Past Vacations

Travel the world with the Laguna Culinary Arts travel team!

Our travel division, Laguna Culinary Arts Adventures, specializes in leading small, personalized group travel experiences. Our destinations include selected locations throughout France, Italy and Spain, as well as the California and Oregon wine countries. Each year we will expand our trip offering to other domestic and international destinations that meet our criteria for good food & wine, an interesting cultural experience and a beautiful place to be! At each location, we delve into the unique culture of the region, where the food and wine is part of the fabric of the local life. Each trip offers a balance of culinary delights, historical and cultural activities and outdoor activities for our guests to enjoy. Of course, each trip features two formal cooking classes (optional for those who would rather just enjoy the food!) but if you want even more cooking, our chef is happy to put you to work with him in the kitchen!

In order to ensure the best possible experience for our guests, we do all the trip research ourselves. We strive to find charming but high-quality accommodations in each location, indicative of the local culture. From an 18th century grand chateau in the Dordogne River Valley of France, an ancient villa set in the middle of the Tuscan countryside in Italy, or a quaint wine country inn in Sonoma Valley, California, our goal is to select properties where our guests have the run of the place and feel at home. We visit local producers that may not otherwise be accessible to the public, and we seek out the most charming yet representative villages, markets, and points of local interest. Although our trips of full of activities, we always allow enough time for relaxation, shopping in the local villages, and of course plenty of opportunities to taste the local wine!

Highlights of previous trips:

Spring 2011

Provence, France. We changed up our style this year, staying in boutique hotels in our favorite cities of Provence rather than staying in a large estate property. This allowed our guests to roam around the ancient cities of Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and Trigance without the constraints of a group timetable. We focused on the wines of the region, visiting premier properties in Gigondas of the Southern Rhone, Bandol on the coast of Provence, and a lovely property in the heart of the Cotes du Provence. We visited the famous marchés in the hilltop village of Gordes and the vibrant city of Aix. The highlight of our trip was the final two nights at the 14th century Chateau du Trigance at the eastern edge of the Gorge du Verdon, and a visit to the lovely village of Moustieres-Saint-Marie, known for the faïence pottery that was popular with the royal court of France in the 16th century.

Spring 2010

Tuscany, Italy. We enjoyed a wonderful week at a 600-year-old restored farmhouse in the countryside near the medieval town of Lucca, with sweeping views of the Pescia river valley. Our daily excursions included a trip to the marble quarries of Carrera, an exclusive visit to the super-Tuscan wine estate of Castello del Terriccio for a tasting of their fantastic wines and lunch on the terrace, and of course a day in Lucca, including a bicycle tour around the city on the top of the old walls. Our guest chef Cathy Pavlos of Lucca Café in Irvine offered our guests cooking classes, and we had a private wine tasting of local wines under the arbor at the farmhouse.

Spring 2009

We returned to the beautiful Dordogne Valley of France, and enjoyed the same itinerary as our Spring 2004 trip – see details below.

Spring 2008

Burgundy, France. One of the most beautiful, lush green regions of France known best now as the world’s premier wine region, the Burgundy region is historically one of the most interesting places for middle ages history. Our home for the trip was the Hameau de Barbaron, a secluded hunting lodge just outside of Savigny-les-Beaunes. Activities included private wine tastings with winemakers of hand-crafted wines in the ancient caves underneath the streets of Beaune, a vineyard tour of the famous Puligny-Montrechet village, a private tour of a tonnellier, one of the 10 companies in France certified to craft wine barrels in the traditional way, visits to the medieval villages of Noyer and Vezeley, and a wonderful visit to the 900-year old Fontenay Abbey. Wonderful food to accompany the world-class wines, and cooking classes with chefs of the region.

Spring 2007

Provence, France. The Luberon Valley in northern Provence is one of those places that, once you are there, you seriously consider never leaving. Our trip was like something out of the pages of a Peter Mayle novel – herb-scented fields surrounding our 19th century luxurious chateau situated just outside the historic down of Lacoste. Highlights of the trip included a visit to the market in the hilltop town of Gordes, cooking class with a local chef in his Menerbes restaurant, a visit to the Fontaine du Vaucluse, the source of the river Sourge, followed by a fun kayak trip down the river, VIP private tour and wine tasting at Chateau du Beaucastel, the premier producer of Chateauneuf du Pape, and a visit to the historic city and castle ruins, and another market visit in the chic little village of Loumarin. Cooking classes, and lots of great food & wine as always.

