Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary

We had a wonderful trip! Maria really set up some wonderful experiences in Umbria for us, we especially enjoyed the private food event up in the hills of Umbria. The hotel in Montefalco was very nice, and a quiet town to explore and rest in at night as we bopped around the region each day. Nice central spot. Very happy she added Orvieto onto our first (arrival) day as it was spectacular (esp the cathedral facade, unlike any we have seen before or since). Beautiful dinner set up for my wife’s birthday with some fine Italian wine selections. The Assisi mountain hike with the guide was also quite special.

Part two was a visit to the Amalfi coast. We loved the hotel selection in Sorrento—very nice and great location for both walking and traveling around Amalfi. We had a disruption during our visit to Capri due to high winds/waves, which prevented two of our boat tours. But Maria and team figured out another boat trip later in the week to view Amalfi and the area and it was excellent, so very nice recovery (a little disappointed we had to ask for this versus them offering it, but the bottom line is they found a great boat and driver and we had a tremendous afternoon/evening).

We had great drivers through the area and they always managed to work around traffic or other inconveniences in Amalfi. Our hike on the Walk of the Gods was spectacular—super clear day and great weather so tremendous views. Our guide for this hike was also exceptional in that she knew her stuff and constantly ensured we were going at a good pace. A nice surprise was the stop at the local goat herder cabin for a simple meal he puts on during the weekend days for travelers. Great fun and bonhomie! Finally, the in-home experience (lunch prep etc) in Sorrento was exceptional, great hosts and a beautiful home. They were even kind enough to drive us to the wharf for our boat trip (mentioned above). Super generous people and the kind you want to stay connected with.

All in all, a great trip and a wonderful way to celebrate our 40th anniversary!

We had a wonderful trip! Maria really set up some wonderful experiences in Umbria for us, we especially enjoyed the private food event up in the hills of Umbria. The hotel in Montefalco was very nice, and a quiet town to explore and rest in at night as we bopped around the region each day. Nice central spot. Very happy she added Orvieto onto our first (arrival) day as it was spectacular (esp the cathedral facade, unlike any we have seen before or since). Beautiful dinner set up for my wife’s birthday with some fine Italian wine selections. The Assisi mountain hike with the guide was also quite special.

Part two was a visit to the Amalfi coast. We loved the hotel selection in Sorrento—very nice and great location for both walking and traveling around Amalfi. We had a disruption during our visit to Capri due to high winds/waves, which prevented two of our boat tours. But Maria and team figured out another boat trip later in the week to view Amalfi and the area and it was excellent, so very nice recovery (a little disappointed we had to ask for this versus them offering it, but the bottom line is they found a great boat and driver and we had a tremendous afternoon/evening).

We had great drivers through the area and they always managed to work around traffic or other inconveniences in Amalfi. Our hike on the Walk of the Gods was spectacular—super clear day and great weather so tremendous views. Our guide for this hike was also exceptional in that she knew her stuff and constantly ensured we were going at a good pace. A nice surprise was the stop at the local goat herder cabin for a simple meal he puts on during the weekend days for travelers. Great fun and bonhomie! Finally, the in-home experience (lunch prep etc) in Sorrento was exceptional, great hosts and a beautiful home. They were even kind enough to drive us to the wharf for our boat trip (mentioned above). Super generous people and the kind you want to stay connected with.

All in all, a great trip and a wonderful way to celebrate our 40th anniversary!

I enlisted Maria to help plan a trip in the Piedmont area for me, my husband, and another couple before we joined a larger group in Florence. After a phone conversation with Maria, she came back with a proposed trip that started with a few days in Turin, followed by a stay in a converted monastery in the Barolo wine region and a quick overnight in Genoa in time to meet the group in Florence.

We had all spent time in Italy before, but this area was new for us. In addition to exploring the highlights of the unexpected Egyptian Museum in Turin, stops, tours, and lunches at several outstanding regional wineries and local restaurants, and an extensive cheese tasting at a particular multi-generational cheese shop, our superb guide also spent a morning with us hunting for truffles with a truffle hunter and her two adorable cocker spaniels. We enjoyed a home-cooked meal and wine tasting with a young winemaker who was converting his father’s hazelnut farm to grapes.

Our drivers were all wonderful and professional. We enjoyed an overnight stay in Genoa, where our expert guide led us through the unexpected medieval section of the town. We were truly wowed by all we had experienced and delighted with the planning, communication, and organization that went into our trip.

EXTRAORDINARY! I am an experienced and if I say so myself, a super critical traveler. Maria and her team went beyond my expectations. The guides were inspiring, the drivers wonderful. All fabulously flexible so if I wanted to change the plan they could fulfill the new idea.

I told her I wanted to focus on food, visits with artisans, small villages, and wanting to stay at least 3 nights in each location. We had private cooking classes, meetings with a violin maker, textile designer, hunting for truffles, tastings of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, parma ham, various cheeses and seeing how all were made. And I had my own private excursion with covid mid-way through the trip. The staff joined together to find a second hotel room for my friend, contacted the people who were doing the private tastings to see if they could arrange to do everything outside. Upon checking in to one of the hotels that didn’t have a restaurant, to find they had contacted the manager who informed me they could provide my meals by picking up food at nearby restaurants. Thankfully I tested negative after 5 days. But during those days I was comforted by how well I was taken care of. This trip was worth every penny I spent and I can not recommend Maria highly enough.

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