"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."

"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."

"Thanks again for all your help with the trip, it was a big success, and your services were a big reason it went well!"

"Madeline's coaching service ended up being one of the best travel decisions we ever made."

"Overwhelmed with happiness over the trip. So beautiful, thanks to you."

"I can't thank you enough. This trip will forever be embedded in my kids' minds, and also ours."

“I highly recommend hiring Beyond the Obvious for your next trip to Italy. Madeline is not only a delight to work with, but she is detail oriented, thorough and prepares you for a one of a kind Italian adventure.”

"I just wanted to tell you how TERRIFIC your service has been... I am so happy that we have a plan figured out and can get the most out of trip."

"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."

"Absolutely all accommodations that you recommended were PERFECT!"

"I had felt so overwhelmed with my travel plans, but Madeline set that all at ease and helped us plan out a wonderful trip!"

"The trip went so well and we have you to thank for it."

"Madeline was organized and insightful. Within one week we had the whole trip pretty much planned. We absolutely recommend it to anyone considering piecing together their own jaunt through Italy."

"It has been a pleasure working with you, one of the best decisions we made in our trip planning."

"All the special tours and experiences you helped us to book were fabulous. The cooking day was unbelievable. The Vespa tour was - I'm at a loss for superlatives! The hotels were all fabulous. A wonderful trip!"

"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."

"All the guides were good and professional. We are thankful for the insights you provided us particularly with respect to the hotels all of which were good or better and in my view money well spent."

"Grazie Mille!! We had a great time!! You did a great job with all your recommendations!!!"

"My husband wasn't excited about going to Europe because of time and money, but now he can't wait to go back... Our trip truly was fabulous, and I attribute that to your coaching."

"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."

"So many great ideas that aren't in any guide book I've seen. Madeline definitely delivers on ideas beyond the obvious!"

“We loved, loved, loved our trip and I never could have come up with our itinerary based on internet searches and guidebooks”

"Madeline took my foggy notion of a 10 day trip to Italy and translated it for us into the best-planned trip I’ve ever taken."

"Madeline is a delight to work with, easygoing, yet detail-oriented. We put our trip in Madeline's hands and had the time of our life, stress free."

"You made the planning for this trip a breeze, and enabled us all to enjoy it more fully than we otherwise would have."

"We thanked you many times over during the trip as we enjoyed the fruits of your planning. We all feel like having your guides, suggestions, numbers, etc. made for easy travel in a foreign country. Thank you!!"

"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."

"My expectations for this trip were extremely high, and the trip exceeded my already-ridiculously-high hopes. 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."

"Planning a trip to Italy? Before you do anything else, call Madeline!"

"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!"

"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!"

"I highly recommend Italy Beyond the Obvious; it’s worth every penny."

"We can't thank Madeleine enough for helping us experience Italy and enjoying la dolce vita!"

"This has been a wonderful experience."

“Madeline was a joy to work with as she helped us plan an outstanding 10-year anniversary trip to Italy.”