Tour of Italy 2010

Bus Tour of Italy: April 20-29, 2010

After enjoying five days in Holland with Cristián and Antonia, we headed to Italy. However, due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, the airport was closed and we were unable to fly to Rome. We rented a car, drove 17 hours through Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Italy (with 4 hours sleep on the way) to arrive in Rome ready to meet with the tour group.

Our friends, Sherry and Stewart, who we know from college days at Syracuse University, invited us to join them on this tour. None of us had been to Italy before, and we said "yes!"

There were 29 of us in the group. We traveled over 1,000 miles in ten days, following the Globus tour route shown at the left. Starting in Rome, we headed to Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Siena, the Verrazzano Castle (winery), Florence, Verona, Venice, Ravenna, Assisi, Orvieto and returned to Rome for the farewell dinner and evening view of the city's lights. Below you can see an overview of the trip, followed by more detailed photos and stories in the following links. Enjoy!

Our group posing at St. Peter's Square. For close-up faces and first names, see the "farewell" link at the end of the tour.

Our tour director, Cristina, provided an introductory summary of our tour and daily routines, including an explanation of the highlight sheet (sample above right) that would be posted each day at our hotel. She was like a mother hen, watching over all of us with great attention to detail and to our comfort throughout the tour. Globus and Cristina took good care of us.

Our travel coach was a very comfortable bus with large windows for easy viewing and comfortable seats for frequent naps.

Sherry and Stewart's travel agent, Linda Gow, president of The Travel Pro (603 692 5060 x 12) made all the pre-trip arrangements for us. Our travel packet included this excellent day-to-day guide book that Cristina referred to in order to keep us all coordinated and on time (especially for morning departures from each hotel). Margy was our family's official note taker.

With our bus driver, Nino, and Cristina, our tour director, we were in good hands for the whole trip.

Generally our movements were quite informal, but at times Cristina used a flag for us to follow in the most crowded areas.

Specialized, certified and highly trained expert guides provided us with the details at each location. Show below are two of our best guides, who shared their passion of history and the arts with us. We all wear earpieces so we can easily hear their explanations.

Francesco brought us through the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum and Roman Forum.

Andrea was our guide in Florence, explaining all about Michelangelo's sculpture of David.

Margy at the Colosseum.

Each of these wonders of the world are detailed further in our web pages. First, enjoy these highlights, and then browse lots more photos in the links which follow.

St. Peter's Square

The Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Cathedral

Michelangelo's sculpture, Pietà, in the Basilica (left), and his painting of The Creation on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Note, no photos are allowed in the Sistine Chapel, so this image below is courtesy of the Internet.

The Pantheon, Rome

The leaning tower, Pisa

Michelangelo's David, Florence

Between Florence and Venice, we stopped briefly in Verona, setting of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This is her balcony!

Glass blowing and gondola rowing in Venice

Churches and fountains everywhere!

Gilded arched ceilings in palaces and museums, and arched entrances to walled cities.

On the church steps in Orvieto.

"The Adventures of Pinocchio," written by Italian author Carlo Collodi, in 1883.

Thanks to Sherry's pre-trip preparations, and frequent guide-book references, she kept us from getting lost as well as helped us to find the best restaurants in towns along the way. Aside from the historical attractions, we certainly ate well throughout Italy!

Pizza in Pisa and everywhere!

Plenty of outdoor cafes for meals and desserts.

From wine tasting at the Verrazzano Castle to window shopping along the streets, there was always something good to eat or drink anywhere in Italy.

Sometimes our dining experience was accompanied by musicians and opera!

From healthy salads (with mozzarella cheese) to flaming ribs, every meal is delicious in Italy!

We enjoyed several types of lasagna. All were exceptional, with freshly made pasta and unique and tasty fillings.

Are you getting hungry yet? We enjoyed all the sauces, pastas, meats, poultry, fish and vegetables, aside from pizza!

And when we thought there would be no more room: dessert.

Italian gelato is great!

Stewart became addicted to his daily cappuccino, and the rest of us to desserts.

Surprisingly, the scale at home indicated we did not put on much weight. It must have been all the walking and sightseeing. To see what we saw, please click the link below for details.

Begin our tour in Rome

or

Go to our Homepage


Our group posing at St. Peter's Square. For close-up faces and first names, see the "farewell" link at the end of the tour.


Our tour director, Cristina, provided an introductory summary of our tour and daily routines, including an explanation of the highlight sheet (sample above right) that would be posted each day at our hotel. She was like a mother hen, watching over all of us with great attention to detail and to our comfort throughout the tour. Globus and Cristina took good care of us.


Our travel coach was a very comfortable bus with large windows for easy viewing and comfortable seats for frequent naps.


		Sherry and Stewart's travel agent, Linda Gow, president of The Travel Pro (603 692 5060 x 12) made all the pre-trip arrangements for us. Our travel packet included this excellent day-to-day guide book that Cristina referred to in order to keep us all coordinated and on time (especially for morning departures from each hotel). Margy was our family's official note taker.


		With our bus driver, Nino, and Cristina, our tour director, we were in good hands for the whole trip.


Francesco brought us through the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum and Roman Forum.		Andrea was our guide in Florence, explaining all about Michelangelo's sculpture of David.

		Michelangelo's sculpture, Pietà, in the Basilica (left), and his painting of The Creation on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Note, no photos are allowed in the Sistine Chapel, so this image below is courtesy of the Internet.


The Pantheon, Rome		The leaning tower, Pisa		Michelangelo's David, Florence


Gilded arched ceilings in palaces and museums, and arched entrances to walled cities.


		"The Adventures of Pinocchio," written by Italian author Carlo Collodi, in 1883.


		Thanks to Sherry's pre-trip preparations, and frequent guide-book references, she kept us from getting lost as well as helped us to find the best restaurants in towns along the way. Aside from the historical attractions, we certainly ate well throughout Italy!

		From wine tasting at the Verrazzano Castle to window shopping along the streets, there was always something good to eat or drink anywhere in Italy.


Sometimes our dining experience was accompanied by musicians and opera!


From healthy salads (with mozzarella cheese) to flaming ribs, every meal is delicious in Italy!

		We enjoyed several types of lasagna. All were exceptional, with freshly made pasta and unique and tasty fillings.


Are you getting hungry yet? We enjoyed all the sauces, pastas, meats, poultry, fish and vegetables, aside from pizza!

Stewart became addicted to his daily cappuccino, and the rest of us to desserts.


		Surprisingly, the scale at home indicated we did not put on much weight. It must have been all the walking and sightseeing. To see what we saw, please click the link below for details.