This a guest post from Paul Costa, a successful expat in Tuscany. His beautiful story compelled me to creating a new category dedicated to all those that left their homeland to live the Tuscan dream. Cheers Paul!
Imagine yourself in Tuscany standing on the veranda of a villa on a beautiful sunny day, admiring the rolling hills, and sipping a glass of Chianti.
Paul Costa, owner of Tuscan Tour Guide, has been living this dream on the outskirts of Florence and Pisa since 2005. As a tour guide he helps travelers live the “Tuscan Dream”.
Paul was born and raised in New York, but as a child he spent several years in Tuscany when his parents began a business there. Years went by and Paul was your average New Yorker, but he always remembered the beauty of the Tuscan hills. When Paul graduated from SUNY Stony Brook in 1999 with a degree in Italian Renaissance Art History, he began teaching Italian in a local school district. But in his heart he heard Tuscany calling. He wanted to share his knowledge of art and culture standing in front of Michelangelo’s David rather then showing slides of David in a classroom. So he sold everything, moved from New York to a town outside of Pisa, and pursued his dream. Now he “teaches” tourists instead of middle school students.
As the “Tuscan Tour Guide”, Paul has brought countless wine lovers to the heart of the Tuscan wine country, and in the process he has become a connoisseur of Tuscan wines, including Chianti, Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Super Tuscan, and Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Demand for these tours was so great that Paul began an annual Tuscany Wine Tour, which takes place during the last week of September so that oenophiles can witness one of the most important parts of wine making: the harvest.
In addition to the wine tours, Paul provides historical and/or thematic full-day, half-day, and weekly tours of important Tuscan and Italian tourist destinations and locations important to Tuscany’s history. While planning each tour Paul discusses Etruscan-history, Roman and Renaissance art-history, archeology, culture, cuisine and wine, designing each trip to suit the expectations of each couple, family, or large group, and allowing them to discover the many hidden treasures found throughout Tuscany. Paul operates tours 12 months a year and he oversees all itineraries.
Passengers from Carnival, Royal Caribbean & Norwegian Cruise Lines have rated Paul and Tuscan Tour Guide on sites such as CruiseCritic.com and TripAdvisor. His outgoing and fun personality has brought him customers such as Gordon Getty, Billy Costa (Boston’s Radio KISS 108 & TV NECN host) as well as thousands of tourists from many English speaking countries of the world.
Follow Paul on Twitter @tuscantourguide or visit his site for great free information www.tuscantourguide.com
Good for Paul! Many people have a dream and are afraid (for whatever insane reason) to pursue it. The world is our oyster and just because we come from a certain area does not mean we are confined or restricted to it. He is obviously living his life purpose. Auguri!