Coco's Tours to Italy and Travel Agency

09/13/2026

Thanks for following along on Coco’s ‘Reflections of Italy’ tour.

If you’re one of our travelers on the tour now, give us a shout out about your favorite experience so far.

Now we spend the afternoon in Florence: We had a full day in Florence and I am always amazed by the magnificent statue of David by Michelangelo.

Evening in Florence: Had a supper, started with an app medley of bruschetta, local meat and cheese. Next truffle infused ravioli then a piece of very rich tiramisu.

What is a trip to Florence without stopping by a leather shop? Today we visited the Leather Factory.

It's nice to know their craftsmanship it still alive. The items are priced no higher than a retail store in the states with no tax if you have it shipped.

On our way to Venice while driving through the Chianti region we stoped at the most beautiful winery every. A castle built in the 12 century, it was owned by the Pazzi family. The same family who conspired to assassinate two Medici brothers.

We had a great and informative tour and a fantastic lunch.

I hope you’re enjoying my reflections of Italy.

I'll be back here next year with a group from Coco's Italian Market. If you want to go on any other tour with me to Italy, please send me an email at this link below and I will keep you posted: www.DestinationItalyByCocos.com.

09/11/2026

Join me and my friend Chef Paulette to make ravioli together and have a deliciuous lunch on Saturday September 26th or October 3rd (inckudes wine). Details are at this link:
https://italianrestaurantnashville.com/nashville-belle-meade-coco-s-west-events

09/10/2026

What’s it like to travel with Chuck?

If you want to go on tour to Italy with us next year make sure you send me your email, our trips sell out very fast ([email protected]).

I will keep you in the loop as to the exact date and price.

Tour info and our contact info is at www.DestinationItalyByCocos.com.

Here is a video I made to answer the most common questions people have about touring Italy with me.

Your most common travel questions are answered with this 20 minute ...

09/09/2026

Chuck’s ‘Reflections of Italy’ Tour

What’s it really like to experience Italy beyond the guidebooks?

Chuck is on the road right now, leading Coco’s Reflections of Italy tour, our “Best of Italy” journey through some of the country’s most memorable places: Rome, Tuscany, Venice, and Lake Como.

Over the coming days, Chuck will share his personal reflections from the road. His favorite moments and meals, beautiful discoveries, unexpected surprises, and the little things that make traveling in Italy so special.

Grab a glass of wine🍷 and follow along as we take you inside the journey, one reflection at a time.

Day 1 of Coco's Reflections of Italy trip, a best of tour that includes Rome - Tuscany - Venice and Lake Cuomo.

Soon we will board our flight, have dinner, watch a movie, hopefully fall asleep and wake up in Rome.

This will be a great trip so stay tuned for photos.

Day 1.5
Met our Airport liaison at baggage claim who guided us to our bus. A 45-minute ride to a very spacious hotel in the center of Rome.

I say very spacious because I've stayed in some very tiny hotels here being a big, ancient city a lot of the buildings are retrofitted to change with the times. That being said, this place is perfect for cleanliness, space and location.

We met our guide Mirza our guide for the next 10 days.

Since we are free for the afternoon I took most of our group on a tour to Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps.

Now we are at our Welcome to Rome dinner. More pics to come soon.

Night 1.5 Our welcome to Rome dinner started with a toast of Prosecco and a charcuterie plate of traditional cold cuts; mortadella, capicola, buffalo mozzarella, a very nice fresh house salad, a healthy portion of lasagna, veal saltimbocca and a dessert of half lemon ice half chocolate gelato, did I mention unlimited wine...

After that we headed back to the hotel for a digestive, (after dinner drink) where there is a roof top restaurant and bar with great views of the Eternal City.

Day 2 Morning in Rome.
I like to get an early start because if you beat the crowds in Rome it makes all the difference in the world. That's just what we did and we were there first ones to the Colosseum this morning. We had the special tickets to pass all the lines but being the first one's in before it was full of people was very cool.

Day 2 afternoon in Rome
After the Colosseum we went to Piazza Navona with our local tour guide, then off to the Vatican.

After our tour we are on our own for a couple hours to stroll through the streets and alleys that lead to and from the Piazza. Perfect weather this time of year.

Day 2 Evening Opera Dinner:
Who knew Opera could be so much fun, it was really a fantastic show of 3 acts and 4-course dinner served between the acts.

Even if you don't know or listen to opera you will die laughing with this truly professional seasoned Opera stars who do this on the side between Opera Season. Personally, I like opera in these four were really fantastic and of course had a great sense of humor. This is my first time at this dinner theatre and I will definitely bring my tours back here again.

