I’ve lost count of the amount of times we’ve gone to Mexico. I love that I live a life where I can say that. Every year for at least the last seven years, though, we travel in November. It’s not as hot, the rates aren’t as high, and it makes for a perfect extended Thanksgiving break just when I’m starting to truly feel the need for a break.

In the past years, I’ve stayed sometimes with just the Bear and me, sometimes with friends, and sometimes with groups. The place we’ve stayed MOST is Excellence Playa Mujeres (EPM) (6 times). I still love that place so much for a lot of reasons. (I’ve also stayed at Valentin Imperial, El Dorado Maroma, Hyatt Zilara, Live Aqua, Excellence Riviera Cancun, and Grand Park Royal Cancun. They all had their upsides.) But I now have one -that if I had to line them all up in a row and choose- is better than all by more than a nose, but not by a mile: Impression Moxche is the new favorite resort for both the Bear and me.

We left from Austin on Thursday morning, and the non-stop flight on Southwest was completely uneventful, which is the best kind. There are no longer any forms needed for entry. The e-gates were available, but since there were no lines through immigration, we went the old fashioned way. We were through immigration in under five minutes from time we exited the plane to the time we were in baggage claim. Yes, we still pack a bag. And, yes, we did have to wait in terminal 4 (just under 50 minutes). Then, we were in our Kalido transfer and on our way. We’ve used Kalido at least a dozen times now. They are ALWAYS perfect.

Let me qualify by saying Impression is significantly more expensive than EPM — unless you can get a good deal. Rachel Burk, my go-to for all things Caribbean, found me a deal just before they opened last year. I paid just under $600 for the room a night. They now start at $1100 most of the time. That said, I really wouldn’t want any more than the basic room. I would not enjoy a “swim out” at this resort. They’re not so much “swim out” as they are VERY large plunge pools. I would say they are more a private pool, but with no privacy. Every room on the floors above you can look down at your “private pool.” It is surrounded by mangroves as well, so you have no view from your pool. If you don’t have a swim-up room, you have an ENORMOUS bathtub (non-jetted) on your balcony. It EASILY fits two people. It holds heat AMAZINGLY well, and can be a great way to end your night. There is another one inside the room, too. We had a “tropical view” room, which meant that we looked at undeveloped land next door – unless I looked WAY to the right, and then I could see the main Impression pool and a strip of ocean. The rooms on the other side of the building look out at the main area of the resort, so there isn’t as much privacy on the balcony. The higher up rooms have more of an ocean view, which I’m sure is lovely, but we spend almost NO time in the room, so the basic Impression room was perfect for us. It is very large and VERY cool (okay, frigid, but we like that) and comfortable. It’s super quiet and private. I would say a drawback is storage. I love EPM for having drawers everywhere. This room had a closet with three drawers and some shelves in it, but we made do quite easily. There is a minibar with wine and beer, but no in-room spirits. You do get one bottle of hard alcohol, but that’s it. You get a half bottle of Moet at the start of your trip, and supposedly they restock wine the whole time. We asked for them to restock. (They took our white bottle away before we even opened it), but they never brought us new wine. There are bars EVERYWHERE on the resort, so it’s not a big deal. It’s just something we noticed.

Impression is actually a hotel within a hotel- somewhat similar to Excellence Club at Excellence Playa Mujeres. You literally have to book from a different website. It’s a separate part of the Moxche resort with full access to the Moxche resort- including access to preferred – but this resort also has its own Impression amenities If you stay Moxche, you can stay Moxche regular level or Moxche preferred. There really isn’t much benefit to staying Moxche preferred except that they do have a small rooftop pool and restaurant. Impression, though, is amazing. I would not be interested in returning to the resort unless I was staying Impression. It has a lovely lobby bar with snacks all the time and some seating. There are only three buildings at the resort. Buildings 2 and 3 are very large and belong to Moxche. Building one (closest to the beach on the left when you enter) is Impression.

Impression has three of its own pools – one on the rooftop with Cielo restaurant (open only for lunch), one ON the beach with SeaSide beach club restaurant (open for breakfast, lunch and dinner), and the “main pool” on the second level with an infinity pool. I tried to do a different pool each morning for sunrise, including doing one morning at the “quiet” pool at Moxche. This is DEFINITELY a pool resort. There are fourteen pools total, some of them being tiny cenotes and others like the GIANT lagoon pool at the entrance. This is a much later “rising” resort than I’m used to. If I was out there by 7:30, there was generally NO ONE at any of the pools until about nine. They don’t start serving alcohol until 10 o’clock here, so that could be part of the reason. Some of my considerations are that I want comfortable seating, in the shade, with accessible towels, and nearby restrooms. They had everything I was looking for except the shade options were a little harder here. It’s not so much that they don’t have umbrellas and cover – they do… it’s more the positioning of the pools to the sun. The views are GORGEOUS. The resort is phenomenal, but sometimes it made finding shade difficult. On the rooftop pool there was almost always a breeze, though. I wish I had gotten better pictures of the rooftop pool because it is QUITE dramatic. You can find more online, but this was a pool I ended at most days. The right hand side does seem to be in more shade, and there was always someone to help you find a spot.

I wish I had done a better job of getting pictures of the pools, but there were just so many, and they were at such interesting angles. It’s a very compact resort, all in a horseshoe, and when you walk the property, it feels as if you’re walking through the jungle; then, you come to a clearing, and lo and behold, there will be another pool – some shallow, some deep. Some where thirty people can sit, some with ten. All had a VERY different feel. It also had some of the best marked signage I’ve seen at any resort.

And I know that a question people always have at resorts is about the quality of the food. The food here was OUTSTANDING – everywhere, and we didn’t even eat at Teodoro. Teodoro is the Impression signature restaurant that is complimentary with a 5 night stay, but we only stayed 4 nights, and we didn’t want to pay $250 to eat there. (If you’re staying Moxche – not Impression – it’s $500). The menus at all of the other restaurants aren’t extensive, and they are definitely seafood heavy, but SO GOOD!

