OCTOBER 2016
Laura,
Yes the trip was fantastic—we had an amazing time!
-Hotel Plaza Lucchesi -was lovely–our room was a bit tight–but a great view of the Arno–great breakfast and great roof top bar/pool w/fantastic views.
-Florence is beautiful–love all the small streets
-Our Accademia-Best of Florence tour got our feet wet–got around the city–great sights and there was only 4 of us!!
-The private dinner was sooo good-the chef/husband team were so sweet–one of our best /dinners–warm mushroom salad/risotto/quail/home made gelto + WINE
-No problems w/the trains—great way to get around –easy — convient–and fast.
-Siena is post card beautiful—fun to walk around and fairly easy to get around. Love getting lost in all the back roads and finding great restaurants.!
-The Hotel Athena was great–nice large room w/a nice welcome note and bottle of wine in the room!
-San Gimignano/chianti/castle tour was extremely interesting. The driver was great–very laid back–and informative–the vineyards were -soo yummie–what a difference in the Olive Oil and aged Balasmic—nothing to compare here!
-Hotel Nazionale–again lovely large room+ great location. Our tours were wonderful–started w/Best of Rome–nice small group and we hit all the hot spots.
-Catacomb tour was soo interesting—she did a great job and w/all the tour guides–very knowledgeable.
-Vatican City/Sistine Chapel/St.Peters is breathtaking—what can I say–my mouth was open the entire time in astonshiment
-Rome was unreal–could easily stay 1wk there—everytime you turn around, there are ruins–in one form or another–keeping you focused where you are.
-As I mentioned our room was great–very large–great location–staff wonderful and of course B’fast great– All of our tours were spot on—small size very informative.
Off to Capri
-WOW–is all I can say–our driver was waiting for us when we got off the train–very polite-got us to the port immediately and at his suggestion we were able to take an earlier ferry to the island!!
-Relais Maresca was sooo lovely and our room amazing–overlooking the bay–wonderful bright yellow tile–and b’fast on the top deck w/that view WOW
-We just walked all over–took the funicular and chair lift to the top–soo very beautiful and peaceful!!
-We did some retail therapy and had a fantastic dinner at Villa Brunella–the view breathtaking–thank god for the walk back!
Off to Sorrento
-Once again easy transition to the hydrofoil–taxi to Grand Hotel de LaVille–LOVELY–good size and fantastic balcony -yes w/full view of the bay!!!
-Our day tour of the Amalfi Coast w/Renato could of not been better. He is a wonderful man–very sweet and was always pointing out areas of interest–stopping for pictures etc-.Stopped and had a great lunch–at his recommendation–perfect.
-Our tour of Vesuvius and Pompeii was again amazing. We did Vesuvius in the am – due to the weather–and as we entered the area/park and changed over to the vehicles that take you up the Mt–I like we were entering Jussasic Park!!! I will admit,the hike up to the top worked off our past 3 meals—but once up there WOW
-Our guide was a lot of fun–very informative and played great Dean Martin songs on the bus. His lunch spot was not worth the $$–one of his “friends”–no problem–we never starved!!
-After lunch was Pompeii–again, he was very informative–even tho is was raining–didn’t stop anyone!!
-Our last day,we bummed around the area–more retail therapy—sandals from Positano and Sorrento—some beautiful ceramic dishes from Sea Gull at Capri and a few other treats
Overall our trip was more than we could ever imagine—could not have done any of this w/o your help. The hotels–transfers–train tks–recommendations and of course all the tours were everything we dreamed of –AND more.
We loved our free time–walking and getting lost in the cities—Hell we walked sooooooooooo much I lost 4.5 lbs!!!!!!–that won’t last long!!
The only thing I would change would be not to book 2 wine tours back to back–loved then but phewwwwwwwwwwwww a bit too much In one day–needed a nap!!!
Thank you sooo much for all of your planning,effort and making our dream come true!!!!
Pat Scott
