Honestly, it was not our intention to create this page of references. It wasn’t even planned to release them in any form but after so  many requests  from Happy Clients asking  for this space ( for  most of them we now should say friends),  we are of course, honored to have them.
Here  are some, more will follow shortly :

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Yours, Elena Parfenova.

Helena Parfenova, Ph.D. Professor University of Tennessee Health Science Center 894 Union Ave. Memphis, TN 38163 Tel: 901-448-8319
hparf_AT_physio1.utmem.edu

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puchkova_vita_AT_mail.ru

With this message I would like to introduce you to the World of Tuscany that I was able to see with the help of Larissa and Stefano during  my last trip to Italy, July 2009. In fact I saw it through their eyes- people who know and love their place like nobody else. With all my previous travel experience ( business  and personal) this is the first time I got lucky by meeting such professionals.

They’ve met all my quiet unusual criteria and went far beyond by walking us through non-touristy but not less unique places of Florence.  Add Larisa’s deep knowledge of the history , Stefano’s knowledge of the city, their personal attitude  and  you will have the picture of what makes these people stand out among all  other Russian speaking walking tour guides of Florence and Siena. With them it was a true adventure to get familiar with the culture, landmarks,  artisan art crafts, customs and traditions ; other words  the true  spirit of both cities (and the minor cities  in between). The places that Stefano was able to show as a native  took the breath away, all the restaurants they’ve recommended – were excellent, the pictures they’ve sent me  are amazing and will stay with me along with the memories of the best trip ever.

I believe you will find  Larissa and Stefano really easy to get along with, as I did, because they are completely dedicated and helpful  throughout your trip. With them I felt  completely at home. For example, the day I arrived in Florence and called Larissa for some  restaurant suggestion she  invited me for dinner as only long time friend would do. This restaurant is the best place possible!  I would  never discover  it on my own either through a  guide book or web –site. Spectacular location, the best  view  of  Tuscany  hills, the magic of the vineyards surrounding the place, the taste of  porcini mushrooms grilled up to perfection , the fantastic Guado al Tasso that accompanied  them –I found it all at this one magic place . Thank you  Larisa and Stefano for taking me there! I must mention the amazing, true Italian  hospitality of the restaurant owner. We speak different languages but I would never forget that night long conversation. The fact that we came back to Florence at 3am speaks for itself. You wouldn’t want to leave that place as I didn’t…   

I believe that a good vacation is half noteworthy information and 100% entertainment. Larissa and Stefano made it all happen!  I’m coming back. Soon!!!

My email is: polinaglikina_AT_yahoo.com
Polina Glikina ( and friends)
Client Relationships Manager
The frayman group, inc, ,brooklyn, NY 11235
t: +1 718 648 7700 x511 |  f: +1 718 648 7702
www.fraymangroup.com

We had a great time in Italy thanks to Larissa and Stefano. Without them we would not get the complete picture of Tuscany. We appreciate the professionalism of Larissa and warm and cheerful personality of Stefano. The trip to Chianti region left the unforgettable memories and was a wonderful addition to our perception of Italy. Our family liked the interesting way of Larissa's story telling and her deep knowledge of the history.

Stefano made us feel the taste of native Italians and brought a sense of humor to our time spent together. Larissa and Stefano made our journey more interesting and meaningful.

July 23-29, 2009

Dr.Ellada Bars, Vladimir and Sam Khachiyan

Newport Beach, CA, USA 
barsegyan35_AT_yahoo.com

Me and my family had experience to travel to Toscana (Florence, Siena, Montalchino, Montepulchiano, San-Geminiano, Pienza etc.) in April’2009 with support of Stefano and Larissa as guide. I can to say with big satisfaction what this tour was very interesting and comfortable for me and my wife. Larissa and Stefano were very friendly and created very interesting excursions to Siena, San-Geminiano and vine tour (Castello Banfi, Badjo Antinory, other) with real impression information about history and culture. As result, my reference is “more, than good”. if  You need, I can to provide more detailed information to Your or send the marvelous  made Stefano photos.
Loveiko A. G.
Director of Operations Novosibirsk & Lviv
Parallels
aloveiko-AT-parallels.com
www.parallels.com