The first thing we did when we got to the resort was grab a snack of ceviche, guacamole, and another fish dish on the rooftop a Cielo. People said that’s THE place to start…

The food was definitely good at Cielo, but I don’t know that I’d start there. The problem is that the “restaurant” part of Cielo is set back far from the pool and the water, so you don’t get the “wow” views for lunch, but the food really is great. You can get a truncated version of their restaurant menu served right to you at your bali bed, too, which is downright decadent! The fresh potato chips with the smash burger are NUTS!

But if you were to ask me where to go for lunch on that first day, I’d say Sea Soul (Moxche). It’s right there near the main pool, so you see that action. And the views of the beach are so gorgeous -the breeze blows right through, and it gives you the tropical “I’m on vacation” feel.

There are SO many places to get something to eat at all hours of the day! Those who want more typical “bar food” can get quick bites and pizzas from the “Barefoot grill” that you can take away to your chair by the pool or on the beach, and there are lunch servers everywhere. They were working hard, but service everywhere is pretty slow, so be prepared to relax and enjoy.

There was one day when the Bear went to get a massage, so I decided to grab a “snack” from Bamboo (the vegan restaurant on the lagoon pool). It was SO peaceful. The signature cocktail and tea were both great, and what a place to sit and just listen to the sounds of the resort.

As for the massage, he said it was one of the best he’s ever gotten. Lots of people suggested going for a stroll down the beach for a discounted massage, and it is VERY easy to find the people to sign up for one. They stand on the beach all day waiting for you. Richard, however, wanted to experience the spa at the resort. He contacted our butler, Luis, and got almost a 50% discount. All of the Impression guests get a butler to contact to arrange things. Sometimes we had a hot bath run for us, and we utilized him to get a hospitality room to shower in before we checked out on the last day. All contact was done through What’sApp. We actually never even saw our butler until we were leaving. The Bear loved having butler service.

We didn’t spend any time on the beach, and I know at certain times of the year it can be full of Sargassum. That was NOT the case. There were A LOT of people in the water and on the beach, and it was clear and beautiful. It is a small, narrow beach and only really on the Moxche side. There is very little shade, and there are some sticks and rocks in the water, so it’s better with water shoes. Still, if the beach is your thing, this may be the time of year to go, and I LOVED listening to the waves from the Sea Side Beach club pool.

When the Bear and I vacation together, we have a routine. I get up at the crack of dawn, and he hangs around the room until he’s ready – then he comes to find me and usually brings me a coffee and a pastry. He gets breakfast snacks delivered to the “secret box” in the room. I love resorts that have this for delivering food and for picking up dirty dishes. Because of this, we usually don’t really have breakfast at a resort. This time, though, I wanted to do the brunch that they have on Saturdays at Seal Soul and one sit-down breakfast at Sea Side. The Sea Soul brunch was a fail for me… not because it wasn’t good, just because I forget how TERRIBLE I am at buffets. I get so overwhelmed and have no idea where to start. They had an omelet station, and a sushi station, and an Italian station, an oysters station, and more – and it was HUGE and amazing, and I just ended up with a plate of some meat and ravioli. We never even WENT to Market Cafe – a buffet open for all three meals. I heard it was excellent, however. After my brunch fail, the next day we went to Sea Side for an a la carte breakfast, and it was wonderful!

There were always PLENTY of daytime activities that we considered doing… but really, I just relaxed and read… LOTS of reading. There were book carts at almost every pool at this resort, which I loved. I had plenty on my Kindle before we even got there.

Every night’s a date night dinner are always a big consideration for us before we get to the resort. I like that this is a resort that doesn’t require reservations. I think you might be able to make one for something special, but we never bothered. The butlers would send a list of what was open each night and what events were going on. This is a Secrets resort, so there are ALL SORTS of add ons you can do if you want to, but we didn’t do any. The wine list is VERY over priced, even for resort prices, so we never bought a bottle. We USUALLY buy at least one bottle of wine we can’t get in the US during a trip in Mexico, but we weren’t interested if we were going to have to pay $400 for an $80 bottle of wine. If we had sat through the vacation club meeting, we would have gotten $200 in resort coupons, but we didn’t want to do that. I have heard that you can say that you want your coupons without the presentation, and they will give them to you, but I didn’t want to be confrontational.

Several people had warned against going to the “steak house” -Ember. The first thing listed on the menu are steaks that you have to pay extra for, and people have said the included steaks aren’t very good. I’m not a steak house person to begin with, and definitely not in Mexico. Still, the apps on the menu looked SO GOOD. (You can see all of the menus on the World of Hyatt Inclusive Collection app.) I’m glad we decided to go. We really liked Ember. We went early, and yes- it smelled smoky inside, but not BAD smoky- DELICIOUS smoky. Everything is cooked on different kinds of wood on a wood fire grill. We LOVED the oysters and loved dinner as a whole. The dress code at night is that men must wear long pants indoors, but most every restaurant has an outdoors, too, where shorts are acceptable.

One of the minor complaints we had was that at night, there really wasn’t a “place” to go and just hang out. The sports bar is impressive, but there’s just not a whole lot of seating, so unless you get there REALLY early, you’re mostly out of luck. It looked like fun, but it was just too small. It did have a golf simulator and some pool tables, but needed to have more seating around the bar.

All of the bars were like that. There were maybe ten seats at all the bars so no place to really hang out and socialize if that’s your thing. Bamboo had live music every night, but really only seating for about 25 in the area itself. Otherwise, you were relegated to sitting across the lagoon pool on a beach lounger in the dark. It was beautiful, but not particularly festive.

If you’re looking for a big nighttime gathering area, there just isn’t really one. There is an area by the shops that serves crepes and tacos, but you’re left standing around with really tasty food and not a whole lot of places to enjoy it.

