Elena –
Your coordination of our trip far exceeded our expectations…all the connections were perfect, travel was very comfortable and all our guides were exceptional. It would be difficult to rank the guides because each venue was so different, but with that being said, I would like to mention (in the order we encountered them) Francesco – he contacted us to confirm our excursion and make sure we understood the arrangements…we really didn’t appreciate how skillfully he piloted the boat until we rode the water taxi in Venice; Caesar – who explained Pompeii in a way that no books could; Luca – who not only showed us Rome and the Vatican, but taught us how to navigate the city and find local restaurants; Maria – not only conducted the tour, but directed us to the best gelato in Italy (and also a much needed Laundromat); – who took us thru Florence and presented the statue of David in a light that we would not have understood on our own; Mosa – made our hidden Venice tour exceptional; and Monica – who include a “locals” perspective of Venice in addition to a very informative tour. ALL the guides were very passionate about their subjects and brought life and meaning to the tour.
The driver who stood out was Decensio for our Chianti Wine Country tour…he had a great sense of humor and added much to the drive thru the country. Everything was perfect and couldn’t have been done better.
We are all in agreement that the only thing we would change about the entire trip would be the Hotel Palazzo Guardi – it was neat and clean and the people were friendly and courteous, but the 3 flights of stairs were difficult to navigate after 10 days of walking up and down hills, stairs and bridges.
I WILL DEFINATELY RECOMMEND CULTURAL ITALY TO ANY FRIENDS I HAVE WHO ARE PLANNING A TRIP TO ITALIA!!!
Thanks again for a job well done.
Keith
