Is Culinary Treasures of Bologna, Venice, Michelin Stars & Exotic Cars For Me?

Is Culinary Treasures of Bologna, Venice, Michelin Stars & Exotic Cars For Me?

1. Your Disposition - Our vacations are focused on having a good time with new friends. Everything we do revolves around that. People seeking a self-centered vacation might reconsider. Our groups tend to span all ages, men & women, singles & couples... everyone is welcome, and when our guests come ready to embrace a new culture, look forward to trying new things, and interact with other guests, it is always amazing. Even the way our guests see us is important. If you see us as "providers of a service", you may reconsider our trips. We bring you into our family and become part of the group with you... as though you are visiting friends and family. If you are able to be in this frame of mind, our trips will be like nothing you have ever experienced, but if you are looking for a more detached relationship with us, our trips may not be for you.
2. Be Ready to Embrace the Culture - Our trips focus on bringing you into the true culture of the place, but some guests want to see it, but not live it. We embrace the culture and do things the way locals do, which may or may not be what you are looking for. This includes little things like not having cappuccino with our meals (Italians only have cappuccino as a breakfast beverage), not having bacon and eggs for breakfast (Italians have coffee or tea and pastries), or larger things, like the fact that we have our dinners after 8:00 PM, like the Italians do. Every step of the way we adapt to the local culture, rather than asking the local culture to adapt to us. This also tends to make us much more welcome guests than other groups!
3. Physical Intensity - You by no means need to be athletic for this vacation, but you must be able to handle some level of physical exertion. A good rule to follow would be to ask yourself if you can do three flights of stairs, then continue walking without needing to sit down for a while. Or, if you can walk up to 2 miles per day.
4. Age Concerns - We have had guests as old as 90 years old with no problems whatsoever. Age is not a limiting factor, so long as you are in good physical condition with no health problems that exertion would complicate.
5. Altitude - Most of the region between sea level and a few hundred feet above sea level. There are very few inclines in this area, and most places we visit will be flat.
6. Walking & Bus Time - In Italy, walking is always a larger concern than it probably is back home. This is because the towns are ancient, and much is closed to vehicle traffic. Some guests are also concerned about how much time they will spend in a bus. While we are in a very central area, we try to go to some of the most interesting places. Some days will have more travel time, and some very little. However, most of the place we go are very close to our base. As a general rule on walking, you should expect about 3/4 mile (1km) of walking per day. However, there will be more on the days we go to Venice and Modena. Bus time is generally very little on most days. On our day in Venice, we will be traveling fist class by high-speed rail. It is important to know that, while very rare, railroad strikes do happen in Italy from time to time, and the Venice day may be subject to conditions we cannot control. This means that if we cannot get the train that day, we will substitute with another city. again, this is EXTREMELY rare, but possible nonetheless.
7. Rest Time - Since our trips are all inclusive, we make sure there is a very active schedule. However, we are aware that some people like to just stay back and relax on some days. As such, we build our itineraries in such a way that you can join us or opt out of some activities. Most days have a morning activity or excursion, followed by lunch, then one in the afternoon, followed by dinner. In between, there is usually about an hour of rest time back at the hotel. As such, if you choose to opt out of the morning activity, you can join us for the afternoon and vice versa. However, if you choose to opt out of a morning or afternoon, you also need to be on your own for the corresponding lunch or dinner, depending on the plans for the day. The big exceptions to this are the day in Venice. Since this is our longest day out, we will not be coming back to the hotel until the evening.

Special Needs we can (and cannot) cater to on our Bologna Vacations