I arrived in Sarzana after a 4:30am start to be greeted by a smiling Sira who took me to the apartment to drop my bags off before showing me around the historic centre.
Arriving in Italy only a few days after my mother’s funeral, I wasn’t in the best headspace for learning.
On our first morning over coffee and croissant overlooking the sea at Golfo dei Poeti, we had a heart to heart conversation about this and Sira was very empathetic, reassuring and adaptable to my own expectations of the week.
Sira demonstrated her caring and compassionate attitude throughout the week including an off plan visit to beautiful Tellaro.
We visited picture postcard Montemarcello and Portovenere. Sira was amazingly knowledgable about the history of both, it was like having your own personal Italian guide. 

M
y confidence increased as the week went on and the things I was particularly struggling with, seemed at last to be sticking in my mind.
Sira’s method of teaching definitely helped with this and there are a few phrases about goats and doughnuts that will always stay with me!
The highlight of the week was no doubt the chef/restaurant experience. Learning language and cooking skills at the same time was incredible and then being served your own cooking in the restaurant’s garden by the chef’s family really topped it off. I would recommend this to any future students.

Overall, the week was challenging due to unavoidable circumstances but this was very well managed by Sira to ensure I got the most benefit out of the time spent with her.
Sarah B., UK (May 2026)