUARD to name just two. You should be able to insure your trip expense. As for medical insurance…..we suggest strongly that you obtain a policy that will have an EVACUATION clause acceptable to your needs. The agent will explain exactly the feature of this clause. You might also consider contacting your travel agent for insurance sources.
ABOUT A WORKSHOP INCREASE: It is important that this factor be brought to your attention. Magic Palette has negotiated financial terms with the bus company and Le Casacce a year in advance of the actual date of the workshop. We, at that time, were governed by the existing exchange rate in calculating our expenses. If the exchange rate has increased to an extreme that creates a loss to our efforts we will find it necessary to announce an increase to the participants. If this should occur…...you would be informed before your departure to Europe. If, in arranging your return flight to the States, it proves to be an afternoon or evening flight.... all well and good. …. We encourage you to make these arrangements accordingly. If you are only able to make an a.m. departure…..you will have to arrange a taxi from Le Casacce to meet your departure time (approx160 E per taxi). A good suggestion would be to take the bus as scheduled but take your flight out on the following day….staying either at a airport facility….or take the Metro into Rome proper. If you have any questions regarding your arrival and/or your departure details….be sure to contact MAGIC PALETTE & SKILLET WORKSHOPS.
ABOUT LOCAL TRANSPORTATION: We will be arranging a 35-passenger bus to take us on our “plein aire “ adventure.........depending upon the number of people we have. Otherwise the bus could be smaller. The brochure has listed the majority of locations we will visit and you will receive any revisions to the itinerary before your departure…..if these revisions should occur. Promptness to meeting the departure time of the bus is your responsibility. Don't be late as you could be left behind.
ABOUT PHONES: Most of your rooms have a phone for out-going calls only. We suggest that you do one of two things . If you are a cell phone user....go to your server and request a SIM card for international phone usage. If they cannot assist.....find a company on line that you can buy a SIM card from. (2) You can buy a local card (Italian) that will work for the dialing of the land-line phones in your rooms. Or you can rent a phone at the airport that would be good for international calls. Try to find one that would have English instructions. Incoming calls to you can be difficult. They come into an office which is not always managed so the call could be lost. Instruct those that may be calling to be aware of this situation. The phone # for Le Casacce 0039-0564-950895. Fax: 0039 0564-950970 - Email: info@lecasacce.net
ABOUT INTERNET ACCESS: Le Casacce has a computer but can only be used by the participant on an emergency basis and at the rate of .30 E per unit (minute ?) They will not receive any emails unless it is also an emergency.. If you have a lap top….we suggest that you bring it if you need to keep a line of communication open to the U.S. ….however, there is no independent connecting signal (or WiFi) at Le Casacce. Another reason to have a converter. Also, Le Casacce does not have a signal in any of the rooms for the plug in of a laptop. Some of the larger towns we will see could have a cyber café where a laptop could be used.
ABOUT A LINE OF COMMUNICATION: Be sure that you leave an itinerary and a phone contact number with your loved ones. The number for Le Casacce can be obtained on their website, www.lecasacce.net or through our website, www.magicpalette-skilletworkshops.com . Remember there is a 9 hour difference between the West Coast and Italy…..6 hours between Italy and the East Coast. If you are a present user of a cell phone in the States….you might call your carrier and ask for an international chip for overseas calls.
ABOUT MEDICATIONS: If you are bringing medications we suggest that you get the “generic” name for the medication from your druggist in case you must purchase any in Italy. They may not have the “trade name” as we know it….but they certainly will know the generic.
ABOUT YOUR DIETARY NEEDS: We will want to know if you have any allergies to certain foods…..and dietary requirements. Our chef will do his best to accommodate your needs.. Please alert us to these details in writing now…...and when we arrive in Italy.
RESPONSIBILITY WAVIER: You will find a copy of our RESPONSIBILITY WAVIER in the shopping cart . Please read it carefully. Payment of the workshop indicates you have read and agree to all terms and conditions.
ABOUT A REMINDER: Remember that your final payment date is no later than the published date. The last date for your deposit is also no later than the published date. We would like to ask you please to accommodate us with a check, money order or credit card payment. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
ABOUT CLOSING THOUGHTS: If the foregoing information prompts any questions on your part….do not hesitate to contact us at 206 431-8227 or williamsperlingg@aol.com. We feel very strongly that our workshop is going to be fun and successful. We remind you in our philosophical way that foreign travel and this type of function can only be successful if one retains a favorable and good attitude. Remember the ol’ clique …….”when in Rome….do as the Romans do” !! We ask you to be careful...use your head...and look forward to a problem free adventure.
©2011 Magic Palette-Skillet Workshops
Tuscan Workshop Information