My husband and I ret'd Saturday from a 14 day Globus Italian Mosaic Tour plus 2 extra days on our own in Rome. All in all it was wonderful. And I certainly would suggest the tour to anyone. However, make sure you are in shape and can walk. This is a very aggressive tour. Will be glad to answer any questions. I thank everyone for the hints given on this board such as make a sandwich from the breakfast table & carry it for lunch; fill up water bottles on the streets of Rome & the Vatican, the water is safe. Or fill up water bottles at breakfast. I cant wait to make arrangements for another trip. I loved every minute of it.

Hi, Ro. I'm glad you had a great time. I'll be in Rome in a couple of weeks. How was the atmosphere in Rome? Rumors have been flying about anti-American demosntrations. Did you make it to Tuscany at all?

Hi,Glad to hear you had a great trip.I am hoping to do the Globus Italy at Leisure tour next May. How were the hotels on your tour? Were they close to the denter of the cities? Would you choose Globus again? Thanks <BR>Karrie

Could you just identify some of the cities/highlights for those of us not familiar with this particular tour? Thx.

Hi ro, <BR> <BR>I'm glad you had a good time with Globus. I'm anxiously anticipating 2 tours with them in October (Germany and Spain). Happily, I've only read good things about them lately. Did you have any flight problems or delays?

I have been on a few Globus tours and I've been considering taking the Italian Mosaic. Did you ever feel that any of the hotels were a little too far out to enjoy any of the overnight cities?

we were in florence when the wtc bldgs. went down. you could not find an american on the streets. when italians heard we were americans or better yet nyc residents, they were very sympathetic. one jeweler in venice gave me an italian horn for luck. we did not see any demos. looked like business as usual. in rome the villa pamphili was beautiful, but needed a shuttle to get into town. florence the majestic hotel was great in the middle of town; braveno we stayed at deno's had to be $500 a nite, wonderful place. ambasciatori in venice was in the new part and needed transportation to the port to get the water taxi. assist s.francesco was small and very clean converted convent good for 1 nite. sorrento -cesare augusto was in the middle to town and great. we stayed 2 xtra nites in cicerone and it was within walking distance to the vatican, trevi, etc. yes, i would definately choose globus again. they were the only ones in the vatican and sistine chapel with head phones so everyone in the group could hear what was going on no matter where you were standing.

Part II: we covered over 1,000 miles. saw all in rome, all there was to see in florence; lake maggiore went to isola bella; saw christopher columbus birthplace in genoa; romeo & juliet's balcony in verona; st mark's basilica; basilica of st. apollinaris in assisi; ruins of pompeii were wonderful but you should have a guide; sorrento and capri were breathtaking; did not see blue grotto; saw the abbey of montecassino which was very touching. also taken to murano glassblowers; saw the difference of leathers in florence; went to a cameo shop in napels. we sat in the plane back from rome 2 1/2 hrs. because of a bomb threat, only we didnt know it at the time. food was good on the plane, the attendents were wonderful. some of the hotels were too far away, but after touring all day, dinner at 7-7:30 til 9 you were exhausted and couldnt wait to take a shower and get into bed. your day usually started at 6. but thats why we saw everything. uffizi gallery was offered as a side trip, as was gondola ride, neapolitan live stage performance, villa d'este gardens in tivoli. you never felt pressured into taking an optional tour. as a matter of fact if did not want to go to isola bella, the tour director said go if you dont like it tell me and i'll give you your money back. he was right. it was wonderful. if anyone wants more info, i took all kinds of notes and will be glad to pass on my info. i have a great jeweler in venice that was wonderful to us. he was the only one in italy that we found to have size 8" braclets.

Ro, <BR> <BR>I'm very jealous... been wanting to take this exact tour for some time, can't seem to convince any of my friends to come along. I took a Globus tour last spring for two weeks in France and it was awesome. <BR> <BR>What were the names of your tour director and motorcoach driver, by the way? The T.D. and M.C.D. on my tour were so great, they really made a difference in my enjoyment of the trip. <BR>Thanks for your description of the tour... it makes me think going solo might have to be the solution for me. <BR> <BR>Sandi <BR>

lino was the tour director, and lino was the bus driver. the bus driver never spoke. i really think when going to a country like this for the first time you should have a tour. we would have never seen half the items we did if we went on our own. we stayed 2 extra days, and we got up later, and what do you want to do and i dont know what do you want to do. also i know i would have been reading about the sistine chapel to my husband. and when we went to pompeii we would have not seen the buildings that we did. well worth the money. and i'd do it again. even though i'm exhausted.

you mentioned about a jeweler; how was the shopping and prices there compared to here.

Another interested shopper. Did you have time to pick up any goodies?

my husband bought a leather jacket 195 in florence at lgl (i think thats the name, ill look tonite); some earrings in florence for my daughter and dil. florence does not have the same type of earrings there that we do here. so i had a very hard time. but i bought something for ea. and spent way too much money. found a man that makes leather sandles for 30-35 while you wait; as mentioned earlier found a jeweler in venice that finally had 8" braclets (which i could not find anywhere); forget about the amount of murano glass,wine, cheese, salami. if i would have know customs was not tight i would have brought home proscuitto. leather bags from sorrento. cigars mfgd. in dominican republic, distributed from maine, sold in lake maggiore (well, i had to bring something home to my son, and i dont know anything about cigars).

Lino was our bus driver as well! We did the Thames to the Tiber and LOVED it! Lino was an absolutely amazing bus driver. We often found ourselves applauding him for his driving!!<BR><BR>(He was actually very social on our tour- he's fairly young - in his early twenties- so he took a lot of the teens to the discos one night!)

Your trip sounded nice but please don't post a thread announcing your plans to blatantly violate customs laws. By attempting to smuggle in stuff you know you are not supposed to not only are you being selfish, engaging in criminal behaviour but you could also be bringing in diseases, spores or something else that could potentially be damaging to our environment. Customs has the laws for a reason, and if you get caught your passport will be flagged and you will be searched and talked to everytime to depart and arrive back in the US. Just something to think about. It is possible to enjoy these things while abroad and then have nice stories to tell folks upon your return.<BR>PS: I do work for the State Department and we do keep a vigilant look out for custom violators and it never ceases to amaze me how many people love to brag about criminal behaviour on message boards, such as this one.