Thanks again for all your help with the trip, it was a big success, and your services were a big reason it went well!
A few highlights for us included:
1) Getting lost in Venice. As you pointed out, it's half the fun, and we really got to know the neighborhoods and prominent landmarks along the way.
2) Hiking in the Dolomites.
3) The bike ride.
4) Our hotel in Spoleto.
5) The sights of Rome.
6) Using guides at the Coliseum and the Vatican. It really worked out to be a great counterpoint to all the independent tourism that we did in Rome and elsewhere.
I.B.
Colorado
September 2011
Madeline!
We are back from Italy and wanted to touch base to tell you that you are a rock star!! Absolutely all accommodations that you recommended were PERFECT!
Ponza was dreamy (although we really were "off the beaten path" being the ONLY anglo's on the island). We actually elected to stay an extra night. Our Vespa tour in Rome as great as was our hike along the coast. Madly in love with Positano and our meal was insanely good value and yummy. We had a great day trip to Capri which was a blast. Also loved Naples. Our hotel in Naples was beautiful.
You were really bang on Madeline, thank you so much. We passed your name on to many others along the way who were impressed with what we were doing. I hope you are well! Cheers & a few more photos to follow.
You can use us for a testimonial ANYTIME!
Thank you so much Madeline for helping us plan an amazingly wonderful trip.
Cari & Rob Steinberg
Toronto, Canada
June 2011
We just returned this evening to Munich, and I wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that we had a fabulous trip to the Amalfi Coast. My expectations for this trip were extremely high, and the trip exceeded my already-ridiculously-high hopes.
Thank you thank you for:
1) Guiding us away from staying in Positano -- I was so relived when all of the American tourists got off of the bus from Sorrento at Positano and left us to enjoy an amazingly tourist-free life down the coast.
2) Picking a PERFECT hotel in a PERFECT location.
3) Great Restaurant Recommendations. I knew we were in good shape the first night when all we heard were conversations from boisterous Italians enjoying great food and company. It was a perfect first meal on the Amalfi Coast and set the bar high. This bar, however, was blown away by lunch the next day. Loved the view, loved the staff, loved the food. We ended up just letting them give us food of their choice, stuffed our faces, and then ate some more.
4) The Walks of the Gods hike was by far our favorite thing we did on the trip. If I had my choice, I would've done that walk every day that we were there (and next time, I just might).
5) Drinks in Ravello! The overpriced-as-expected drinks were absolutely worth it. We had a great view, great drinks, and the staff, instead of making us feel like squatters who weren't true hotel guests, were really friendly.
Madeline, I can't thank you enough for planing the perfect trip for our last family "Hurrah" before leaving Europe. You are a rock star goddess!!!!
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Our trip was just fantastic! We had the time of our lives and just loved Italy! We will definitely go back!
You did a superb job and we will recommend your services to any people that are going there for a trip! It was so nice to have no worries, make no reservations and just avoid all of the potential pitfalls and hassles while planning an international trip. Lisa and Don Walla
Omaha, NB
May 2011
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We made it back ok on Sat. night around 8pm. If we said it once we said it over and over how well organized this trip was and what a mess we would have been in without your help. We enjoyed everything and all of our guides and drivers did a superb job in taking care of us. We were happy in all of our hotels and the food well we will never be able to eat pasta in the U.S again without complaining.Thank you for doing such a great job! We hope to visit again and see more of the beautiful country and we will be contacting you again in organizing our trip. Thanks again we really had a wonderful time thanks to you.
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It has been a pleasure working with you, one of the best decisions we made in our trip planning. Your ability to take the jumble of our wishes, concerns and indecision and make sense of it is a gift, and we appreciate how much you've helped us to create a trip that is uniquely ours, along with the comfort of knowing that someone who knows what they're doing thinks that our plan works!
Thank you,
Kate & Richard Vander Wende
May 2011
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Madeline provides an intellectual look at Italy, a perspective that I very much appreciated when planning our journey. Her knowledge of history, gastronomy, logistics and culture was essential to shaping our enjoyable vacation. I highly recommend Madeline.
