“Daniela,
Here is a brief summary of our Family Trip to Italy. It has been fun listing to them as we discussed out trip. They are still talking about our dinner together in Bevagana.
The Sicily driver was fantastic. His name was Danielo (our kids wanted to take him on the rest of the trip with us). The guides in Siracusa, Roman Villa del Casale, Valle dei Templi and Palermo were outstanding tour guides for a family, they quickly adapted to the children’s interest and made sure they were involved. The Monreale Cathedral was one of our favorites. The kids really enjoyed the Puppet Theater. This was an excellent experience.
In Rome, the kids loved MAX –the guide for the Vatican and so did my husband. He was fantastic and he spanned both generations very well. We all enjoyed the Catacombs. The kids enjoyed Gladiator School (you should be aware that they do not always start on time or finish on time). Our driver was great and he ended up staying with us about an hour extra. This day ranked in everyone’s top five.
The Rome evening tour was amazing. We had so much fun with our driver and fit in everything that we had not gotten to during the day. I highly recommend the evening tour.
We all enjoyed the Rome cooking class. Nico was a little disappointed that we did not do brushettas, but he was thrilled that we did ravioli. Dessert was amazing as well. This was a very fun family activity, I have more than 100 pictures from this experience.
The days in Umbria also ranked in our families top five. The kids really enjoyed the festival in Bevagna and the ceramics workshop in Deruta was fantastic.
In Tuscany, the Siena guide was very good. The restaurant was excellent and I am very glad you made us a reservation. The Palio experience we unique.
Florence Hotel/Apartment –Best location and facility on the trip . This guide was excellent with kids and families as well. This was the best dinner in Italy . . . Vini e Vecchi Sapori –it is by the Uffizi –A reservation is a MUST. So glad you had reserved. The whole place only seats 30 people tops.
In Venice, we loved the Masks Making Workshop. The location was a bit challenging to find and we were late. Our family really enjoyed this workshop and even though we were late they did not rush us and were very kind.
Last but not least, the guide for Lake Maggiore boat tour was in our top five as well. The boat taxi here is one I would highly recommend: he was very punctual and great with the kids who wanted to see some things from the water. Five hours was plenty of time and we did not feel rushed. The Lake Maggiore express, also, was a fun day. Lunch on the boat was very good.
Thank you so much -the planning and attention to detail allowed us to have a very successful and fun first trip for the kids to Italy.
Karen”
Karen Crouch Flores (San Antonio, TX), JUNE/JULY 2013
