After our Rhone River Cruise on Uniworld last year, we decided that we should travel on one BIG trip a year – if possible -while we’re young(ish), healthy, and have the income stream to do it. So, Richard said that for his next trip, he really wanted to go to Italy. As I started looking into another river cruise, I realized that that places we wanted to go in Italy didn’t really work for river cruising. We also know that we don’t have a huge desire to go into the big cities, so we went with A Week in Tuscany and Umbria with Tauck. We chose to do an extra day add on before the trip at our first hotel just in case we ran into any issues with flights, and to have a day to acclimate.

I chose Tauck because we know that we both like the finer things in life, and Tauck makes sure that you get to stay at the nicest places, get the best foods and wines, and feel “special” through your entire experience. This was a Tauck small-group tour, so there were only 21 of us. We got to know each other well on the trip. The average age of the people on the tour was probably 70. They were active, vibrant people- many still working, and all looking to have a lot of fun. Richard and I prefer “touring” to traveling our first time in any region. We like someone else to take care of the nitty gritty of getting from place to place. From the time we got through baggage claim at the airport in Florence until the time we exited the transfer to walk into the departure airport in Rome, we never had to deal with our luggage or any concerns at the four hotels where we stayed as we made our way through the “green heart of Italy.” To say it was stunning is such an understatement. Every turn was more beautiful than the last.

The weather was supposed to be terrible the whole time we were there. Instead, we had mornings starting in the low 60s and afternoons sunny, bright and in the mid 80s. There was rain a few times, but never enough to dampen any spirits (pun intended). For the most part, this seemed to happen at very opportune times (during a dinner, during our cooking class – other times when we were inside.)

So, on with the trip. After booking with my very wonderful sister-in-law, Andrea Herbst with “Fairy Godmother Travel” about a year ago, I bought plane tickets from Austin-London-Florence and Rome-Heathrow-Austin through British Airways. I was THRILLED to see that there was a one-stop each direction from Austin! That rarely happens. We made the “mistake” of flying business class the first time overseas last year. I REALLY don’t think we will ever want to do it another way, if at all possible. It truly sets bookends for the beginning and end of the trip and makes travel so much easier. Years ago, I got a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card and realized the joy of points (and its myriad of other benefits- it more than pays for itself). Since then, I have started to dabble in credit card churning (I’m not all in, but the Chase family of cards is great for it). With that, we generally only have to pay for about 1/4 of the true price of business class flights, which is actually less than economy.

Oh, and in Austin, Chase Sapphire Reserve opened up a pretty nice little business lounge for its customers only. Downside is it’s MOSTLY outside, and it’s HOT in Austin from May until October, and, as of now, it doesn’t open until 10 AM. Still, it was a nice way to start this trip.

From there, we entered our “Club World” on British Airways. It was a VERY enjoyable experience with two minor glitches – one which was my fault, one that was BA’s issue. The BA issue didn’t occur until our trip home when Richard’s “lie flat” seat not only wouldn’t lie flat, but wouldn’t move… at all – which is less than comfortable for a 10-hour flight. Still, the flight on the way there was quite comfortable. All of the food and drinks were good, and everything worked well. You really do feel like you have your own “room” on board. The door even pulls closed to shut you in.

The other part was MY fault… I saw that our flight on the way to Florence was “one-stop” in London. What I DIDN’T see (until about a month before we left) was that that “one-stop” also said (in red letters) that we had to transfer AIRPORTS, on our own. So, although we landed at Heathrow, our next flight, 4.5 hours later, left from London City Airport – more than an hour away, no matter HOW you got there. We got LOTS of advice on how to get from one place to the other. Some included taking a black cab, MOST told us to take the tube or train. But we decided to go with what we HOPED would be the easiest route. We hired a driver to get us at the airport. I went with Transfeero and would again, but there are dozens of companies out there. We arrived at the gate about an hour late, so we were a little stressed, but figured we still had time. Our luggage came out quickly. We each pack a medium sized checked bag and an under-the-seat TravelPro carry-on that I’m OBSESSED with. It has GREAT organization and stacks easily. I also have a Travelon purse that I absolutely LOVE. It’s perfect for carrying the day-to-day things without getting too unwieldy to carry. Every day, Richard would say, “Do you have room for…” and I always did. I had two travel umbrellas, ponchos, glasses cases, medication – everything – in it.

As promised, we received our Transfeero driver’s name and number sometime before we landed. I was glad I had it because I was able to text him after we exited baggage claim. It was somewhat chaotic trying to find him. Once we got to the elevator, it was comedic (because it all turned out fine,)- he couldn’t find the car. We went up and down in the elevator, three times, stopping at each floor, before he found it. Once in the car, however, the ride was perfect. The vehicle was a brand new Mercedes, VERY nice, comfortable seating with a huge moon roof. I was surprised when I saw our driver set off for the center of London and a little worried that we wouldn’t make our flight in time. Still, I followed along on Google maps and it said we were okay. (I have T-Mobile and MOST countries are covered under my plan without having to do anything else.) We proceeded to go the 22 miles in the next hour and 45 minutes. (If we had taken public transportation, we would have saved 40 minutes.) In the end, I was glad that we took that route because we did actually get to see a little of London. I saw the eye, the Thames, Trafalgar Square, and even a glimpse of the Tower of London. Still, we made our flight with more than a half hour to spare until boarding. Besides, London City Airport is not the type you want to hang around in for any period of time. It’s old and tiny, but it worked for our quick jump from London to Florence (about two hours) to ANOTHER tiny airport. It had just rained, but it stopped when we got off the plane in Florence.

I mentioned that we’re not “big city” people. Although we landed in Florence, and DID have the time to go during the next two days, we never actually did. (The hotel even has a free shuttle to the city center which is only 5 minutes away). Sure, I considered going to see the statue of David, and everyone says it’s an amazing city. but I have no regrets about how we spent our time in Italy. Our trip with Tauck started at the Florence airport. We were taken from Florence to Villa La Massa, about 30 minutes away. The hotel is simply STUNNING. If you want to stay for a relaxing time in Tuscany, I can’t imagine anything more picturesque! What a way to end our long travel day! We had a gorgeous corner suite. The smell of jasmine permeated the air. We had drinks (and they always serve snacks with drinks) and dinner (while it POURED on the river and we sat on the patio, and yes we DID eat a pigeon leg, and it was delicious) at the hotel before settling in LITERALLY the most comfortable bed of my whole life.

I had arranged for a driver and a winery tour the next day to start our trip through Tuscany before truly beginning our tour the next evening, but WHAT. A. START!