James Zellmer
Madison, WI
Jan 2011
Madeline:
Thank you again from all three of us for your help in planning such a delightful trip. We’ve never before worked with a travel planner, and you’ve set a high standard. I know that we were a challenge, since I’m an experienced Italy traveler (this was my seventh time there), we wanted to visit a region that is off the beaten path (Emilia-Romagna) at a peculiar time (the week between Christmas and New Year’s) , with an 11-year old child, and had some very specific ideas of what we did and did not want to see and do. Every detail that you arranged came off without a hitch, including our polite and prompt driver Roberto, all our many tour guides (especially Manuela in Ravenna and Elisabetta in Parma and Modena), the pleasant trattorias and especially the two terrific hotels you recommended – the Commercianti in Bologna and the Palazzo della Rosa Prati in Parma. Our itinerary included plenty of time and variety and allowed us to enjoy all the many things we sought, including Romanesque cathedrals, Jewish synagogues, food shops in Bologna, mosaics in Ravenna, learning to make tortelli di erbette, watching the “birth” of Parmesan cheese and tasting balsamic vinegar straight from the barrel. We appreciated your patience and flexibility as we changed plans up to – and beyond – the last minute. You made the planning for this trip a breeze, and enabled us all to enjoy it more fully than we otherwise would have. We look forward to planning our next Italian vacation with you, and wish you the happiest of New Year’s.
Best regards,
Jeremy, Suzette and Eli Jacobs
New York, New York
January 2011
I was lucky enough to come upon Madeline and her wonderful Italy Beyond the Obvious
web site and travel business. Madeline helped us plan our adventures in Florence, Venice,
Lucca, and Pisa. She recommended hotel options, along with their direct web sites, best ways
to get around the cities, tour options and many links to museums, and where to get the best Gelato! I had felt so overwhelmed with my travel plans, but Madeline set that all at ease and helped us plan out a wonderful trip! I am so grateful for her expertise! Thanks Madeline! Vicki Mitchell Scottsdale, Arizona September 2010 Andee & Jon Harris Chicago, IL August 2010 Dear Madeline, I can't thank you enough. This trip will forever be embedded in my kids' minds, and also ours. Some detail: Rome: The location of our hotel was great. We did everything on the program and maybe a bit more. Pizza was the best in Rome! For me the ballet was the highlight, it was excellent and what seats we had! Elba: Another highlight of the trip, what magnificent beaches, I’m from the Bahamas and I believe I love the water so Elba more. The hotel’s dinners were gourmet, absolutely delicious! The beaches were out of this world, we rented a boat and went exploring around the island, swimming out in the middle of the ocean, ……all of us. Off to Camogli with the GPS and got there like going to the 7-11. Liguria / Cinque Terre: Great hotel room, was spacious and a/c. The restaurant the first night was fabulous. The transit strike you had warned us about on the second day was on so we drove, with the GPS. I am used to traffic, especially in the middle east and found driving easy. The boat tour was very good, and we had a blast swimming and jumping off of cliffs. The Cinque Terre was great, could have stayed there for a week. Loved the shopping and whole feel. Definitely going back - next summer - and will stay in Cinque Terre itself. Tuscany: Stopped at Lucca on the way, it was great. Made it to the hotel like 7-11 again.Hotel looked like a castle!. The rooms were very spacious.The cooking class was great, and was the highlight of the trip for my wife. We found San Gimignano and Siena too touristy but I guess it’s good to have seen them..We loved Florence, the shopping, the market etc. First night dinner was great, my wife loved it. The Uffizi was fabulous! The shopping in Florence is fabulous. I could buy up the town. Michael Stark Los Angeles, CA July 2010 Thanks so much for your help. It has been absolutely invaluable. We are both so pleased with all the help you have given. The coaching service you offer is a real value, saving amazing amounts of time for us and headache and heartache. We feel much more confident about our ability to enjoy our trip; one set up now for our specific needs. Your advice has allowed us to plan a trip that will be right for our family not just what is recommended in the travel books. Thank you. A. & C. Alftine Oregon May 2010
Madeline was a joy to work with as she helped us plan an outstanding 10-year anniversary trip to Italy. Her knowledge of the areas we visited included, Lake Como, Tuscany, Florence & Amalfi, was impressive as she developed an itinerary that suited our interests and activity level.
