SEPTEMBER 2018
Alessia
Thanks for getting back to us. We did enjoy our Italian adventure very much. The accommodations were all really wonderful, with the exception of Verona, which was good, but not great. Seemed like our room was a work in progress with the bathroom having a light cord draped in front of the mirror and bare wires hanging out. But the location was perfect and so it really wasn’t a problem, just not a great as the others. We loved the locations you found, classic old buildings with local owners and perfect locations. You understood what we were asking for and got just that. It was great that you provided the detailed directions for meeting up with guides, etc and we never had any trouble with that.
As I said before, the guides were first rate. Our guide in Ravenna (Anna?) was wonderful and made the mosaics and the history of the art we had seen come to life. She really made a big impact on our experience. And as you know, we totally loved the day with David, seeing things being made. All the guides were good and very helpful. I think in retrospect that our tastings got to be a little redundant. We tasted prosciutto and Parmesano-reggiano several times, as well as the Culatello. Always good, but somewhat repetitious. We probably could have had one fewer tasting or tasted something different on one of the outings. No fault of the guides, and we should have been more involved in reviewing what we would have been tasting.
Overall, let me say we had a wonderful time and we found your planning to be completely responsive to what we asked you to do. The accommodations were wonderful and right in the heart of things, which is what we asked for. We were prepared for everything with the good information you provided and had no “surprises” other than how delightful everything was. The guides were first rate and we appreciate that you must have chosen them very carefully. While we enjoyed them all, we tell our friends that two experiences will stay with us forever: the Parmesano-Reggiano being lifted out of the giant cooker and the 4th & 5th century mosaics in Ravenna with their incredible glassy splendor.
Thank you for hearing us and making our wishes come true.
Gail Strobel
