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	story and photographs Maureen Scott After driving around France five years ago, lamely trying out our high school French, my husband and I decided that Italy should be our next big vacation.  But we had a few issues with Italy.  First, neither of us could speak a word of Italian other than “Ciao”.  We were concerned about driving in Italy; weren’t the driver’s madmen racing around in red Ferraris at breakneck speed? Would we have to wait in endless lineups to get into the Vatican and the Colosseum? Could we find our way to Venice, Florence, and Capri? In the end we decided to let someone else worry about the language, the driving and the arrangements and this baby boomer couple booked the 11 Day “Best of Italy Tour” with Insight Vacations. Turns out it was the best decision we could have made. Our 40-something guide, Jackie Whiteford never tires of showing off Italy to tour groups.   Jackie came to Italy as a student and has lived here on and off for years. Her love for the country was evident from the first day to the last, and that feeling was contagious! "The Best of Italy" offers a well-balanced pace (with lots of walking on cobblestone streets so one must be fairly fit and bring comfy walking shoes) with two night stays in Rome, Tuscany and Sorrento with overnight stays in Assisi and Venice. All of the hotels were great, the food was even better. Breakfast was included each day and dinners were included every second night. The cost of the tour varies depending on when you travel. In late June, when we went the tour price was $2,626 Canadian per person including tax for the land portion or $4,050 per person, plus tax for the land/air package. We booked our airfare at a reduced rate and just made sure our flight arrived in Rome to catch the Insight transfer bus.  Optional tours could be purchased for boat cruises, walking tours, special dinners and excursions. These tours can set you back anywhere from 29 euros per person for the “White Cruise” to 59 euros per person for the “Roman Dinner Party”.  We spent an extra 646 euros on optional tours and group dinners which we hadn’t planned on, but every one was an adventure and well worth the money. The first optional tour was on the day we arrived. Following an orientation session at our hotel, about 20 people from the group, anxious to get our first glimpse of Rome, opted to go on the “Illumination Drive and Pizza Dinner” at the Ristorante I Gladiatori, right across the street from the illuminated Colosseum! I’m not sure if it was the food, the view or the wine, but our group bonded that very night, forging friendships which I suspect will last a lifetime. Surprisingly, the group was a pot pourri of age groups and groupings. The age spread was from 11 years to mid 70's, with four late teens, several people in their 20's and 30’s and the majority in our baby boomer category. There were two mother-daughter groups, one mom/dad and married son and wife group, a single mom, a family with two children aged 11 and 14, an aunt traveling with her niece and nephew, and of course, couples. Most hailed from the U.S., with others from Australia, Hong Kong and three Canadians. Twenty eight people in total, on a bus which seats 40, so we had lots of room to spread out and time to get to know each other. The advantage of being on a tour became crystal clear on our very first day. In one day we toured the Vatican, drove passed the Circus Maximus – where the Romans once held chariot races – toured the Colosseum with a local guide, sat on The Spanish Steps, shopped (well window shopped) in the designer area of Rome, joined a walking tour passing through several famous piazzas and three coins into the Trevi fountain! After a brief dip in the pool at the Crowne Plaza in Rome, we booked the optional “Roman Dinner Party” and enjoyed a magnificent 5-course meal and danced under the stars. It sounds like a lot to do in one day, but we were never rushed. Nor did we waste time waiting in line as Insight has the inside track on booking reserved times at all of the major museums so you are literally escorted pass the throngs of tourists waiting in 35 degree heat for several hours. Day 4 we visited the Vatican Museums with our personal guide. We felt very special, not only because we were the first ones inside that morning, but because until 1929 the museums were only open to royalty and aristocrats. A highlight of the tour was seeing the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s famous painted ceiling. An important note to those visiting churches; men must wear long pants and women must wear knee-length shorts or skirts and have their shoulders covered with a sweater or wrap.  Scanning devices are commonplace at major sites. That afternoon we left Rome and enjoyed the glorious countryside through the enormous tinted windows of our luxury coach. We passed tiny medieval villages edged on mountain sides, rolling hills abundant with olive trees and vineyards, fields of brilliant yellow sunflowers with their gigantic heads turned toward the sun. Our destination was Hotel Sabasio, a jewel of a hotel perched on the mountainside in the postcard perfect medieval town of St. Francis. The hotel is right next door to the Basilica of St. Francis. Our bus could only make it part way up the hill, so we got out and climbed the steep, narrow cobblestone street to our hotel. This is where the luggage picks up and drop off service included in the tour came in really handy! Approximately 900 people live in the town along with 500 monks and nuns.  Walking around the medieval town abundant with brown-robed monks and black-robed nuns, we were beamed back a thousand years. Venice, Venezia, by gondola is something everyone should do once in their lifetime.  Venice was founded in 697 AD and the oldest church on Torcello Island dates from 639 AD. Buildings around Venice are 12th and 13th century onwards.  