Being well versed in both Italian culture and language, Madeline made wonderful recommendations and reservations to hotels, restaurants and sites not frequented by foreigners, providing us with a unique and memorable visit. We enjoyed a romantic and fun vacation we will remember for years to come. The success of our trip was due to the amazing scenery and food of Italy and Madeline’s expert planning.
Just a quick note to say thank you for the wonderful recommendations/itinerary for Roma. The guide you recommended was well worth the time and money... our docent was fun and very knowledgeable. After getting lost we finally found the restaurant, which was lovely...lovely ambiance! We did take time to stop at the wine bar you recommended and thoroughly enjoyed the wine and location. Off we go to the next night's dinner restaurant and loved this place! We made friends with the owner/family and had a great time. Overall we loved Italy and on our travels to Murano we bought a beautiful glass sculpture ...so I'm happy!
P. Priniski
Arizona
May 2010
We had a great time in Sicily -- much to your credit. The cooking class was great, the rental car situation was awesome, and we LOVED all of our hotels. Thanks again!
J. Clegg
Los Angeles, CA
April 2010
We recently took a trip to Italy. Our trip took us to Sorrento, Pompeii, Rome, Florence and Venice.
Thanks to Madeline for helping us organize our trip and giving us great advice..One of t
he best pieces of advice she gave us was to forget driving in Italy and to use the train and subway system. Oh! How right she was. We found the train and subway systems very easy, comfortable and safe to use. We were so glad we were not driving in Italy. My brother, on the other hand, tried driving. While he was spending 3 hours trying to find his way to us in Florence, Gary and I were enjoying breakfast at an open air restaurant and basking in the Italian sunshine. After 3 hours of frustration trying to get from here to there, my brother gave up trying to meet us and went back to the vineyard. Meeting in the train station in Venice was so much easier. The bottom line is Madeline has lived in Italy and has traveled many places in the world. Her advice is practical and on target. She is great!
Florence and Gary Erickson
Kansas City, MO
March, 2010
Thank you to Madeline for helping us plan our family trip to Italy this past summer. My husband and I, along with our two children, aged 5 and 7, had a fabulous experience exploring the Veneto region of Italy. The highlights of our trip were Madeline's recommendations: the day spent swimming at Lake Garda, the adrenaline packed day at Gardaland, the night spent taking in Aida in the Verona Arena, the daytrip to university town, Padua, and the lazy days getting lost in Venice. We can't thank her enough for helping us experience Italy and enjoying la dolce vita!
Hazel Choy
Vancouver, Canada
I recently had the experience of working with Italy Beyond the Obvious while planning a trip to the Amalfi Coast. I cannot say enough wonderful things about working with Madeline and the itinerary that she put together for our trip! She was very thoughtful and asked several questions to discern exactly what things we liked to do, and not do, while on vacation. She kept in touch regularly as she planned our trip to Positano, Ravello, Sorrento and Amalfi.
When we left for Italy, we had a full schedule of things to do in each city which included sightseeing, walks, local festivals (with dates and start times), restaurants and even parking lots where it would be safe to park our car. Each city was accompanied by a map which showed us where all the relevant places were in that town. The itinerary included important tourist attractions as well as out of the way sights that we wouldn't have found on our own. Madeline provided us with timely information, such as the fact that the road between Positano and Amalfi was under construction and only open for fifteen minutes every hour. I would highly recommend Madeline and will use her again when we plan our next trip to Italy!
Carolyn Muszynski
Chicago, IL
