Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Back from Italia!

Hi all. Our Globus tour group was NOT canceled and it was great! Not one person on our tour canceled either. We had a wonderful and very full trip. Tiring too! Non-stop all over Rome, Florence, and Venice. If I didn't have my wallet stolen in Florence it would have been a perfect trip! I loved Venice! Would go back there for sure. Our tour guide was excellent and very knowledgeable. Roman born too. She took us on extra excursions as well that were not initially on our schedule. We had the time for some places, so she just told the driver to take us. Globus was great. They picked us up at the airport and we were taken to the hotel in a nice huge bus and we never touched our luggage after that other than to pack and unpack. The weather was glorious! 65 and sunny every single day. No rain at all!! Not even Venice was rainy, foggy, or cloudy. We had the most wonderful weather! There was so much to see and do and our tour covered so much in the 8 days we were there. We also stayed an extra day in Rome and explored more after the tour ended. I would recommend Globus for any tours. Our group of 41 people was fabulous. Great mixture of singles, young and older married couples, families with children 8 and over, and one or two seniors. Everyone was very nice! We made quite a few new friends. We were blessed by the Pope at the Vatican and that was great! Some other highlights were the Colloseum, Forum, Leaning tower of Pisa, the David, Villa D'Este, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Vatican and Vatican Museum, St. Mark's Square, Gondola ride, St. Peter's, Murano Glass, St. Anthony's Basilica in Padua, Verona (charming town), and of course we visited every Piazza in the area and did lots of shopping and walking! I'm tired just reading it! :) Thanks to all who gave their sound advice prior to our departure. We have gone to Europe many times, but always on our own and doing our own mapping out plans, excursions, etc. and just taking off and exploring. This was the first time we had a tour guide to follow. Some things were definitely easier with the group, but you don't get to spend as much time at certain places as you might like. So there are pros and cons, but for us it was a great experience. Happy Travels to all!