There are various themed nights, on Friday we chose to eschew Asado night at Sea Soul, which is a large woodfire buffet set up on the beach, and we went to Bisou for dinner instead. Bisou is the “finest” dining of the Moxche side- the French restaurant. They also have Allora for Italian (I’m bummed we didn’t have time for that one – next time) Suki for Asian, and Dos Almas for Mexican. We’re sad that we weren’t there on a Tuesday for Roads through Mexico, which is supposed to be great

Bisou, however, was AMAZING. the escargots were so good that we had to order a second round of it to have with our beef Wellington.

Although we didn’t go to the Asado dinner, we did go down to the beach to take a peek at the fire show after.

We chose to save our “theme night” for the following night at Sea Side for “Lighting Fire.” The chefs cook live on the beach and you get a GIANT plate of all types of surf and turf and a set menu. It was definitely good, but it was a whole lot of food. My pictures didn’t turn out great because we were sitting right beside a purple uplight, but I have a few.

We had actually heard that we needed NOT to miss the Sea Side normal dinner menu, so we returned the following night. Richard said the crab wasn’t great, but my lobster was EXCELLENT. The view and the service were fantastic, too. I did need my mosquito repellant that night, but it was worth it for the atmosphere.

We generally get to the restaurants quite early (6:00) and the shows don’t start until late for us. They begin at 9:45 and the speakeasy (you get there through a secret wall in pharmacy) doesn’t open until 10:45. I made it to one of the shows (Quirky), and it was quite good. Neither of us made it to the dance club, but we did peek in during the day once before it opened. Again, we probably would have been able to make stay up later if there was more to do between dinner and 9:45. It’s just that we never found that good energy “hangout” spot at the resort. During our years at EPM, we have LOVED the martini bar or Prelude, but we couldn’t really find a place like that here. Still, I’m willing to go back to continue to look for “that” spot.

After four nights, we had to leave the next day. I definitely wanted another day. I still wanted to try more restaurants and maybe pick my behind off the pool beds and go try an activity or even just hang out at a swim up bar. Still, not doing everything gives us a reason to be back! Our flight didn’t leave until 7:40 PM, so we were able to enjoy a good portion of the last day. I should have had Kalido pick us up later; you just never know about traffic. They picked us up almost five hours before our flight, and that was FAR too much time at the airport. I really should have gone an hour and a half later. Although Impression CLAIMS that they don’t have check-in or check-out times, they do… Like most resorts, you’re allowed to have full access to the resort, but you do not have access to your room. Still, they got us a hospitality room before we left so we could shower before we had to leave for the airport. We really liked that touch.

The Priority Pass lounge at the airport was overcrowded, the bathroom was out of order, and they had very limited snacks. Still, I appreciate the perk with our Chase Sapphire Reserve. It’s the most amazing card and has saved us thousands and thousands of dollars!

So, for all the people who have said that the pictures don’t do Impression justice – they are absolutely correct. For those who say it’s worth the cost… Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but will we pay double what we USUALLY pay (even though we love a resort at half the cost)? Yes, at least one more time, we definitely will…

Impression left an impression for sure.

When I’m about halfway through a vacation, I usually start getting really tired and feeling like the trip is long; then, out of nowhere, it’s over, and I’m wanting another day or two. That was definitely true for this trip….

So, on the last day we set off from Perugia for our last hotel where we would be just one night before departing from Rome. But Tauck would never have you just riding from place to place. There are always stops along the way. This time, our first stop was Spoleto. If you were guessing fountains, medieval theaters, narrow cobblestone streets, and churches… you’d be right. This was also a town we had seen on Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy, so we were interested in seeing it in person. As always, we had an incredible local guide, and it was fun that when we walked into town, we saw a Sunday flea market occurring. The smell of spices was wafting through the air and I had to get a plaque to put on the wall of my wine room. In Spoleto we also climbed to the top of city and got to take a look at an aqueduct in the park as well. It’s VERY clear why Umbria is called the “green heart of Italy.”

We did run into a LITTLE timing issue in Spoleto. We knew this was going to be our only chance to get any kind of lunch, but we THOUGHT we had seen one of the restaurants Stanley Tucci went to and wanted to try that. Those streets turn into mazes, though, and everything looks alike… so we couldn’t find it. Then, we got indecisive. Eventually, we sat down at someplace that had sandwiches. It was 35 minutes before we were supposed to leave. We THOUGHT that would be enough time, but things were running a little slowly that morning! Ultimately, Richard and I snapped at a chicken sandwich in a matter of seconds before we made our way back to the bus with 1 minute to spare…

From there, it was on to Narni… (No, not Narnia – although, that’s apparently where C.S. Lewis got the name- even though he was never actually there. He saw it on the map, liked it… and there you have it.)
Here, we saw a sunken church that had only been discovered by spelunkers. We even had a chance to meet one of the six spelunkers who unearthed it. This wasn’t just a church, however, it also included a torture chamber and an isolation room.

This was, perhaps, my least favorite stop of the trip. Our guide was VERY knowledgeable, but not very engaging (to me.) He told LONG stories and pointed out EVERY thing about EVERY thing. I started to feel a little uncomfortable. It wasn’t really claustrophobic, so to speak, it was just dark in the rooms and his lecture was VERY DRY. Also, his English was somewhat lacking, so there wasn’t much cohesiveness between ideas – he quickly jumped from one sentence to another. Still, a least favorite part when exploring an Italian history is a pretty good part! I’m not disappointed that we took part in this excursion. With ANY excursion, you could bow out. There were always places you could wait for the others before you moved on to the next sight.

