“Daniela,
Thank you again for planning such a wonderful trip for us. I am still in a daze with all the good memories floating in my brain. Your choice of hotels was excellent; my favorite was Poseidon in Positano. The common rooms and terrace were so lovely and the staff was very welcoming. We enjoyed spending time with our drivers, especially Salvatore in Amalfi. He was excellent at pointing out places and features and giving us information as we drove. He brought us to a wonderful restaurant high in a small town, Pontone, near Ravello. In addition, I found him to be a caring and kind man. He even waited on the tracks with us and helped us get our luggage onto the train.
Our time in Fiumefreddo Bruzzio was very special. The town itself is a quaint medieval town high on a hill overlooking the sea. As I told you in our conversation, the people were kind and friendly, particularly the agent who helped us find the records and gave me official documents.
(thank you for checking on the hours) .
No one spoke English there so we had some fun communicating. We had one driver in the evening and a different one who came in the morning and took us back to the town and on to the train station. We had not paid the evening driver thinking he would return, although he told us a colleague may come in the morning. I understood that the price for all but the return to the town was 60E, we did not negotiate or ask the price for the extra trip to town and when we got to the train station I asked the driver how much and he said 150E. We felt we had been taken. I did not have the language skills to argue, but I think more than twice the negotiated amount was too much.
On to Sicilia and the lovely Villa Angela. We had a great guide on Mt. Aetna, Tanno. We shared that tour with a couple from England who we enjoyed very much. I especially enjoyed talking with our young guide about life in Sicilia. He stopped to buy us Granita so we could try it. Bambino winery was fun too and my husband bought 24 bottles to be shipped! Our driver in Sicilia was another Salvatore, who called himself Tore. He took us to Siracusa and on to Palermo. He was very nice.
Our hotel in Palermo was very modern, but nice too. People were very helpful. It felt strange to be in a big city after the beautiful views in our other hotels. There is so much to see there.
All of our guides on site or in the cities were excellent, with the exception of Pepe in Capri, especially our guide in Paestum. We enjoyed them sharing their knowledge with us.
Altogether this was a wonderful carefree trip, just what I had hoped it would be. Thank you for doing all the planning for us and for checking on us and being available any time. I returned the phone from Hotel Porta Felice. I will be happy to give your email to any of my friends who are looking for a similar vacation. We so enjoyed getting to know your country and your people. And, of course, the food and wine were fantastic!
I wish we could have met.
Warm regards,
Lynne Slaven.”
Lynne and Larry Slaven – (Dayton, OH) – MAY 2014
Taormina, Sicily
Houses along the shoreline and cathedral in background, Cefalu, Sicily
The magnificent old Cathedral of Palermo, Sicily
