ARRIVEDERCI, ITALIA
First, the food: it's all delicious. I worried that I would have a very unhappy scale when we arrived home. I mean, really? Pasta, Pizza, Pesto? Wine? Lost 3 pounds! We did a lot of walking and stair climbing, obviously. So feel free to enjoy yourself when you're in Italy.
We've taken other tours and really enjoyed them. I also love to do the planning of trips. We always have a great time. But there was a difference with this tour, and it was in the details.
First of all, Mary was top-rate, fluent in the language and communicated her obvious love of the country to her charges. She spent some of our bus time educating us in what we were about to see, or about some facet of Italian culture. And then, when it was warranted, she hired other guides who could more fully explain what we were seeing. I can't say enough about our learning experiences.
We had plenty of free time to explore cities and towns on our own, and were encouraged to try the language. Some of our favorite discoveries were the restaurants!
And finally, our tour mates made the trip go beyond great. I know it's a bit of luck on any tour, and we hit the jackpot. I suspect many Rick Steves tour participants go with the same idea of adventure and fun as we did. I know we have some life-long friends as a result of this trip. What's better than that?
Would we take another Rick Steves tour? We've already signed up for fall of 2014!
Ciao!
I used to keep a journal when I traveled but sometimes found it difficult to keep up. With all of hotels and the bus having wi-fi, I ended up sending emails home to the kids detailing our days. Because I copied myself on them, I have a lovely log of our activities.