Spring 2006

Tuscany, Italy. We explored the back roads of the historic Chianti region of Tuscany, and stepped back in time as we enjoyed the laid back culture of the locals. Our accommodation was an ancient traditional Tuscan farmhouse-villa, parts of which dated back to Roman times, situated on a 5,000 acre estate of vineyards and olive orchards. The best feature of the villa’s lovely outdoor patio was the 400-year old wood burning oven, which our Italian chef put to good use for our pizza party! Other highlights of the 7-day, 6-night trip included a “scavenger hunt” in a local medieval village, private tour, tasting & lunch at Dievole in Chianti Classico, visits to the local markets, a trip to Borro, the medieval town once owned by the Medici’s, now part of the Faragamo estate, and of course, cooking classes & wine tasting with local chefs and restaurateurs.

Fall 2005

Sonoma, California. The quieter side of California’s premium wine region offers plenty of action during the fall harvest season. Our accommodation for our 5-day, 4-night trip was the beautiful Beltane Ranch, a turn-of-the-century home turned into a lovely B&B, surrounded by vineyards, with hiking trails galore in the adjacent hills. Highlights of the trip included private VIP winery visits, featuring picnics in the vineyards and in the nearby redwood forest, an evening barbeque under the stars, and a chance to work in a real winery! We helped to harvest the grapes, worked the crushpad, punched down, tested brix and, of course, sampled the goods! Our hard work was rewarded with a relaxing massage. Cooking classes and wine tastings, and a little shopping all went together to make a great long weekend in the wine country.

Spring 2005

Catalonia, Spain. The vibrant, modern buzz of the region, juxtaposed onto its storied history, made this trip one of our most memorable. Catalonia is for all intents and purposes a country within a country. While technically part of Spain, the people consider themselves Catalonians first and Spaniards second. Their language and culture is unique to the region. We based ourselves in an historic “masia,” a Spanish manor house, in the middle of vineyards in the Penedes wine region. Situated about 60 miles southwest of Barcelona, we drank in the beautiful Iberian landscape and all the culinary delights the region has to offer. Highlights of the 7-day, 6-night trip included a day trip to the ancient Roman ruins on the coast of Tarragona, private tours of several regional wineries, from very large to very small, an overnight trip to the serenely beautiful peaks of Montserrat, home to a 10th century monastery as well as a national park, a visit to La Boquería on the Ramblas in Barcelona (the largest open market in Europe), a “behind the scenes” look at the regional competitive sport – Casteliers – where an entire village joins together to create human towers up to 10 persons high, and of course, cooking classes, great meals and lots of wine!

Spring 2004

Perigord Noir, France. This is truly one of the most beautiful and historically interesting regions of France, situated along the lovely Dordogne River in the southwest – a region renowned for its well-preserved prehistoric caves and Medieval architecture, and its magnificent culinary contribution to the world: foie gras. The long and storied history of the region is evident in the numerous Medieval villages, churches, manors and châteaux, tucked between steep cliffs, river and forests. Our accommodation was the privately owned Chateau de Lacoste in Castelnaud la Chapelle, dating from the 18th century, overlooking the River Dordogne and the surrounding countryside. Highlights of the 7-day, 6-night trip included visits to the traditional open-air markets of the region and the lovely medieval villages that have hosted them continuously for over 600 years, including Domme, Montignac & Sarlat, visits to medieval castles and prehistoric sites, including the famous Lascaux II site featuring prehistoric cave paintings, a fun-filled canoe trip down the Dordogne, complete with river-side picnic, cooking classes, petanque tournaments, pool parties and more.

Fall 2003

Ashland, Oregon. Our guests enjoyed Indian summer in the Pacific Northwest, in the beautiful town of Ashland, Oregon, a beautiful little pioneer town tucked into the eastern foothills of the coastal mountain range just north of the California border. Small but sophisticated, Ashland today is best known as home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Our 5-day, 4-night trip included white-water river rafting on the nearby Rogue River, wine tasting & cheese tasting in the Applegate Valley, sightseeing in the historic town of Jacksonville, an evening at the theatre for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” shopping, and of course, plenty of cooking and eating!

Spring 2008

Burgundy, France! Check out our brochure for the highlights of this trip. Space is limited! Call now to book your trip – 949-376-0262.