Venice rests on 118 islands separated by 200 canals, and connected by 400 bridges. Four hundred gondoliers, sometimes owned by father and son, steer tourists around this city on water and in to St. Mark’s Square.  “Magical Venice by Night” was another highlight.  After a wondrous cruise, we sipped drinks at Café Quadri overlooking the illuminated St. Mark’s Square, under a brilliant full moon, while two orchestras battled for our attention. And then, Tuscany! Almost everyone on the bus had seen the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun” and held visions of what Tuscany would look like; rolling hills dotted with ancient, cream-coloured stone houses with red tile roofs, fields of  sunflowers and grapevines, tall statue-like  Cyprus trees and quaint villages. Tuscany is all that and more. We thoroughly enjoyed our days under the Tuscan sun and particularly our walking tour of Florence. The tour included a visit to a gold shop, a leather shop and a visit to the museum to see Michelangelo's monumental statue of David. We also toured the Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge lined with goldsmith shops, but found the prices a little too high for our budget. The street vendors were more in line with the euros we had to spend. Also located in Tuscany is the town of Pisa with the famous landmark, the leaning tower of Pisa. Turns out that the stone masons had completed four stories when they realized the bell tower was starting to lean.  They kept building anyway. Some say it is a miracle as it should have fallen over years ago.  It costs 15 euros to climb it, with long lineups. Our “Tuscan Dinner” another optional event, was an adventure to behold, and only partly because of the food.  Ristorante Pietre Cavate sits on top of a mountain with a bird’s eye view of Tuscany. A small SUV-like bus showed up at our hotel to escort the driver to the restaurant. We quickly learned why. Our escort was clearing the way so our large tour bus could make the series of hairpin turns on the one-lane mountain road which snaked its way to the crest of the mountain.  The view from the restaurant’s patio was magnificent and so was the Tuscan Steak prepared by Chef/Owner Paolo Bertino. The next day we headed south to Pompeii. Our group was somewhat quieter than usual as we heard the tragic tale.  On August 24, 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying a town of over 3,000 people under 24 feet of ash and rock.  The buried city was discovered by accident in the 1700’s.  The walls of many of the buildings still remain; two amphitheatres, Roman baths, shops, and even a brothel with stone beds and pillows. The volcano pushed the seashore back one mile and today the beaches of Sorrento and area are the grayish black colour of the volcanic matter.  It was there, on the end of the pier at Ristorante Zin Tonio Mare in the tiny fishing village of St. Anna that we had the most incredible seafood dinner as we watched the sun set. Insight Vacations has it all figured out; they save the best for last; Capri, “The Island of Dreams”.  We took the funicular train to the main village of Capri Town and wandered the narrow alleyways and browsed the exclusive shops. Our walking tour led us around the mountain to look out over the turquoise Mediterranean Sea, alive with the dozens of white sails of the yachts moored below. The optional “White Cruise” sailed around the waters of Capri, past the “White Grotto” and through “The Arch of Love”. As we sailed under the arch our local guide Lucy, encouraged us to kiss and make a wish. I don’t know about the others, but my wish was to return to Italy one day! And then, my favourite outing; the optional drive along the Amalfi Coast to visit the vertical city of Positano. Scary, majestic, breathtaking! That’s how I would describe the drive.  A narrow, winding road edged into the mountain side with a sheer drop to the Mediterranean below. All this with motorcycles zooming past the bus, even on corners!  The terraced houses look as if they are built on top of each other, with narrow paths leading to their doors. We followed the narrow cobblestone alleys to the ancient steps, lined with the wares of local artists, finally ending at the seashore. We swam, drank dark syrupy cups of cappuccinos and looked out at the white sailboats bobbing on a turquoise blue sea. I wanted to stop time.  After seeing several miraculous things in Italy, Toni on our tour mentioned that it was a miracle how well our group got along. After a matter of hours we had reached a comfort level of “over the fence neighbours”. We even looked out for each other. While in Florence in a crowded square, Ken spotted a would-be pick pocket and warned each of us to guard our possessions. There was no rivalry, no personality conflicts, no one you wanted to avoid, no issues you might get traveling or staying with relatives. We drank, we laughed, and we bonded and even exchanged emails. We loved Italy on tour. We saw everything we wanted to see and more, saved time by not having to wait in long lineups, saw and did many things we would not have known about and basically relaxed and let Jackie take care of the arrangements. Did it cost more to go on a tour as opposed to going it alone?  It’s hard to compare as there were so many elements; transportation, meals, museum passes, hotels, etc.  It makes me think of that credit card commercial which asks something like “What is a great vacation worth?  Priceless!” Perhaps we’ll go back to France on tour and see the things we missed!  GL	ABOVE Venice, Italy ABOVE Piazza Navona, artist. photo by Bonnie Peters ABOVE Leaning Tower of Pisa ABOVE the "streets" of Venice ABOVE The Vatican in Rome IF YOU GO Insight Vacations offers several tours of Italy from 9 to 14 days at various paces and price ranges, depending on the season and availability.  Some of the tours combine Italy with France (now you’re talking!) and Insight offers tours to many other countries throughout the world. For more information, visit their website at http://www.insightvacations.com/ca/ to request a tour book, or pick one up at your local travel agent.