If you want to go on tour to Italy with us next year make sure you send me your email and I'll keep you posted about our next trip.

Tour info and our contact info is at www.DestinationItalyByCocos.com.

09/07/2026

Coco's Italian has started doing his cooking classes again and I wanted to share that with you all. The classes include lunch, wine, dessert, coffee and the recipes.
Here is a link to all of the details:
https://italianrestaurantnashville.com/nashville-belle-meade-coco-s-west-events

👨‍🍳 Ravioli Making with Chef Paulette Licitra
Learn how to make fresh ravioli from scratch, including the dough, filling and shaping. Then sit down and enjoy the Italian lunch you've helped create with wine, salad, dessert, coffee and great company.

🍊 Sicilian Arancini Making & Lunch with Chef Jim Africano
Learn the secrets of making authentic Sicilian arancini,from shaping and filling to breading and creating that perfect crispy outside. Then enjoy lunch together, with wine, salad, cannoli and coffee.

These aren't demonstrations where you simply watch the chef.
You cook. You learn. You eat. You take some home. And you have a great afternoon doing it.
Message a friend.
Space is limited, so don't wait to reserve your spot.

09/02/2026

Something NEW for Nashville travelers!

We just launched the Nashville Travel, Food & Wine Club on Meetup!

If you love travel, great food, wine, and meeting interesting people, come join us.

Our first event is the Kickoff! Meet, Mingle & Swap Travel Stories.
📍Coco’s Italian Market — Terraza
🍷Wine + beer + light Italian bites
🧳Fun travel icebreakers + plenty of conversation
📅Sunday, September 20th @ 2:00 PM

Come solo or bring a friend. No sales pitch. No pressure.

Just good people, good food, and great travel stories.
👉 Join Meetup and RSVP — we’d love to meet you!

Join us for a **casual and fun time** at Coco's Italian Market & Restaurant in the Terraza and meet fellow Nashville travelers. Enjoy some light Italian appetizers, wine/b

09/01/2026

ONE TICKET LEFT
For Saturday's Limoncello Making Class

You get all of the knowledge and materials to make Limoncello at home forever.

It's sure to be fun and festive!

follow this link for info and sign up details:

https://italianrestaurantnashville.com/nashville-belle-meade-coco-s-west-events

08/30/2026

Let's do Italy together, I make Italy so easy for you with the perfect itinerary balanced w a-ha moments and free time. Enjoy local charm, warm people, delicious foods all at a reasonable pace.

If you want to experience Italy with "your Italian cousin" leading the way then contact me fpt info and let's get the conversation started.

Message me your email adress at 615 474-5989 or [email protected] and I'll send you a list of the tours for 2027 and 2028
www.DestinationItalyByCocos.com
I can't wait to introduce you to all of my friends in Italy.

Below is a link to a video that answers most of the questions people have about touring Italy with me and fellow Coco's customers and friends.
https://youtu.be/mF4nbTMtXjM

08/27/2026

This post is for the Planner
If you’re a planner and you normally think, “Group tours aren’t for me,” hear me out.
I completely understand. You want to know where you’re going, what you’re doing, where you’re staying, and how the whole trip is going to work.
That’s exactly why I love doing these trips.
I have wonderful itineraries, and after every trip, we make them better. We tweak things, add things, change things, and sometimes make big changes based on what we learned from the people who just traveled with us.

And then there’s me, I’m with you every step of the way, along with our Italian-born tour manager and outstanding local guides who know their cities, history, food and culture.

Before we ever leave Nashville, I’ll have you prepared. You’ll know what to expect, what to pack, how things work in Italy and what to do when we get there.
You won’t be figuring it out as you go.
You’ll be prepared, confident and ready to enjoy Italy.
And one of my favorite parts?
The prepaid porter service.
You won’t be dragging your luggage through Italian streets, up train station stairs or trying to figure out how to get it from one hotel to the next.
No rental car.
No fighting traffic.
No navigating unfamiliar roads.
No hauling your luggage everywhere.
Just arrive, relax and enjoy Italy.

To me, it’s one of the most relaxed ways to experience Italy.

If you’d like to see the Italy tours I have planned for 2027–2028, message me your email address and I’ll send you the list email me at [email protected]
or text me at 615-474-5989

Below is a video that answers many of the questions people have about traveling to Italy with me, along with some of the fellow Coco’s customers and friends who have joined me.

https://youtu.be/mF4nbTMtXjM