Antibes, May 2024
Just wanted to say a huge thank you to the Artemisia team for arranging a superb visit to Antibes and surroundings. Tom and Tina looked after us all brilliantly, while also educating and entertaining us. Nothing was too much trouble.
The planning of the timetable was meticulous and everything worked beautifully. And the fellow participants were all so friendly and welcoming that we felt instantly at home in the group.
The exquisite colours, vistas, paintings, sculptures and flora are still reverberating around my head!
The trip to Antibes was fantastic – art, sun and lovely people – what more could one want. Tom and Tina were great, we visited some very impressive sites, stayed in a very unique hotel and everyone had a great time.
Puglia, April 2024
It really was the most amazing trip to Puglia, and I adored every minute of it. It really was the perfect mix of everything, so meticulously put together as always with so much detail, the stunning places we visited, the hotels, the restaurants and all with the loveliest of girls, so many beautiful memories, it was the best trip to date!
Charlie is so lovely, with an incredible knowledge of history, art and everything Italian, I could listen to her for hours never get bored!
Parma, October 2023
Thank you for a fabulous few days in Parma. The trip far exceeded our expectations and as always AHA made it very enjoyable and social.
Tuscany, September 2023
Christopher and I have just come back from the most fabulous trip to Tuscany.
We had a fantastic time – and Christopher will never forget his birthday lunch at the Sesti estate. To go there and meet Elisa was truly magical. What a beautiful place – and we had a sensational meal cooked by the charming chef Simone.
Ed and Ben were excellent tour leaders – everything was perfectly planned and ran smoothly – even the last minute change of plans resulted in a surprise visit to Florence which was great fun.
Cornwall, June 2023
It was Fab and I had a great time. Both Frankie and Fania were fantastic guides. They knew their subject backwards and made everything so interesting- nothing was too much trouble. They both put their heart and souls into making it a very special trip for everyone-two very special people.
Their knowledge and enthusiasm was amazing.
This is a note to say how much we enjoyed our AHA trip to St Ives.
It was our first trip with AHA, which was prompted by the excellent on line lectures that we have been taking for the past few years.
The pace of the trip was excellent and we felt we had a good feel for the area covering the greats like Hepworth and the other very interesting artists that colonised the area. Also the balance of the visits was good covering art galleries and gardens.
In particular we were very impressed by the team work of Fania and Frankie – they had a great depth of knowledge, were excellent at engaging the group and getting us to consider the art work and history of area.
Lisbon, May 2023
Thank you so much for this and for the wonderful trip. I enjoyed it enormously and came home much better informed about Portugal, its history and our historical connections, not to mention its extraordinary architecture, especially from the late 19th century! It’s been ages since I was on a trip with you and it was such fun to hear some of your very entertaining stories and particularly enjoyable to sit in beautiful gardens discussing strange philosophies with the birds singing in the background. And I must congratulate you on your choice of hotels – both York House and Lawrence’s were wonderful. Flic too was terrific – well informed and interesting, great fun and very good company.
Lisbon and Sintra, May 2023
I would just like to commend the team for a truly memorable trip to Lisbon and Sintra. I have had an amazing time, the pacing, sites selected, and information provided were all brilliantly executed and well considered. I certainly would love to join another trip in the future or attend one of the upcoming Artemisia talks.
Bologna, March 2023
Thanks for such a great trip to Bologna, and for the various recipes, trip notes etc. received yesterday. I loved the pasta-making workshop, and had my hand hovering over the online purchase of a pasta rolling machine until sanity prevailed.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every one of the trips I’ve done with you; thank you for making these such memorable and rewarding experiences. Bologna surpassed my expectations and I really want to return, and soon.
Charlie, it was a fantastic trip – thank you and Ed for looking after us and informing us so well, the group was great fun and delightful to meet and spend time with and I loved Bologna and Modena. The snow was an interesting start and certainly testing for some! There were so many highlights, I won’t even begin to list them, but I definitely compliment you/AHA on the choice of hotel (great position and very friendly, helpful staff) and the endless choice of terrific restaurants. I hope you enjoyed the mini artichokes we bought and I am still enjoying the parmesan (although much was gifted away & delighted others). The cookery morning was such fun and I am so pleased we have that photograph of you and Nila unable to stop laughing which was utterly contagious – despite no-one else knowing what you were laughing about! What a happy time we had throughout the trip – and learned a lot too. Thank you so very much.
Florence: The New Generation Festival, August 2018
“Just a quick line to say how much I enjoyed my trip to Florence for the New Generation Festival with AHA in August. It is the first time I have been on a group holiday and as a solo traveler I wasn’t sure quite what to expect. I could not have wished for a more friendly and welcoming group and I had the most wonderful time. Exploring the rich treasures of Florence with such knowledgeable guides brought everything to life in an easy and accessible way. The breadth and depth of your knowledge was amazing, always delivered in a relaxed and fun way. Thank you for what was a most special and memorable trip – I can’t wait to see your 2019 schedule!!”
Florence, the New Generation Festival, August 2017
“Just a note to say congratulations from John and me on such a wonderful visit to Florence.
The four days were organised with precise planning and expertise providing such a good balance between the art history and the culinary delights that the city has to offer. We relived the glory of Florence’s rich, cultural, historical and artistic heritage. As guides you both imparted knowledge in such a relaxed, easy to listen to way which brought the city alive. You also shared some of your favourite restaurants which were all well chosen both for their location and cuisine.
The ‘Twist’ for us was the icing on the cake – on the 2 evenings at the Palazzo Corsini we soaked up a very special atmosphere. The combination of the Gala Dinner and L’Elisir D’Amore on a balmy evening in Tuscany was magical. This was followed the next night by a concert and amazing recital in the Ognissanti Church by Charlie Siem. Quite unforgettable!
It was lovely to travel again with a number of familiar faces but also to meet and get to know some others.You have set the bar very high but hopefully you will be encouraged to continue to plan other itineraries with your own individual flavour and style which makes AHA so special.”
“Wonderful wonderful wonderful …….. I loved every single moment. The places we saw, the people we spent time with and you both have the most infectious enthusiasm for your subject! The opera and concert were amazing! I can’t thank you enough for all the effort you put into making the trip so special in every way.”
Italian Gardens, 2016
“Thank you for organizing the MOST AMAZING GARDEN TOUR – we saw so many marvellous gardens old and new. The roses were spectacular. Everyone is so jealous of our trip and you were so clever to get us in to such very special Villas and Castles. The food was excellent and the wines were delicious and everyone was charming – what more can I say! It was a delight to meet Alys, she is so interesting and I have never spent time with a botanist before so I learnt so much.”
Rome, 2016
“The two words “thank you” are short and trite but in this case they are charged with more than usual significance and weight. And the gratitude extends, also, to all that back office labour which prepared the ground and ensured an uninterrupted stream of pleasure.”
“I can’t tell you what an amazing time I had, and I hope this is going to be my first of many such trips. I so want to go back to school and study History of Art…I was completely bowled over but it wasn’t just what we saw it was the wonderful stories and the way everything was made so accessible by both of you.”
“Three days on and we are both still buzzing after that unforgettable trip. Beautiful places, stunning art, lovely people, super food, what more could we ask? Thank you for opening our eyes to these splendours.”
