We just got back, great tour, August is a good time to go, (my second August tour), if you don't mind the 98+very elevated humidity in Rome and Florence; is was brutal but we survived, traffic is so much lighter this time of the year that it's worth it to suffer the heat. Once we started driving into Austria the weather changed and we were more comfortable. The hotels were all very fine, except maybe Innsbruck Hotel, good location in the center of town, but the beds were extremely hard; food was very good, optionals were excellent. Only two or three hotels had internet, but very expensive. There were 39 of us, good mix, 9 Americans, 3 Canadians, 11 Australians, 7 from New Zealand, 3 S. Africa,5 Brunei and 1 Zimbabwe. Good tour to start early in Rome and spend a few more days in London. I did not hear any complaints, we all loved it (except that, contrary to my better judgment I let the TD talked me into going to the Nouvelle Eve because it was after the farewell dinner, big mistake, it was not just me, nobody really liked it) My two granddaughters took very good notes, but I did not, so if anybody have any questions I'll try to answer the best I can. It was good to be away and not hear about politics for 20 days!

Welcome back. That's too hot for me, but you Californians are used to it, aren't ya?

quote:

It was good to be away and not hear about politics for 20 days!

Just think - you could live in Iowa - we've had politics non-stop for the last 2 1/2 years!

JIll

quote:

Originally posted by Ticket2Ride:
Welcome back. That's too hot for me, but you Californians are used to it, aren't ya?
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Not me...but lots of water, very cold showers and "siestas" helped...
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quote:

It was good to be away and not hear about politics for 20 days!

Just think - you could live in Iowa - we've had politics non-stop for the last 2 1/2 years!

JIll

Sorry for you Iowans, pretty soon you will be starting another election cycle then?

Welcome back Californian ~ I hope your granddaughters enjoyed the tour & their time with you

A welcome back from me too.

Hi Californian and welcome home, I hope you enjoyed your trip.

Ditto

Welcome back California just in time for your political fireworks . Dying to know how you and your grandkids enjoyed your trip.

Brenda

Thank you everyone, we had a wonderful time together, the girls adapted very quickly to the early departures even if we had to set the alarm at least 1 hour before wake up call, (hair and make up are very important to teens), we saw a lot of Rome before the tour, loved the food and the language, enjoyed watching TV in Italian so much that even in other countries we had to find Italian channels, they both want to learn, (I gave them my books and I promised to send them Italian movies). We took all the optionals, but I felt they could be in their own and stayed behind when the went to the Sistine Chapel, the Schonbrunn and Versailles, they made friends with everybody, loved everything. We stayed 3 extra days in London, did the inside tour of Buckingham, went to Bath, Stonehenge and Winchester, had a b-day (Amanda, 14) celebration at the Hard Rock Cafe, and a little shopping there. I had planned in relaxing, sitting down at cafe's and restaurants and watching people and we did a lot of that in between, even paying about 60 USD for three coffees at S. Marks (extra charge for the music) and about 35 for three cokes in Paris, all so well worth it! They were very sad to say good bye to the new friends, I hope they keep in touch. Looking forward to fill the photo album now, I took about 900 pics, they took even more. I am still tired, but I'd do it tomorrow again, it was a perfect holiday.

Sounds wonderful, Californian, something they'll remember the rest of their lives.

Brenda

Welcome back. My husband and I did this tour in July and had a great time as well. Loved every minute of it and when we got back we immediately went to the TA and booked a tour for next summer. I wasn't sure if my husband would like bus tours, but he's discovered that he likes having someone else do the driving so he can watch the scenery.