Then, just like that, we were at the Hotel Indigo at our last stop in Rome. We said “goodbye” to our driver here and gave him his gratuity. All tips are covered on Tauck tours (bellmen, wait staff, local guides, etc.) EXCEPT for the driver – the suggested amount for the driver is $7 per traveler per day – and for the tour director – the suggested tip for the director is $10 per traveler per day. We paid ours in euros in an envelope with a nice note at the end. This hotel was just a block or so off the heart of Rome. It was a small hotel room with GREAT air conditioning. Like all of the hotels, we had to play around to see which sockets would take adaptors and how the showers worked. They were all very different. Now, Tauck has A LOT of tours which include in-depth studies of Rome. When they take you to places like the Vatican, they actually go when it’s closed so you don’t have to mess with the crowds. (The same is true in Paris. You go to the Louvre when it’s closed.) But THIS tour wasn’t about going to the big cities. However, Richard and I have never been in Italy or Rome and don’t know when we will be again. We had two hours before dinner. We took a look at Google maps, saw that Trevi Fountain was a mile away, so we set off at a brisk pace to see our one Rome icon. (We knew we didn’t have time for others.) Imagine our surprise when we realized that we passed the Pantheon on our way there. Some of the streets we were walking down felt sketchy, but it was bright daylight, and the energy was palpable. Sooooooooooooo many people. Sooooooooo many restaurants, street vendors, hustlers. It was hard not to get caught up in the excitement! At Trevi fountain, we had our “Clark Griswold looking at the Grand Canyon in Vacation” moment. (If you know, you know), spent MAYBE 10 minutes marveling at its beauty, threw some coins in, and turned around and walked a mile back. That’s all the time we had for Rome!

Back at the hotel, we showered QUICKLY and made it down to the farewell cocktail party. The hotel had very nice hors d’oeuvres out on their lovely courtyard. It did start to sprinkle a bit while we were out there. Then, we went to our rooftop dinner where it POURED. They were able to enclose the whole restaurant, but it did obstruct the view somewhat. The picture below isn’t mine. I’m just sharing what it SHOULD have looked like if they hadn’t had to surround our whole table in plastic for the thunderstorm. Still, it was a very nice dinner. It was somewhat odd to say “goodbye” to people, most of whom we’d really gotten to know, realizing we’d probably never speak again. I may actually seek out our tour director, Sofia, for the chance of another tour with her.

Our flight the next day was the earliest of anyone. We departed from Rome at 8:05 AM, so that meant our transfer would be there at 5:15. We said our “Arrivedercis” and went back to the room. The next day started with a minor fiasco as we were on the fifth floor, there was a spiral staircase going down, the bellmen had not picked up our bags, and the elevator didn’t work. BUT when we made it down one floor we found a staff elevator and used that.

The ride to the airport was VERY non-eventful. Rome was quiet and empty – as was the airport. We hung out in the lounge for about an hour and then got on our quick jaunt to Heathrow. We didn’t have a whole lot of time in Heathrow (an hour and a half between flights). But we didn’t have to pick up luggage, and our next flight left from the same terminal (just a slightly different section that we needed to get to by train). We had enough time to hang out in the business class lounge for about ten minutes. It is ENORMOUS in Heathrow. TONS of rooms, self serve liquor and bartenders, food everywhere. I can’t even imagine what the first class lounge is like (one floor above.)

Then, back to our final leg – the last 10 hours. Richard was quite bummed that his lie flat seat didn’t work at all. This is a BIG deal, and I have contacted British Air. There were two empty seats near us, neither of them worked either. When you pay the premium for a lie-flat seat, you expect to get one. Still, he was pretty happy that they offered afternoon tea about two hours before landing. (I had a sweet potato salad and a paneer for my main meal. The food was SO SO SO good.)

Throughout the entire flight, a lady was hacking and coughing behind us, literally 10 hours straight, poor thing!

When we got off the plane, it took an hour in Austin to get our luggage, but my wonderful parents were waiting for us with our ridiculous dog in the car. Mom even brought a cooler of drinks! It’s just like a Tauck transfer, right?

And now, as I’m finishing up my last blog, I’m loving reliving each moment of the trip.

Our next “big” trip is Scenic’s Delightful Douro in July of next year.

Oh, sidenote, we did come home with a little travel “gift”: Richard has a mild case of COVID, I’ve got strep… but we’re both fine, and we both agree that even if we knew in advance how we’d be feeling right now, we still wouldn’t hesitate to go on our adventure!

Richard says that his favorite part of the trip was the cooking class. For me, I think it was the time we spent in Perugia. I could see spending quite awhile there. I loved it. It was so beautiful and felt like being IN Italy…

We were to make two stops that day on our way to our third hotel. In the end our tour director added another super quick spot. There are so many churches in Italy that she actually took us to a church WITHIN a church. Porziuncola was the ORIGINAL church before the Basilica of Saint Mary went up AROUND the tiny Catholic church inside. It is impossible not to be impressed by the beauty of these structures.

From there, it was on to the center of Assisi to meet our local guide. This was probably the most “touristy” place we had been so far, but we got very lucky! On the day that we went the crowds were very small. Oh, and I know this is an odd comment, but the restrooms in the bus parking lot are VERY nice – many stalls, super clean! Assisi, like many of the cities in Italy, has a series of escalators to get to the hilltops. Not only does it make it easier on visitors, they say that it helps reinforce their structure because Italy is prone to earthquakes. We were not allowed to take pictures of the frescos inside the upper and lower church at the Basilica of Saint Francis, but they were EVERYWHERE. Our guide told us the stories of a few of them and how they were meant to teach the stories of St. Francis to those who couldn’t read. She said if she told us every story, it would take years, so she picked just a few. We were also able to see his tomb. I liked hearing the story of the rich man who realized that the church wasn’t doing anything to take care of the poor so he made it his mission.

I loved this beautiful little town with its amazing, sweeping views. But after just a few hours here, it was time to go to one of my most interesting dining experiences ever! We went to Lungarotti winery, one of the largest and most respected wineries in Umbria. Our bus driver pulled up onto a dirt road and we had a fabulous lunch with Lungarotti wines right there in the MIDDLE of the vineyards. It was such a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be sitting there in the heart of Italy surrounded by the lush and beautiful landscape (and we had a good lunch to boot!)

