Mark and I are excited about our upcoming trip to Italy and hope to "meet" fellow travelers before the trip begins. Let's get connected and share our interests a bit!
By the way, we're from CT in the USA.
Best --
Dale

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mark and Dale,

Hello Mark and Dale. This is Jerry and Beth from Seattle WA. We are also going on the Splendors of Italy tour. This is our first trip to Europe and are really excited. Looking forward to getting to meeting you in May. Happy trails, Jerry

Hi Jerry and Beth,
This is our first tour and my first time to Italy. We visited Poland in 2008 and Romania in 2007 with Habitat for Humanity; Mark's done far more traveling than I, so I'm eager to catch up with him.
We live in CT so we'll represent both coasts! Mark's self-employed as a building contractor and I'm an English professor at a small community college.
We've heard the tours are pretty fast paced, which suits us -- we're both early risers and like to be on the move. My only concern (and it's a small one) is packing for two wks with only one suitcase. I usually travel light, but this could a challenge.
It's certainly going to be an adventure, and we look forward to hearing more about you both and, of course, meeting you in May.
Best,
Dale

Enjoy the tour. It's a lot of fun and you see some amazing sites. There's a good pace for the tour and you get to see quite a lot. You usually have an early wake up with breakfast from 6:30 to 7:15, with the coach usually leaving around 7:30 am. Take advantage of the optionals if you can. They're definitely worth it.

We felt the same way regarding packing for our tour. We were away for three weeks. My wife normally packs more than what we need, just in case. We stuck with the bare minimum, and only took the clothing we didn't mind wearing more than a couple of times.

One thing we did was take couple of empty duffel-type bags with us. We kept them in our suitcases, and only used them as checked baggage on our way back home.

Thanks for the tips, Paul.
I've already decided that I'll be living in the same dark slacks for most of the trip -- I certainly won't be a fashion plate!
I'm hoping to buy some pottery in Italy -- and I guess we'll ship it home as it'll be too tricky to cart with us. What did you folks do with your purchases?
I do appreciate hearing about the optionals -- we've been on several cruises and we always enjoy the side trips, but you never know! When do we sign up for the optional excursions?
How are the meals that are included in the tour? I've read mixed reviews. I'm not concerned about breakfast, but I do enjoy a nice dinner.
I've also heard that some of the hotels are rather far from the towns of interest. I'd love to hear your views about the lodging -- both the quality of the hotels and the location.
We're morning people, so getting up and out early suits us to a tee. We also like being on the go -- I can sleep when I'm home.
Again, I appreciate your suggestions, and welcome others.
Chow!
Dale

Hi Dale - My husand and I are going on this tour in August so will be looking forward to hearing how it all goes when you return.
Margaret

Hi Everyone! My sister, Jackie, and I are going on the Splendor of Italy on May 21. We are from Omaha NE. We visited Ireland in 2008 but never been to any other countries in Europe. We are so excited.

Mark and Dale - Most of the purchases we made was artwork. One shopkeeper gave us a tube to put the paintings in and keep them safe in our suitcase. For bigger items, the shops will arrange with you to have the items shipped to you home directly from the shop.

We did the Best of Italy and Greece tour, which may not have gone through every area and the hotels that you will be going to on your tour. But, hopefully this will help a little.

On our Italy tour, the tour director went over the optional excursions that would be offered during our welcome meeting and during the first couple of days on the tour. He then had us indicate on a form which ones we preferred. We decided to do all of them. Then we just took out some time during the tour to pay for them all at once.

The meals are generally very good during the tour. We found we enjoyed the lunches or dinners which were served as part of the optional excursions more than anything. The food tasted great. Any meals you have at the hotel, except for breakfast, are ok. The breakfasts are usually good.

For meals we had to do on our own, we stuck with takeaway restaurants or cafes. You can get a nice panini or a slice of pizza for a good price. If you decide to be served at a table, you will be charged a fee to sit down, anywhere from 2 to 10 euro.

For lodging, some of the hotels were in town while others were away from the main town or place of interest. Again, you may be in a different hotel on your tour. The hotel in Rome we stayed in was very contemporary. Unfortunately, it seemed more like an office building from the outside. In other areas, some rooms in some hotels seemed very old style, while some were very nice. Breakfast was great in most hotels, featuring eggs, ham, sausages, pastries, fruit, yogurt, cereal, milk, juice, cheeses and assorted sliced meats.

You'll be on the go almost every with 6:00 am wake up and breakfast around 6:45. The coach would normally leave around 7:30 am, a little earlier if you will be travelling to the next town or region.

Hope that helps.

Thanks, Paul. We appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Hello to all! Hi Sonja and Jackie. How is your winter in Omaha? Paul, thanks for all the great information about yur experiences. You make it sound really good as we anxiously await summer and this trip. Going to the local cafes and pubs and meeting the people there is right at the top of our wish list. Good to hear from you all. Now we have both coasts and the heart of the country. I wonder who"s next. Jerry