My week in Sarzana.

Leading up to meeting Sira, I was nervous of speaking, & preparing for her classes and whether I could meet her standard of language ability.
From the moment she met us at the train station all of my apprehension melted away as she slowly got to know us through conversation and laughter over our 1st lunch together. The rest of the week she took us on a journey of discovery of our abilities / limitations and moulded our classes around our interests, and gently pushed us to embrace the culture and how that affects your ability to learn and immerse yourself in Italy.
Sira took us to some of the most incredible historic mountain villages in the area, talked to us of the history, its secrets and legends, and was in turn able to incorporate this information into our class time learning which gave our lessons a  more interesting context to extend upon.
It takes much intuitiveness and experience to bring the best out of people.
I could not recommend Sira more for language and cultural guidance, her experience to accommodate the teaching to your specific abilities, and most importantly her friendship and hospitality she shared.
From visiting La Spezia, Golf di poeti, Lerici, Tellaro,  overlooking Sarzana and Carrara including the actual Carrara marble quarries from the breathtaking Montemarcello are sights I will never forget.
And of course the incredible Sarzana itself, which we were fortunate to spend the week of late November when Christmas time sprinkled its magic over with beautiful lights and markets galore. Unforgettable.
Thank you Sira, for everything. I cannot wait to come back to see you and all the places I ran out of time to visit

Narelle, Melbourne (November 2025)