We all chose to celebrate the recent long weekend a little bit differently. Some spent time outdoors, taking hikes or attending barbecues. Others set up camp on the couch for an extended period, binge-watching Stranger Things and the countless other shows friends had been recommending for months. Both options for celebrating sound pretty enjoyable, but they don't hold a candle to how Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra spent their post-Fourth of July weekend.
A few days ago, both Nick and Priyanka shared enviable images and videos of themselves in Tuscany, where they stayed at a villa with breathtaking views of the countryside. After gazing upon the glorious posts from the couple, we thought perhaps we'd spend next year's fourth the same way. Why not, right? Well, the hefty price for a celebratory experience like this might be exactly why not.
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Jaclyn Sienna India, founder of the elite travel consultancy Sienna Charles, recently told Refinery29 that a Tuscan villa like the one featured in Nick and Priyanka's Instagram videos — one that offers views and a pool and is near Via Della Amore close to the town of Pienza — would cost about $10,000 a night. That's twice as expensive as the Provence palace that Nick's brother Joe Jonas recently rented out with his wife Sophie Turner for their wedding weekend.
As if renting out a home for that rate isn't enough to make us rethink our ability to copy the celebrity couple's experience, Sienna India also shared how much it would cost to partake in one of the activities the couple enjoyed while in Tuscany: a private cooking lesson.
Nick Jonas shared a video of Priyanka making pasta sauce and one of himself making pasta. In the videos, they appear to be learning to make these dishes inside their villa. "A pasta-making class outside of your villa will cost about $750 for a private class with five people," Sienna India explained to Refinery29 via email. "But an in-villa class would most likely be double, based on someone coming to you. It includes all ingredients, the chef, and wine. You eat for lunch whatever you make. The chef would concentrate on making pasta shapes from that region and sauces that go best with that pasta. In Tuscany, it may be a wild boar ragù with Pappardelle pasta. The meal would include salads, bottled water, and bread, as well."
Of course, for a trip like this, you wouldn't just pay for lodging and a cooking class and be set. As Sienna India points out, there would be other expenses as well, including airport transfers in a Mercedes Viano to hold all the luggage (typically around $700); driver and car on disposal for your whole trip since all villas are in remote locations; and housekeeping, villa manager, chef, and staff.
The luxury travel consultant explains that wealthy and famous clients that vacation in Tuscany also often go on guided tours to cities like Siena, attend private wine tastings at top Tuscan wineries, take hot air balloon rides, and rent a Ferrari for fun drives through the countryside. In other words, a trip like Nick and Priyanka's was an infinitely more expensive celebration than our backyard barbecues and couch surfing sessions.