We have just come home from our Italian Elegance tour. Fantastic ! We weren't too sure about this 'planned tour' kind of vacation because we usually do our own thing. So glad we did though. Italy has a lot of odd rules/laws that would have got us in trouble and fined. There were 24 people in total on the brand new coach, including our guide, so there was plenty of room and getting on and off took mere minutes. We started in Rome then on to Florence, a couple of days in a Tuscan villa and then the Cinque Terre. Fantastic.
A couple days in the St.Margerita/Portofino area... just beautiful then onto the lake area. Very restful and some fabulous food. Sunday we drove up to Cortina for lots of fresh air and beautiful sites before finishing in Venice. With the tour, all the water taxis, a gondola ride and other water rides were planned so no need to line up and hope you get on the boat. The food and the shopping was amazing. The prices were not like I expected at all. Everything was less than here at home, imagine and you're in Venice for goodness sakes. San Marco was busy but once the cruise ship folk go back to the ship it's a lot quieter. In fact if you wander just a little lane away from the piazza it's quieter and the restaurants great, the kind where the Venetians frequent.
All in all, it was a great way to see what we wanted to see without the stress of driving and buying permits to enter certain towns. Our travelling companions were a lot of fun too. I don't want to write a novel here but if anyone has questions please feel free to ask me. A special thanks to TEMERY for answering many questions for me.
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