It's been a long time (for me, anyway) since I offered a new vacation dream/plan/eye twinkle. Taking three European vacations in a relatively short period of time left us a bit upside down in our vacation budget. We've recovered and are working up to our upcoming PR trip and are trying to figure out if we can squeeze in anything between now and then.
Unless we experience a dramatic (in a good way) financial event, we won't be able to squeeze in this dreamer of an Italian trip through the countryside:
http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours09/product.cfm/rurl/code/VIT09/200
Yes, it's a tour, and in general, I don't really do vacation tours. Tours require that you follow someone else's schedule and view the sites that someone else has chosen. Plus you never know what kind of mixed bag your fellow tourists will be.
However, note the company that offers the tour - it's Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door company. If I were to ever consider taking a tour, Rick's company would be at the top of my list. Since I read and trust his guidebooks, I can assume that his tours will highlight only the best sites in each location.
The main appeal of this particular tour is that it visits smaller towns and villages in Italy, a feat that would be possible on our own only if we rented a car--and that's not happening. We had enough difficulties when we drove to Quebec, where street signs are in English in addition to French. Conquering roads featuring Italian-only road signs and drivers who follow different rules than the ones that we know might not make for a relaxing vacation. No, thank you. But I'd love to explore the Italian countryside, especially if a competent bus driver were transporting me from one magical village to the next.
However, note the price tag of this awesome tour - nearly $4,000 per person, and that rate doesn't even include airfare. There will likely be no Village Italy tour this year or even next year, but if I find a bag containing $10,000, you can guess where we're headed next.
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