Just back from a 10-day tour of Italy, Oct 16-26, 2023, that we began and ended by visiting our daughter’s home in Bologna, and our wonderful 2 grandchildren there. We had previous visits there and had taken daytrips from Bologna, but my wife and I wanted to see more of this fascinating country.

What a wonderful trip it was. Alison and Elisa worked with us to plan an agenda, modified it when we had additional requests, always kept in contact during the planning and made sure all our needs were met. We put together a tour that included 6 days in Puglia, ½ day in Matera and 3 ½ days in Naples, including the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii and Herculaneum, and a city food tour of Naples. This was nothing short of a fantastic experience. Every detail was anticipated and completed. The guides were absolutely great, with depths of knowledge and ease of communication that made us want to never stop. Drivers were very professional, often contributing to the information, and vehicles were first class.

Unexpected highlights were countless and included a textile factory in Puglia, La Constantine, where hand-operated looms have been creating beautiful fabrics for 200+ years, even items for Dior. The intensity and talent of these ladies at the loom was inspiring and we were able to purchase several lovely items, including a gift for our daughter’s home. A second surprise was the nature reserve at Torre Gauceto. A wonderful environmentalist led us on a 3 ½ hour walk along the coast and wetlands, home to thousands of migratory birds, a special interest of my wife and an example of how our planners could adapt expertly to meet our requests. A great example of the personal planning was the change of a scheduled e-bike tour through the “trulli” region as the original day scheduled was predicted to be rainy, and the tour was moved a day earlier, at the last moment, to ensure a wonderful bicycling experience, which it was. Elisa kept in close contact with us throughout and we were especially delighted to meet both her and Alison in the town of Polignano a Mare, and share coffee and gelato. All of the accommodations were tastefully elegant with wonderful staff. The food in Italy is beyond description and we have too many favorites to list. A real plus was the day in Naples, a food tour in the first half and on our own in the afternoon. Aldo gave us a superb food and history lesson and discussion, and the confidence to step out on our own. We finished in Naples and took the fast train to Bologna to complete our visit with family and enjoy a Halloween in Italy.

I was astounded just how well planned and executed this tour was and look forward to many more trips to Italy.

Our trip to Puglia was wonderful!! The travel specialists planned experiences that we will never forget.

We stayed in a palace with 10 rooms in Lecce, a trulli resort surrounded by the countryside where we were greeted by the owners and treated like royalty, and a cave hotel in Matera where we were wined and dined.

Our guides were top-notch, a marine biologist, an archaeologist and experts in all fields. We had lunch at an olive grove and we were served an exceptional lunch by the farm’s owners. We took a private cooking class in someone’s private home!! Our most cherished experience was that of a ceramic maker. We not only took a tour of his workshop—he invited us to his home to see his acquired antiquities.

Around each hike, tour, food experience there was a wow moment and a surprise—the best tour specialist by far!!!

I rented Villa Casa Badra for two months in May and June 2023. I worked with a small travel company in Puglia, whose owner also happens to own the villa I rented. This was fortuitous for a couple of reasons: the agency staff was able to facilitate not only details of my stay at the villa, but also assisted with other travel and tourism for the area. I cannot speak more highly about my stay. The villa is absolutely beautiful and very authentic to its region, being a series of Trulli which are reflective of the local town of Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It has five bedrooms each with their own en suite, and a fully equipped kitchen that is housed in its own Trullo. The grounds are spectacular, with olive trees, cherry trees, fig trees, and an expanse of greenery, which allows for total quiet and the lack of visibility of neighbors or other individuals. Parking is ample. Housekeeping is performed twice a week by a marvelous woman who quickly became friends with my entire group of family and friends, who were my guests during my stay. Angela, the villa manager, who also works on Antonello’s team, was highly responsive to any need I had regarding the villa. Elisa was my main point of contact for making the booking originally and for booking tourist-related activities while I was there. I met Antonello, who is extremely gracious and friendly. It is important to have a car while at the villa because it is isolated and the nearest town is about a 5 km distance. Plus, you will want to make day trips to all of the various beautiful towns in Puglia. Anyone visiting between May and September will be very happy to know that the pool is large and delightfully set up. There is an outdoor kitchen and barbecue, and the house is very well stocked with everything one needs. Villa Casa Badra is a magical place in a magical area in a magical country. I highly recommend this very special experience.