From there, it was just a five minute drive to the production facility for the winery. Our tour director, Sofia, passed out the lyrics to Dean Martin’s “Volare,” and we sang it in both English and Italian on the way to the facility. A little singing after lunch is always a good time!

Richard and I have been to A LOT of winery tours, and we likely know quite a bit more about wine than the average person. For many in our group who are not “into” wine as much as others this seemed like a real learning experience. They asked a lot of questions, and our sommelier/tour guide was very patient and thorough in her explanations. Richard and I tend to favor smaller, boutique wineries most of the time. This is one of the largest wineries I’ve ever been to. They have been around since 1964 and recently tied with the juggernaut Ornellaia as the “best wine in Italy.” They also began a sparkling wine program where they follow all the traditional methods including hand riddling every single bottle by turning each one just 1/4 turn per day.

After the tour we did another tasting… because why not have unlimited wine with lunch before having a wine tasting! (Have I mentioned that I love Tauck?)

Then, we made our way to our Perugia hotel, Brufani. This one was older than the others, but the room was ENORMOUS (a full living room, bedroom, big bathroom). The air conditioning had trouble keeping up. Views from all around the hotel were spectacular. Tauck does an amazing job of finding gorgeous, unique hotels at each of their destinations. We had known from our itinerary that our first night in Perugia was one of our “dinner on your own nights.” Richard says over and over that the only regret he had about our stay in France last year is that he didn’t plan a meal at a Michelin starred restaurant while we were in Lyon, the gastronomical capital of the world! So, this time, he wasn’t going to let that happen. We had two nights on this trip – the night before in Gubbio when we chose to go to the amazing pizza place, and tonight in Perugia. Richard found the lovely little one star L’Acciuga (meaning “anchovie”) and made a reservation about a month in advance.

It was a rainy night in Perugia. We got in a cab and made our way to the restaurant for a truly amazing meal. They had a lot of very interesting flavors and paired with some funky local wines. The service was beyond reproach, and the place itself had a hip but comfortable vibe. We were the only Americans in the restaurant, but the staff spoke English. (I didn’t expect them to, and I was prepared with my Google translate.) As we generally do, we just went with the tasting menu. It was just labeled “trust us,” so we didn’t know what we were getting until it came to us. My favorite was the smoked butter/celery risotto with horseradish. Richard’s was the pigeon, but all courses were good. I asked them if they would print up a copy of the menu for us, and they were happy to oblige.

We had the restaurant call us a cab back to the hotel. Remember when I mentioned how much the cities LOVE their festivals? Well, there was some weekend long Renaissance festival going on, and the road which would take us back to our hotel was blocked off! There was no other way in! Our very apologetic cab driver dropped us off at the bottom of an escalator and told us to keep taking escalators all the way to the top and it would get us back to our hotel.

It was somewhat unnerving to be in a foreign country and hear the explosions (from the festival) and the chanting and yelling as we wound our way through medieval stone passages to find another escalator. In the end, though, we popped right out across the street from our hotel and were ready to get to bed so we could spend our day in Perugia.

I like the way that Tauck paced this tour. When we woke up the next day, we saw the itinerary and there was a TON of free time. It really allowed for us to reorganize our luggage and have some downtime and recovery time, too. The first excursion that morning was just a walk from our hotel. We went back down into the catacombs where we had been the night before and learned more about their construction. We also learned quite a bit about the fact that although Perugia is a religious city, they are actually quite anti-church. When they were under the rule of the Catholic church, they were treated poorly. Much of their art makes reference to their disdain for the the popes. We saw this mostly in the city center. This particular area had some of the most phenomenal views! There was an overlook from our hotel that was just spectacular. Perugia is also known for it’s chocolate, Baci as well as its founder, Luisa Spagnoli. She is fascinating to me! There is a PBS show about her that I intend to watch. Her ideas were revolutionary in the early 1900s.

After our walk around the city, we had a choice of free time or to go to Brozzetti Weaver’s Studio. It was so interesting to see the way that fabrics have been created for centuries (well, that, and to hang around with the fabulous cat! I’m a sucker for animals!) Our generous tour director gave us each a woven bookmark as a souvenir.

After that, we had a choice to accompany the tour director to the workshop of Alvaro Breccolotti (also known as DUCA). He is a “hyperrealist” painter. Pretty fascinating stuff! Sofia, our tour director, had been trying to get an appointment for four years. This was the one excursion we bowed out of. We wanted to get some things done in the room, and a little downtime sounded WONDERFUL! So, we grabbed a sandwich on the square and then had some room time.

Our dinner that night was to be at La Taverna, less than a five minute walk from the hotel. I loved these nights of just strolling to a restaurant in Italy. We started in the hotel bar with some prosecco and an aperol spritz before going back to the square. We caught the end of some kind of very heated tug-of-war competition (part of the Renaissance festival). It started to rain, so we ducked into the restaurant for our last meal in Perugia. Richard had decided, at this point, that a gelato a day was the way to enjoy Italy, so we stopped to get one on the way back to the room. The next day would be our last day in Italy, and it would be a BUSY one.

Not gonna lie, it was HARD to say goodbye to the gorgeous Villa La Massa, but we were excited to see what was next on the trip. We needed to be up and at ’em in order to make sure all of our luggage was completely packed by 7:30 (the bellmen come and get it, and you don’t see it again until the next hotel), and we were on the road by 8:30. So, another breakfast (I was going VERY small with breakfast by this point. I had learned the drill).

We started to Gubbio – by way of Arezzo. We started to leave the tall, thin cypress trees and get more into the lush green hillsides. It was interesting to hear about how young Italy is as a country (it’s only been a unified country since the the mid 1800s). We heard a lot about how many from Italy don’t identify as “Italian.” They identify as “Tuscan” or “Umbrian.” I thought about regionalism in the US and how many people identify as “Texan” or “New Yorker” or “Californian.” (I don’t identify as anything… I’m not that hip. lol.)

