Why "Italy My Way"
We have been watching and enjoying Rick Steves videos and Monday Night Travel for many years. His knowledge of the history and culture is endless, and he is always updating the information for his guidebooks. There is so much information jam-packed into the guidebooks - history, maps, language, lodging, restaurants, landmarks, events, dos and don'ts and pictures.
"Italy My Way" allowed us to rest easy that we would be staying at nice, reputable hotels, and would get to our destinations without stress. We are "seniors" with bad knees and backs. We knew we would not be able to keep up with scheduled tours. We wanted to be able to do what interested us, but at our own pace. Italy My Way allowed us to do just that.
What we did not expect was a fun, cohesive group of travel lovers like us with whom to share the experiences! We did not know we would have opportunities to get together as a group outside of our travel time, and make some awesome friends!
We had the best tour guide, Michela Wicks. She is an architect from northern Italy, so she knows a lot of history about Italy. She shared her knowledge with us while on our bus trips from one town to another. She also gave us useful Italian phrases, as well as some things not to do or say. On the trips Michela offered us snacks that were common to the area.
Once we got to our destinations Michela gave a brief orientation of key landmarks, and what to know about the area where we were staying. She was always available for an hour in the mornings in case we had questions. She posted important things and times to know about each day, and gave suggestions about things to see or do in the area.
Michela is very personable, energetic, and fun to be around!
We also had the best bus driver, Ricardo. He was a family man, and seemed to be quite personable. We did not get to know him well because he was doing his own thing. But we quickly found out what we needed to know - that he was a safe driver. The way he took those hairpin curves around the Cinque Terre showed us he was the professional we needed for the job!