The Schoenfeld and Silverman friends biking in Puglia, Italy.

A highlight of our slow and “smell the poppies” week in Puglia was the day we biked and made burrata. We passed by brilliant fields of red flowers and lush grasses on quiet roads. The outfitter supplied us with e-bikes and a van following behind. Couldn’t have been a more delightful afternoon gliding between the trulli houses — the round white limestone structures capped with interlocking stones for roofs. People in Puglia have lived in them for centuries and still do today. Our route took us to Itria Bonta, an organic dairy farm. There, we watched the owner stretch out the mozzarella he had made hours earlier and stuff it with stracciatella to make balls of buratta. He let us make some too. I can testify that it’s delicious because at the end of the visit we had a “snack” of cheeses, bread, sausage, olives and wine. Everything except the water and the salt was produced on the farm. Alison Pike is an excellent trip advisor and designer. Insist on working only with her.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  Our trip to Puglia was really very special and I can’t say enough about the planners. Ali met me the first evening at my hotel to introduce herself and go through the itinerary one more time with me. She was always a text or phone call away with any questions, which was great, but at the same time the agenda was beautifully organized and seamless. On our schedule were an assortment of really quite memorable experiences, bike riding through the olive groves, a boat ride along the coastline and in and out of the sea caves, wonderful meals in restaurants that I miss already, mozzarella making at a farm out in the countryside followed by a home cooked meal, strolling through the ancient white cities of the area, nature walks, olive oil tasting and the list goes on. All the guides were exceptional as well as the drivers, the hotels were well picked and just what we wanted.
The last three nights we spent in Rome which was amazing. We took a golf cart tour of the city. I didn’t know what to expect but it’s a really fun and easy way to get a feel for the layout of the city as well as a quick history lesson so on your free time you can pursue it further. We visited Villa d’Este in Tivoli outside of Rome and afterwards had a lovely lunch at a restaurant at the foot of a Roman temple overlooking the falls. Again the guides, for the golf cart tour, at the Vatican and in the gardens at Villa d’Este were all part of the sweet memory of this trip, each person amazing in their own way. Also the hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps, right next to Villa Borghese was fantastic.
The wine in Puglia is phenomenal as well as the cuisine in general. I am not a daytime drinker ever but you cannot turn down a glass of that Rosé at lunch and they all seem to be delicious. I would go back to Puglia in a heartbeat. May is a perfect month to travel. I felt totally safe Covid-wise and otherwise. It is simple to get your return test. The pharmacies there have it down pat and you purchase and take your test and get a result within 15 minutes. Easy. There is that moment then of “what happens if I have Covid” but fortunately we didn’t. Actually though we were almost always outside so I really wasn’t worried. Rome requires an N-95 in the airports and we did have to rush to purchase one before getting on the plane in Newark.
Special thanks to Augusto, who spent the couple months before the trip planning with me and patiently endured me asking the same questions over and over.

PANDEMIC TRAVEL  Our trip to Puglia/ Sicily was planned very last minute (2 weeks prior!) with many variables going on. Ali nailed it and went over and above a trip planner. In addition to amazing experiences at a Masseria w/ a cooking lesson & dinner al fresco, Olive oil tasting and dinner at a 600-year-old olive-tree farm, a day on a boat, and private Mt. Etna hiking and winery visit, the list goes on.
She also coordinated all our pick ups as we were coming from 3 different places, all our COVID tests for our return to the US and checking in and coordinating our 2 lost bags on 2 different airlines!
All the guides were the best we’ve had on our travels and she definitely picked out the most can’t miss, authentic and cultural trip for us. I will definitely be working with her again and recommend her to everyone.