Arezzo is one of the smaller, less touristy towns we encountered on our trip. It’s also where the actor/director Roberto Benigni lives and where his GORGEOUS movie Life is Beautiful was filmed. You remember him, right? He’s the very excited guy who climbed over all the seats at the Oscars when he won? I was trying to watch the movie in the middle of the night last night but couldn’t find it streaming. I used to show it to my students after we read Elie Wiesel’s Night. It is so sad, funny, heartbreaking, poignant. I love it.

So, on each day we looked at “the churches.” I’m going to say here that all of the churches, cathedrals, and basilicas started to mesh together in my mind. They’re all amazing. They’re all full of history. They’re all centuries old, and they’re all VERY VERY expensive. I have mixed feelings on the amount of money spent preserving and restoring so many of them, but I will also say that my appreciation for visual art is not the same as many others. I understand that the art tells a story, and I do think it’s “pretty.” So, like most churches it had some people buried in it, some amazing floors, and ceilings, and a lot of gold.

Next off, it was the restoration center where a group of just a few meticulously clean every single square centimeter of these paintings. For the big ones, it takes $300,000 and two months. We got to see one in progress because Tauck pays for some of them to be done. Tauck really is an AMAZING company. They’ve been around since the early 1900s with the goal of “immersing” people in experiences, and keeping everyone happy. They did it well. If I do another land tour, I will SURELY use them again. (I did LOVE my Uniworld river cruise last year, and would like to go back to them again, too. Right now, the plan is SCENIC on the Douro. I like trying ALL of them out. )

We got to see work in progress in the restoration center, followed by a finished work in a church. On the way to the center we passed by a square being set up for a fencing tournament that weekend. As every city has their fountains (if they are rich) and their churches (no matter what), they ALL had their festivals.

After this, we had free time to get lunch and shop. The “shop” thing is always something of an issue for us. And, really, the “just find somewhere and eat” can be, too. I have an English/Italian translator on my phone, and I can point. I just get flustered in the moment. This day, however, we were very lucky. As we strolled around the corner, we found a LOVELY little restaurant, il Covo de Brigante, and our waitress had an AMERICAN accent. Now, I definitely don’t feel like people in Italy should cater to us. It was just so interesting! When I asked her about it, she said it was a form of rebellion against her mother who was fluent in English with British pronunciation. She wanted to be different, so she took three levels of American English, and her mom gets mad at her every time she says “water.” We had a PERFECT little snack (just Caprese salad and melon with prosciutto -by the way, if you think you could NEVER get tired of truffles, fresh mozzarella, and cured meat, you just may be wrong. Still, it was all delicious!)

And I love stopping at cafes because they USUALLY have “American restrooms” (I really do like my toilet seat). Our next two stops that day, I was not as lucky!

Then, the somewhat dreaded “free time.” An hour of free time is USUALLY perfect for us. (unless we need lunch AND wander time because it takes us too long to decide). We had more than two hours in Arezzo… and we’re not really shoppers. We didn’t really need to see another church. And MOST of the shops have all the same things. Arezzo, however, is known for antiques and jewelry. This was one of the most sweet and surprising moments on the trip for me. Richard and I do not buy one another gifts. ALL of our money goes to food, wine, and travel. We have cheap furniture, a lot that is hand-me-down or deeply discounted. We do not really decorate. We don’t care much about brand names and NOTHING about fashion. (Oh, and as for the not caring much about brand names… Brooks sneakers and SAS sandals -both expensive, and both worth EVERY PENNY if you need support for walking all day on those cobblestone streets. They were the best, but I digress…) When we were walking by a little jewelry shop, Artlinea, I saw the cutest little tiny ladybug necklace. I have an affinity for lizards, ladybugs, pelicans, and all things sparkly. I smiled, and kept walking. Richard called me over and said, “Did you see this?” I told him that I did, and I thought it was cute… but we don’t surprise each other with things. Then, I turned around, and he was gone. I saw him standing inside the jewelry store and having the ladybug removed from the window. Now, it’s mine, and my sweet reminder of the time Richard stopped on the street to buy me something to make me smile in Italy.

We still had half an hour left, and as much as I hate the phrase “killing time” (I want to have EXPERIENCES not “kill” them), we needed to do SOMETHING… so we found My Way bar, had some mediocre chardonnay and a “non” American bathroom before heading back to the bus.

From there, it was on to Lake Trasimeno for our first Gelato of the trip and a chance to stretch our legs (and use a non-American bathroom) before hotel #2. We figured out how to order in Italian, and I LOVED my mango/cantaloupe combination.

I had heard that hotel #1 was the nicest of all where we would stay, and that was true, but Hotel #2, Park Hotel ai Cappuccini was definitely the most modern. It was an old monastery that had been redone, so sometimes finding our way from floor #1 to #2 could be difficult. But the bed was good, the air conditioning was not bad, and it was BEAUTIFUL. There was interesting artwork around every nook and cranny. Plus the next day was to be a later morning because we got to spend two nights in each hotel. My only complaint about this hotel was the food. It was below average. It wasn’t bad. It’s just the fish was fishy, the gnocchi was boring, the desserts were plain. The main red grape in Umbria is Sagrantino, but they served us Merlot (it was fine; we liked the white better). The restaurant, itself, however, was gorgeous. We were exhausted with our allergies or something getting to us. (We both felt a little puny, but wanted to push through.) Richard, luckily, slept like an absolute rock. (He had also been napping on the bus during the day.) I did get to stay there with my eyes closed, but sleep was hard for me that night. Still, I was ready to explore Gubbio the next day! How often will I get to be in Umbria?!

