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Thursday May 23, 2013 Time in Italy now: 06:26 am
Artviva Tours: ASTA Licensed Tour Operator
Call us: +39 055 2645033
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The Original & Best Tours

Tessa Kiros

Don't miss the chance to meet Tessa Kiros, hear about her recipes, travels, experiences and life in Tuscany. Buy her book and bring her recipes home with you! Exclusively through ArtViva Tours- click here to find out more and to book your spot now!

Where else can you enjoy a free glass of wine, and mingle with writers, painters, sculptors and even royalty? Don't miss your chance- sign up now!

Tessa Kiros started travelling at a very young age. Born in London,  her family moved to South Africa when she was 4. By the time she was 18 she had one goal in mind: to travel and see the world by the time she was 30.

Her desire to travel and experience new cultures was also driven by her passion for food, specifically mediterranean cuisine. She worked for Angela Dwyer at the famous Groucho Club in Soho for a few years, fine tuning her culinary skills in creating flavorful yet simple dishes. She gained further experience through her travels- working in Mexico, Sydney and in Athens under chef Herve Pronzato.

 She planned on travelling to Italy for further experience, and like so many other expats now living here, she decided she had to stay. Settling in Siena, in the heart of Tuscany, she married the son of her cooking teacher and now writes cook books.

Her first book, Twelve, is based on the recipes she collected for herself, and from her husband's family. What started as a food diary soon became a book of mouth-watering recipes that are simple yet delicious.

Twelve was a success, and soon afterwards she published her second cookbook. Based on her travels around the world and her love of diverse culinary dishes, Falling Cloudberries is a book of memories and recipes from her travel experiences as well as those collected from friends and family.

The most recent book, Apples for Jam, is perhaps the most sentimental. Kiros describes it as " food for families, young people, old people, for the child in all of us...dishes from childhood and food I cook now for my family...it is whispering advice to a sister, swapping recipes over fences, sharing crumbs on a train with a stranger."

Don't miss the chance to meet Tessa Kiros, hear about her recipes, travels, experiences and life in Tuscany. Buy her book and bring her recipes home with you! Exclusively through ArtViva Tours

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Customers Reviews

Artviva: The Original and Best Walking Tours
Average Rating:   5 out of 5 stars
   Based on 37 Ratings.
Last 10 reviews:

On 2013/03/23
Elaine Lam said:

I took the Florence tour of Florence Artisans. It was amazing. It was the best tour !!!! Our Guide, Helen was fantastic. She took us to places we'd NEVER have been able to find on our own. She was friendly and very informative. In fact, local people were greeting us with such a warm reception which I can only attribute to the fact that she is a well known and liked friend to the city.

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On 2013/02/24
Ingrid Rebelson said:

Great Tours

The tours I did were really great, funny, scintillating, upbeat. Thanks Artviva!

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On 2013/01/22
Helen Campbell said:

Excellent

Nice size for a tour group – not too big. Excellent coverage of the main issues in Renaissance history. Wonderful details – really enjoyed it. Thanks so much.

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On 2013/01/22
Ann Gregory said:

Wonderful experience

The tour was most inspiring and bought Florence to life. Wonderful experience!

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On 2013/01/22
Paul Edward Cook said:

Great tour

I just wanted to write and thank you and your staff for our wonderful and informative walking tour of Florence. The tour helped us fall even more in love with your wonderful city. Thanks again and we hope to return in the near future for some more tours. Paul

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On 2012/12/30
Joyce Won Ha said:

Helen, The Florence Walking Tour & David

Great Tour! Had Helen as our guide for the tour. Lots of great spots shown throughout florence, things/places only a insider would know. Family loved the info & perspective she gave; as well considerate of breaks, walking speed, time, etc. Would recommend Helen and the tour for any first timers. - the ha family

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On 2012/12/30
Joyce Won Ha said:

Elisabetta, Uffizi Private Tour

Elisabetta was great! She is so knowledgeable, honest and quite hilarious. She tailored the tour to exactly the amount we needed as any gallery can get overwhelming. We walked with a better understanding of art/influences. In addition, we had some spare time, so she showed a few spots nearby, recommendations on places to eat, etc. Would definitely consider Art Viva and Elisabetta again. - the ha family

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On 2012/10/03
Michelle Purchase said:

Original Florence Walk & Uffizi Tour

Joined the Original Florence Walk (29 Sept 2012) and the Uffizi Tour (30 Sept 2012) after seeing reviews on Trip Advisor. Didn't disappoint. Learnt so much from enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides (sorry, can't remember names but english lady and american guy). Worth every penny. Thank you guys.

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On 2012/10/01
Jackie Callahan Parente said:

Florence and The David

We took two tours with Brenda and she was terrific! We would definitely use Artviva again. Brenda was personable, very knowledgeable, and made the tours as fun as they were informative.Jackie and Bob in Glastonbury, Connecticut

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On 2012/07/23
Pavla Jurikova said:

Firenze

Yesterday we joined a 3 hours tour in Firenze with a guide named Klaas (I am sorry if I misspelled his name). He was fantastic, we really enjoyed and learned a lot new facts. Great, great, great! I highly recommend to everybody!Thank you : )Sergio and Pavla

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