Romantic European Get-Aways
Paris, Rome, Venice, Salzburg, and Tuscany are some of the most romantic destinations in Europe! What’s not to LOVE about these cities… good food, fine wine, enticing rivers, evocative museums, enchanting gardens, all laced in a rich history and dripping with decadent ambiance. Today is Valentine’s Day, and this morning I woke up thinking about these riverside destinations and how I always manage to find something I love about being there. Of course, it is much more fun if you are there with someone you love! Charlotte and I have many cherished memories in each of these cities. In the next few days, I am going to write a post about each of these destinations, so stay tuned. But for now, why not consider taking advantage of one of these discounted tours and experience them first-hand for yourself!
JUNE 9-17, 2020 – SAVE $400 on this departure
The Best of London and Paris
The Best of London and Paris tour provides an opportunity to settle in and experience two of Europe’s major capital cities. London presents a relatively stress-free introduction with non-stops flights from North America, almost no language barrier and easy transportation. All this coupled with our comprehensive itinerary and an opportunity to experience some of the best theatre in the world makes London a perfect beginning to this tour. The EuroStar high-speed train will zip you from London to Paris in less than three hours. In Paris, we’ve included all the major tourist sights and must-see attractions, but there is also plenty of time to slow down and enjoy the experience.
London – 4 nights in a centrally located hotel.
Paris – 4 nights in a centrally located hotel.
June 9-21, 2020 – SAVE $500 on this departure!
The Best of London, Paris, & Rome
The Best of London, Paris and Rome tour provides an opportunity to settle in and experience three of Europe’s major capital cities. London presents a relatively stress-free introduction with non-stops flights from North America, almost no language barrier and easy transportation. All this coupled with our comprehensive itinerary and an opportunity to experience some of the best theatre in the world makes London a perfect beginning to this tour. The EuroStar high-speed train will zip you from London to Paris in less than three hours. In Paris, we’ve included all the major tourist sights and must-see attractions, but there is also plenty of time to slow down and enjoy the experience. A quick flight down to Rome provides another cultural layer to your tour experience along with historic and religious sights.
London – 4 nights in a centrally located hotel.
Paris – 4 nights in a centrally located hotel.
Rome – 4 nights in a centrally located hotel.
September 18-27, 2020 – SAVE $300 on this departure!
Tuscany Villa Vacation
Join a small group of 8-15 people in Italy for a fantastic holiday in Tuscany. We will set up for seven nights at the modern 21st-century agriturismo resort near Volterra, Italy. This wonderful agriturismo “villa” comes complete with all the “perks” such as modern rooms, WIFI, air conditioning, plasma TV, and a private pool. This all sits smack-dab in the middle of a hilltop vineyard with broad sweeping vistas of the Tuscan countryside.
Each day we will head out to explore the sites and experiences within driving distance. Day trips include visits to Volterra, Siena, San Gimignano, and Lucca. But one of the joys of staying in a villa is to experience la dolce vita, the sweet life of doing nothing! So, we will have chunks of unstructured time to sit by the pool, relax, walk in the countryside vineyards and enjoy your vacation. We’ve also included a night in Florence, before and after your villa vacation, to help you ease in and out of your travels.
If you’ve been to Italy and seen the sights but were frazzled with a breakneck pace… this is the next vacation experience for you! You’ll feast on fine food, taste some wonderful wine, experience charming villages and treasure packed museums. My personal friends will serve as local guides welcoming you with open arms to their hometown. If you are looking for a real vacation… consider joining me in Tuscany for this vacation experience.
Florence – 1 night
Podere Marcampo near Volterra – 7 nights
Florence – 1 night
October 4-15, 2020 – SAVE $400 on this departure!