And before we knew it, it was GOOD MORNING, Gubbio. Richard was hanging in there better. The cough he was afraid was on its way didn’t come. I felt the same, and tired, but no worse, so we were ready! (Besides, the sore throat made it very hard to overeat or overdrink so the hangovers of my first three days were behind me! Yay!) This was one of the first places where we started to hear quite a bit about St. Francis. Every city told the story of how he came to stay. This city had the story of St. Francis and the wolf. He tamed a she-wolf that he made his pet. I will say, the local guides often pointed out that things were more likely allegories to teach lessons to people who couldn’t read than they were factual histories, but they were enjoyable all the same. As we were taking our five minute bus ride to the church, our tour director kept pointing out that we should be sure to notice the parking for pregnant women outside the church. As soon as I saw it, I knew why! lol. Guess that’s what you look like pregant in Italy?!

Next up, we were to make the way to the top of the hill in our little park kiddie train. I am not at all disappointed that we didn’t climb all of those steep streets! The view from up top was lovely, and the stories in the church were interesting. We tried to climb to a higher terrace at one point, but we found ourselves lost in the alleyways, and it was time to get back. (This was one of those times we had only an hour to explore.) Gubbio is known for its pottery, so here, we were able to get our Christmas ornament (generally the ONLY souvenir we buy for ourselves on a trip.) We also tried a VERY natural wine and had our Sagrantino. There is no winemaker at all. They just put the grapes in a barrel and see what happens. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t to our taste enough to buy a bottle; our tour director gave us a pottery wine stopper as a gift. This might be one time we’d actually use a stopper! Ha! Then, as we were walking back down, Richard (who IS becoming quite the explorer), decided that he wanted to find a place near the BOTTOM of the hill (smart man) to have pizza that night. We went into Ristorante alla Balestra and tried very unsuccessfully to make a reservation. The staff were nice. We were nice. They didn’t speak Spanish or English (or were as uncomfortable speaking in Spanish and English as I am trying to speak Italian). Eventually, they gave us their phone number, and we decided to have the hotel make a reservation for dinner that night.

From there, it was to the truffle farm for lunch. This was another agritourism place, San Vittorino, where they actually keep all of their truffles for themselves to serve to their guests. The truffle hunter is self taught. Lunch was really spectacular. All of the truffles were the black summer truffles, so they are not nearly as pungent as the winter truffles (which I LOVE), but they still added a fresh, clean bit of flavor, and there were PLENTY of them.

After lunch, it was truffle hunting time, and this one felt more authentic than the one we did on the Rhone River last year. On the Rhone, it seemed like they just put some truffles under about an inch of dirt for the dogs. This time, the dogs – and Richard- had to dig! I was too busy taking selfies to notice that he had gone to the bottom of the hill and the truffle farmer handed him a vanghetto to extract it. (The dog was having none of it! Richard got growled at! lol.)

It was a STEEP incline, and we could take walking sticks to do it. I could have done it without, but I’m not going to lie – I was glad to have it more for balance going down than coming up. I’m just a TAD top heavy (lol). Almost all in our group did the “hunt.” It felt like a pretty good 45 minute workout and that you had accomplished something when you were done!

From there, it was back to the hotel. We made reservations for our pizza place, but decided we would walk there instead of taking a cab. Why not walk a mile in shoes of an Umbrian? I absolutely needed a siesta. Richard was feeling perky from his truffle hunting victory, so he went down to the pool. I was asleep before he left the room and woke up about an hour and half later- confused, wondering why he was at my door with another person. We only had one key, and I had my ringer on high so I could hear him if he needed me, AND there was a doorbell. I heard none of that. To his credit, he wasn’t angry at all.

We left for dinner about 20 minutes before our reservation and got there early. I was so impressed with Richard’s confidence and ability as we walked all the unfamiliar streets and went DIRECTLY back to the restaurant. It wasn’t like one or two turns… we were all over the place. I’m still not sure that we communicated that we had a reservation, but we WERE able to be seated. We started with a very unusual and very tasty eggplant parm. The eggplant was VERY lightly battered, and there were THICK slices of fresh mozzarella between the layers. We ordered two different pizzas to go with our Sagrantino – a typical Margherita pizza, which was the freshest one I’ve ever had! We also had a gorgonzola, mushroom, sausage pizza that really showed off why we wanted to have at least one pizza in Italy.

After that, Richard decided that a gelato a day is the way to do Italy, so we stopped on our mile back. (That’s enough exercise to get rid of all the pizza, right? Actually, even with all the food, I only gained four pounds in the end. Well worth it as far as I was concerned.)

Back in the hotel, we both went to sleep almost immediately after getting our bags packed. Tauck would get them bright and early the next morning. After all, it was time for the next hotel! On to Perugia, and on to the Michelin starred meal that we booked for the trip!

Before arriving in Italy, I contacted the concierge (whose name also happens to be Tamara) at Villa la Massa to see about setting up a wine tasting. She suggested the Frescobaldi property, Castello di Nipozzano in Chianti Rufina (still pinching myself that this all really happened). She also arranged for us to have a private driver. The driver was on the pricey side (400 euros), but we also weren’t sure if we’d be able to easily find a taxi or Uber for any less that that, and it definitely added an elegant start to our trip.

After a really good night’s sleep (albeit still somewhat jet lagged) we got up and ordered a “little” prosciutto and a small plate of rolls from room service. And can I just tell you, the cappuccino? Oh, my! I don’t think I’ll ever be able to order it anyplace else anymore. The food EVERYWHERE was MORE than enough.

I wish there was a way to turn driving through the hills of Tuscany into a VR experience for everyone, but it will have to suffice to say that EVERYONE should go if they can. It was somewhat overcast as we made our way on the twists and turns, but extraordinarily gorgeous. There was something about the fog that made it extra romantic as we climbed the hill to the castle. We had a brief wait outside. We thought it was going to be private tasting. Instead, it included a group of 13 stunning women, in what I believe was an eastern European bridal party, and a couple from St. Louis, who we later learned were a pediatrician and a botany professor.

