Since none of us had ever been abroad, our biggest concern with going it alone was whether or not we'd be able to successfully navigate in a country where we didn't speak the language. On the other hand, we had never been on a tour either. We worried that it might be too restrictive with our time.
Lucky for us, John is VERY good at research. He told us about the Rick Steves television program and that he had compared Rick's tour packages with others. We loved the idea of a small tour group, traveling as locals, and having an ample amount of free time to explore on our own. The idea of traveling 10 days with a carry-on bag and a backpack, however, was a little scary but we perservered. It would be an adventure!
Looking back, deciding that Rick Steves Tours was the best way to go was definitely the right choice for us. In fact, it was so great that we were tossing out ideas for our next trip while we were still in Rome! As we continue to consider that big question, though, we thought we'd put together this scrapbook to share our experiences on THIS tour. I gotta warn you - there was a lot to see and do in Venice, Florence and Rome .. and as a result there is a lot to see on this website so let's get started!
Andiamo!
Choosing Rick Steves
Since none of us had ever been abroad, our biggest concern with going it alone was whether or not we'd be able to successfully navigate in a country where we didn't speak the language. On the other hand, we had never been on a tour either. We worried that it might be too restrictive with our time.
Lucky for us, John is VERY good at research. He told us about the Rick Steves television program and that he had compared Rick's tour packages with others. We loved the idea of a small tour group, traveling as locals, and having an ample amount of free time to explore on our own. The idea of traveling 10 days with a carry-on bag and a backpack was a little scary, but we persevered. It would be an adventure!
Looking back, deciding on the Rick Steves Tours was definitely the right choice for us. In fact, it was so great that we were tossing out ideas for our next trip while we were still in Rome!
As we continue to consider that big question, though, we thought we'd share our experiences on THIS tour.
You should know, upfront, that between the four of us, we took about 2000 pictures on this vacation. Don't worry, we didn't put all of them in this scrapbook; however most of what you are about to see were taken by Darrell. I'm going to go on record here and say that my brother-in-law takes excellent photos.
Mary and I had a lot of fun putting this together (she did the website design!). Each time we worked on it, it was like reliving the vacation. So, I hope that, as you go through these pages, you will be inspired to sign up for a Rick Steves tour ... you won't regret the decision.
Now, let's get started.
Andiamo!
The excitement builds as the trip draws closer.....
Successful shopping trip for Italy
Lisa and I live about 150 miles apart, so we don't see each other that often. In prep for Italy, we took time off to go shopping together. I ended the day with a van full of purchases. We won't divulge the number of shoes bought and then returned for this trip, let's just say it is in double digits.....
Mary
Once we made the decision to take the trip, we became obsessed. Even though we had almost a year to prepare, it seemed like it wouldn’t be enough time to get everything done.
It was time to go shopping and shoes were a HUGE focus!
After reading on Rick’s website that the walking tours could be strenuous, and checking other scrapbooks to find that they were recommending really comfortable shoes … we were on a mission.
We scoured every picture, looking for a hint as to what kinds of shoes and clothes were being worn. This vacation provided us with a GREAT excuse to go shopping multiple times. I swear, I ordered, bought and returned more shoes in the months leading up to the tour than I have in years.
Again, shoes were a big focus (it actually became a bit of a joke between us), but we did do other things to prepare. We checked the weather report for Venice, Florence and Rome at least once a week (the frequency increased the closer we got to our departure date). We read books that even suggested to have something to do with the cities we would be visiting.
Our favorites were:
"Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling" by Ross King
"The Venice Expirement" by Barry Frangipane and Ben Robbins
And, last but not least, our Rick Steves guidebook!
In the end, it was all about the shoes.....
Mary takes 2 new pairs and 1 old standby. You can never go wrong with your Chucks.