The Best of Germany, Austria, & Switzerland
We kick off this tour in the grand imperial city of Vienna, famous for castles, kings, music and cuisine. Then, you’ll have two relaxing days in Salzburg’s famous city center. A visit to Neuschwanstein Castle and nearby Reutte rounds out the fifth day of the tour. We’ll head to Switzerland for my favorite alpine village experience in the beautiful Lauterbrunnen valley. Then we will take a turn to the north and follow the Rhine River valley through the Black Forest to the cute little town of Rothenburg. Finally, visit Hitler’s first concentration camp in Dachau before capping off your tour with two days in Munich, the capital city of Bavaria.
Vienna – 2 nights, Salzburg – 2 nights, Reutte – 1 night, Lauterbrunnen – 2 nights, Rothenburg – 2 nights, and Munich – 2 nights
September 6-20, 2020 – Save $400 on this departure!
Sept 27 – Oct 11, 2020 – Save $400 on this departure!
The Best of Italy
The Best of Italy Tour visits favorite destinations situated north of Rome. Beginning in Rome, you’ll visit the essential tourist sights and classic destinations. Then, travel to the delightful villages of the Cinque Terre where you’ll enjoy two days exploring this coastal region where the mountains literally fall into the sea. Volterra, my choice for the quintessential Tuscan hilltown, is sure to win you over to the “la dolce vita” lifestyle. Siena adds another layer to the complete Tuscan experience with its famous Il Campo and Duomo. Florence, the “cradle of the Renaissance,” will have you walking in the steps of Michelangelo, DaVinci, and the Medici’s. Venice, the romantic canal laced city, rounds out the big three tourist sites. Finally, we will cap off the tour relaxing on beautiful Lake Como in addition to taking a quick look at Milan’s bustling city center.
Rome – 2 nights, Cinque Terre – 2 nights, Volterra – 2 nights, Siena – 1 night, Florence – 2 nights, Venice – 2 nights, Lake Como – 2 nights, and Milan – 1 night
This is Marienplatz. Notice the Christmas Tree, a very important item in any Bavaria town square. Each year, a “perfect” tree is donated from an alpine village in Germany and displayed and decorated in Marienplatz. The village whose tree is selected has the honor of serving their own special recipe Glühwein on the city hall’s courtyard. 
The Christmas Tree with the new town hall in the background. The Neues Rathaus (New City Hall) is the ornate building towering over the square. Smack-dab in the center is the glockenspiel which puts on a “show” for all to see at 11:00, 12:00, and 17:00 every day.
Notice this souvenir mug. It promotes Munich’s Christ Child Market 2019 (München Christkindl Markt 2019). Munich and all of Bavaria were once part of the Holy Roman Empire and became the last northern bastion defending the Church against Martin Luther and his reformers in the 16th century. Therefore, Bavaria today is still heavily Catholic (almost 50%) when it comes to religion. 
The folks I encountered last night in the market were there to relax, slow down, shop, and enjoy visiting with friends. Stopping for a snack, Charlotte and I were standing at an outdoor table with people we did not know, yet we all had a good experience there together. There were a couple of young ladies at the next table with two Yorkie dogs tethered to the wrists. The dogs loved it! Perfect beggers and fierce to bark when challenged!
September 20, 2019- Today, I visited a previously undiscovered Roman-era amphitheater discovered just inside the ancient Etruscan city walls of Volterra. No one quite understands why there was no historical account of its existence, but apparently it is for real. Crumbing Roman-era stones dating back to the 1st century B.C. were pinpointed in a farmer’s field (perhaps from working the soil) near the Volterra cemetery property.
Over the last few years, archaeologists have brought in ground-penetrating radar devices to located and define the structure lying 20 to 32 feet under dirt and vegetation. There appears to be three levels of seating and enough room to accommodate 10,000 people. This is very much a smaller version to the famous Colosseum in Rome! The structure is laid out in an oval shape measuring 262’ by 196’ and so far, a few tunnels and passageways have been unearthed.
The land has been purchased by the government and just this month the first real excavations began. Today, I dropped by the site and observed a few men covering the newly excavated soil with white tarps, some digging around stones, and a few bringing in a new port-a-potty.