We inform that Stefano and Larissa have organised for us personal tours across Tuscany including visit in best  wine makers. All our requests and wishes have been considered. We also have received fine photos. Expenses were reasonable, and recommendations of hotels and restaurants exceeded our expectations. I can safely recommend Stefano and Larissa to the friends and colleagues.
Pisarev Sergei and friends
spisarev-AT-globse.com
www.globse.com
Moscow

Florence is an unforgettable city and a heaven of cultural and artistic wealth. It has been the home of Michelangelo, Dante, Giotto, Cellini and others, all of whom have contributed to the priceless collections in such famous museums and galleries as the Uffizi and the stately Pitti Palace. This small and immensely attractive city is a beautiful treasury of art and its setting is no less beautiful. An ideal holiday centre Florence is surrounded by hills and we'll enjoy two of the best viewpoints of the city at the Piazzale Michelangelo and Fiesole.

Whilst exploring this compact city our walking programme takes us to the Duomo and other fascinating lesser churches, viewpoints, museums and other places of interest. On other days we can travel out of Florence to Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca, Pisa or even just into the hills which surround the city..

Nearly all of the main sights in Florence lie within the centro storico. However, there is so much classic art that even given the city’s small size, it’s impossible to see it all in a short visit. Go for quality, not quantity and don’t feel as if you have to see it all.

In addition, though the centro storico has more artistic treasures per square metre than any other city in the world, Florence also has many more low-key charms. Take time to read between the lines by visiting its dozens of lesser-known museums, and stopping by its hundreds of historic churches. You could spend days just taking your time exploring its back streets and quieter piazzas, and seeking out local trattorias and bars.

Duomo & Around

Central Florence is dominated by the splendid piazza del Duomo, and, at its core, the Duomo (055 230 2885), the city’scathedral, its exterior inlaid with intricately patterned pink, white and green marble. It soars above the surrounding buildings; in fact, it’s so huge that there’s no point nearby from which you can see the entire building, although you’ll get tantalising glimpses wandering through the neighbouring streets. Brunelleschi’s massive cupola, an extraordinary feat of 15th-century engineering, adorns the eastern end of the building. Climb up into the dome for a bird’s-eye view, inside and out, or head instead to Giotto’s adjacent belltower (055 230 2885). Built in 1334, it offers extraordinary views.

Directly west of the Duomo, the small, curved Baptistery dates back to 1059. Its elaborate bronze doors tell Biblical tales, as does the intricately painted dome inside. It’s very near the bijou Museo di Bigallo (piazza San Giovanni 6, 055 215 440, closed Tues), in a beautiful loggia with gorgeous frescoes of 14th-century Florence in exquisitely painted detail. On the north side of the Duomo, the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (via della Canonica 1, 055 230 2885) houses the many treasures once contained in and around the Duomo, including the tools used to build it, the original wood models of the cupola and sculptures deemed too precious and vulnerable to leave outside, such as the heart-rending Pietà  by Michelangelo.

Piazza Della Signoria

Of all its many squares, this is Florence’s showpiece piazza, with the 13th-century crenellated Palazzo Vecchio and copy of Michelangelo’s David, along with Donatello’s Marzocco and a few sexy nymphs and satyrs splashing in Ammanati’s over-the-top Neptune fountain.

Heading towards the river from the piazza Signoria, the piazzale degli Uffizi is home to the greatest museum of Renaissance art in the world, the Uffizi Gallery (055 238 8651 www.uffizi.firenze.it, closed Mon). Occupying the former offices of the Medici administration, many of Italy’s most celebrated paintings can be seen here – the Uffizi has a room filled with nothing but Botticellis, including the famous Birth of Venus and the glowing Allegory of Spring, along with stunning works by Michelangelo and Titian. In high season, it’s always a good idea to book a ticket in advance in order to avoid the museum’s notoriously long and slow-moving queues (to book tickets for all state museums in Florence, including the Uffizi, 055 294 883). Heading down towards the river from the Uffizi brings you to the whimsical Ponte Vecchio, which dates back to the 14th century. With its tiny jewellery shops that are perilously perched on a narrow river crossing, the Vecchio is one of the most photographed bridges in Europe.