The wine tour was quite similar to those we’ve been on in the past. It was interesting to walk up the hill to the castle and see the wines from the 1800s. The views around each corner were more picturesque and amazing than the last. Because they were in Chianti, the primary grape is sangiovese, but they also made a very nice super Tuscan. Richard and I both found that we enjoyed the white wines in every region more on this trip than the reds, but we loved getting to try all of them! It started to sprinkle on us ever so slightly (one of only three times we actually got raindrops on us – but I had our trusty travel umbrellas in my purse) as we made our way back to the villa. There, we got a peek inside the house, and even got to see the thank you notes from US Presidents. (Frescobaldi appears to be something on which the Clintons and the Trumps agree.)

The “snack” we had to go with the wines MORE THAN sufficed for lunch. Then, it was time to make our way back to the hotel. We made a somewhat awkward exit because we knew time was running out for our driver and didn’t want to pay for another hour. Our hosts were so polite and allowed us such a chance to try things on our own we couldn’t even find them to say goodbye!

Back at the hotel, it was time to get ready to meet our group and our amazing, gorgeous director Sofia Keck. She’s been all over the world, is a business owner, an attorney, an author, a mother – She is fluent in four languages and is just an incredible person! I’d love to do another tour with her! Within our group we had 19 other people. Two single women touring alone, two married woman friends traveling together without their husbands, one family of married doctors with their 24-year old daughter, one gay architect and his concert pianist husband, and the rest husband/wife married couples (including Richard and me), all from the US except for one of the single women from Australia. All but the other single woman, one couple, and Richard and I had been on Tauck tours before. The majority had also been in Italy before. As Sofia said, this was not meant to be “beginner” tour because most people want to see the big tourist sights in Italy. Richard and I are more about seeing the OTHER parts, so this was good for us.

Because no one else took pictures when the whole group was together and socializing (not sightseeing), I read the room, and for the most part, didn’t take pictures. We enjoyed the night getting to know the group at our table. Other than the first meeting and the farewell dinner (which were open seating) there was always the option of eating “romantico” (just the two of us), choosing specific dinner partners, or “elastico” with a group that Sofia assigned to people. We just went with “elastico” the whole time and had dinner with whomever. It’s always interesting to hear other people’s stories. At the Tauck provided dinners, diners always get to choose 3 courses. People could have two appetizers and a main, they could have three desserts — just whatever three things from the menu that look good. House wine was always included, was always local, and was always unlimited with lunch and dinner.

That night ended with yet another drink at the bar. (We were a little toasty!).

The next day was our first tour and the one that Richard was the most excited about. It was time for a cooking class!

The hotel offered a VERY full breakfast, including eggs made to order, jars of fresh mozzarella, outstanding cantaloupe and other fresh fruits, always charcuterie, and TONS of pies and pastries.

Those winding Tuscan roads were a little sketchy after all the drinking! It was good to have something in our stomach.

Excursions generally started after 9 in the morning on non-travel days because they were local. This first day we were to go to Fonte de Medici which is associated with Antinori winery. Richard and I were familiar with Antinori because of their world-class wine, Tignanello. We were hoping for a deal buying it from the winery, but its price there was about the same as the US (around $150). Each day, we got on our large and very comfortable Barocchi coach with our driver Alessandro who was with us for the whole time. In theory, we were supposed to sit in assigned seats which changed daily, but a few of us rebels (Richard and I) spread out in the back where it was cold and we had our own space.

On a Tauck tour, you never have to pay any tips until the end, at which time you tip your driver (recommended $7 per traveler per day) and your tour director (recommended $10 per traveler per day). There is a restroom on the bus if necessary, but we never went anywhere for longer than about an hour and fifteen minutes before we would make a stop at an American-friendly restroom (by that, I mean a restroom with a toilet seat. lol)

I keep going on and on about the beauty of each and every place, but when we stepped of the bus at the cooking school/Agritourism center, I literally lost my breath. Around every corner was the most beautiful place on earth!

After we walked into the little cooking school, it started pouring down rain. It finished as we finished class and were ready to walk over to lunch. Again, the weather cooperated with us!

There were stands set up around the room where we were about to cook the three course meal we were going to eat that day.

(Okay, so let’s get real. Yes, we cooked the meal; no, we did not eat the actual food that WE cooked, but we ate the same things that we HAD cooked, except they’d been prepared by the chefs there.)

Our instructor, Matia Barciulli, was the former head chef of a Michelin starred restaurant. He was funny, engaging, and helpful. Together, we cooked (okay, Richard cooked, I played paparazzo and drank rose) warm pecorino flan with zucchini puree (which I could really eat every day of my life!), fresh tagliatelle pasta with pancetta, sage tomato sauce and, finally, a Florentine zuccotto (that’s sponge cake) with cream and chocolate. Richard IS going to replicate this whole menu! I can’t wait!

The class was great for everyone! Richard learned something about making pasta that he hadn’t known before, and Matia even pulled me aside to tell me he could tell how passionate and talented Richard is and that he clearly had a skill for cooking. I know we BOTH loved hearing that!

The wine flowed with lunch as we enjoyed the finished product. (Again, I didn’t really take pictures during lunch because it seemed like most cameras were put away when the whole group was eating at the table, but it was all VERY tasty! )

Then, back for one last night at our hotel. We did have about two hours when we could have taken the shuttle into Florence to walk around, but it looked like it was about to rain again. So we relaxed and napped and decided to get a head start on the evening in the hotel bar. AND we still had more food to eat and drinking to do!

That night, it was dinner at a little local restaurant in town, Trattoria Donnini. Again, we could order three courses, so Richard did it. It was 105 euros on the menu… but no one told us a limit… he had the 2 kilo Florentine steak! (Others did help!) We also managed to finish five bottles of wine between four people, even after having before dinner drinks. Moderation did not seem to be our “go to” so far this trip. (Our first two nights were the only nights that we over did it with the drinking… but boy did we!!!)

Back at our lovely hotel, we knew we had many adventures the day ahead, so we needed to get our bags all packed up before we were ready to be on the move again (the bellmen would come pick them up by 7:30) and we would be leaving Tuscany and on to Umbria the next day.

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!