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First trip to Italy, I let a travel agency book my flight. Thought they would know better about connections , etc. Not true. They set up a connection from Atlanta to Pisa through Paris.(1 hour) If your flight was on time, you still would not have enough time to go through customs and find your next gate in a place that refused to speak ...  Read More

John M.

I travel every year to France, Italy and next to Hungary. We started in 2006 and have been to Jamaica, Alaska, France (2 trips – living with the locals), Italy (4 trips), Ireland. My trips include great stories as How not go take a gps that you think has Europe maps but does not until you get into the rental car to drive into Florence. How ...  Read More

John M.

I know Renaissance dominates Tuscan art and we look forward to seeing beautiful Tuscany, however scheduling our month long family vacation I felt we needed other experiences as well and delegated each family member a job of finding other interesting venues . Villa de Thomasis in Matraia was located in the hills high above the town of Lucca ...  Read More

Joyce F.

In September 2012, me and my partner Jon booked a beautiful rustic villa on the hilltop, overlooking gorgeous Buti, surrounded by nothing but woods, fig trees and olive groves. We toyed wit the idea of renting a car but decided against it (buses go everywhere on Sundays, surely!). When we arrived by a local bus and saw how steep the hill was (a ...  Read More

Marta G.

I've had many memorable moments in Italy, but my most magical memory is from the year 2000. I was with my husband and two sons - celebrating my older son's graduation from high school and his impending first year of college. A trip to Italy is always memorable, but on this trip each moment seemed more precious and poignant as we prepared for the ...  Read More

Yael Z.

You hope as you are growing older and have grandchildren to pass along some of your loves in life. Scuba, motorcycling..........travel, a sense of adventure. This is such a story..... I decided to take a trip to Italy ,one of my dreams. I announced to the family and encouraged anyone of my family to venture with me. My youngest grandson, 15 at ...  Read More

Patricia H.

We spent a glorious week in Tuscany in the Spring of 2008. We stayed just outside of Vicchio, a little town just North of Florence. It was Spring, sunny days and cool nights. Our villa was awesome! Built in the 15th Century. Hand carved wood beams supporting the ceilings, which had to be twelve feet high. So pretty! I think it had 7 ...  Read More

Tom K.

We parked in a small piazza, got out of the car and found our lives in Italy were forever changed by the medieval village of Civitella. High on a hill, it commands a sweeping view of the Valdichiana, which was the reason it was built around 1000 AD as a fortress town to protect Arezzo against attacks from Florence and Siena. The present ...  Read More

Pat Musick C.

We went to Italy for a photography class with Monte Zucker and had a wonderful time meeting about 20 new friends from 8 different countries of which we have had some great adventures with since. We stayed in Villa Gropina, near Loro Ciuffenna, a fabulous villa for your vacation. But, this story is about our FIRST TIME navigating the streets in ...  Read More

John M.

Bougainville in Papua New Guinea and Brisbane in Australia had been our homes throughout our 40 plus years together, and working in businesses that were seven day per week, we did not have time for lengthy breaks. Then in 2010, in our fifties, we were both confronted with the BIG 'C' and the knowledge that we had worked hard, brought up two fine ...  Read More

Sharon L.