Santa Maria Novella

This richly varied area around the train station offers the sublime and the sleazy, mixing lovely churches with the usual near-the-station grit. Its most civilised pleasures are near the fine Museo Marino Marini (piazza San Pancrazio, 055 219 432, closed Tue, Sat & Sun in summer, Tue & Sun in winter), with its excellent sculptures by Marino Marini (1901-80), and in the piazza Santa Maria Novella and the church of the same name (055 219 257), which holds Trinità  by Masaccio (1427) and Giotto’s recently restored Crocifisso.

San Marco

This student quarter buzzes with backpack-toting youths of international origin, but lures everybody else with one very significant nude. On the via Ricasoli corner of the piazza Annunziata, a never-ending queue lets you know you’ve found the Galleria dell’ Accademia (via Ricasoli 58-60, 055 238 8612, closed Mon), home to Michelangelo’s magnificent nude, David. Carved from a single massive lump of marble in 1504, he’s in fine form, sparkling from head to toe, as he’s just been cleaned.

Nearby, the unmissable Museo di San Marco (piazza San Marco 3, 055 238 8608) is one of Florence’s most serene museums and occupies the ex-convent of San Marco, where Fra Angelico once lived as a monk. He is arguably the most spiritual artist of the Renaissance era, and his ethereal paintings are the main attraction here.

Santa Croce

The huge area that surrounds Santa Croce is one of Florence’s richest neighbourhoods in which to explore. On the western edge, across from the bulky Palazzo Vecchio, piazza San Firenze houses the sculpture-laden Bargello (via Pronconsolo 4, 055 238 8606). The ancient building was once a prison, but now contains some superb Renaissance sculpture, including Donatello’s Druids, Michelangelo’s androgynous Bacchus and Giambologna’s fleet- of-foot Mercury. Nearby, on piazza Santa Croce, the mock-Gothic church of Santa Croce (055 244 619) dates back to the 13th century, and is filled with the tombs of the city’s illustrious dead. Dante’s tomb is just a memorial, as he was buried in Ravenna, but Michelangelo does actually lie in his elaborate tomb, as does Galileo in his.

Oltrarno & Beyond

This district south of the river is where Florence’s modern artisans live and work, surrounded by the work of their forefathers. For a completely over-the-top glut of sensational painting, head to the gorgeous Galleria Palatina (piazza Pitti 1, 055 238 8614, closed Mon) inside the Pitti Palace, where the Medicis’ hoard hangs floor to ceiling in a series of lavishly decorated rooms; look out for Lippi, Raphael, Titian, Rubens and Perugino. In hot weather, the leafy glades, ornate fountains and hidden paths of the magical Boboli gardens (055 229 8732), laid out on the hill behind Pitti, are particularly inviting.

Heading west, past the Ponte Vecchio, the bohemian areas of Santo Spirito and San Frediano are named after their churches. Piazza Santo Spirito is lively, but low-key and very local, with lots of good, inexpensive trattorias and a produce market every morning, as well as a fleamarket on Sundays. In the summer, a huge bar is set up in the middle of the square and crowds relax on the steps of the remarkable church of Santo Spirito (055 210 030), with its perfectly proportioned nave by Brunelleschi.

South of the piazza, the narrow via Romana is lined with unusual crafts and antiques shops. By night piazza del Carmine fills up with crowds during the warmer months. It is home to the baroque Santa Maria del Carmine church, with the matchless 15th-century frescoes housed by the Brancacci chapel (piazza del Carmine, Museum Cappella Brancacci, 055 238 2195, closed Tue).

• Tourist information: via Cavour 1 (055 290 832, www.firenzeturismo.it).