MAY 2017
When Travel Becomes a Passion and an Odyssey
I traveled alone to six northern Italy cities, fulfilling a dream facilitated by both the incredible attention to detail, and the meticulous planning of Cultural Italy. My tour director at Cultural Italy was Marcella Lucenti. She had been recommended by a friend of mine, along with several other tour directors. However, it quickly became clear Marcella was committed to making the tour my personal tour. Indeed, I presented her with several unique touring requests, such as visiting an artist’s studio, or visiting a little known, rarely reported museum. Marcella devoted her time to assuring that those needs were met, working extra hours to meet my goals.
Marcella not only set up the logistics, she checked throughout the tour to be sure I was comfortable, that the tour flowed seamlessly, giving me an added sense of security. I traveled alone, but I had Marcella following along, calling in and making adjustments if necessary. The degree of personal attention that Marcella gave is what sets Cultural Italy apart from the typical group tour.
Marcella’s administrative and intuitive support allowed me more time to investigate the cities, learning ⎯and of course, tasting Italy. In several instances, Marcella obtained tour reservations for me at the more popular museums, allowing me to gain fast entry, avoiding long lines and to receive remarkable historical background on those museums. At any point during those tours I could leave the tour to spend more time studying my interests at the museum, church or historical site, or simply travel elsewhere.
Cultural Italy listened carefully to what I wanted, and provided the logistics, hotels, and train reservations, advance taxi services. As a result, I had two wonderful weeks learning more about the remarkable history of the city and surrounding area, as well as having access to the important cultural sites prearranged. Yet I remained in control of much of my time. Thank you, Cultural Italy and Marcella for your flexibility and knowledge!
⎯Marcia
