The tours

We were on a Gate 1 tour ~ their 8 day classic Italy tour to be exact. We flew into Venice and we were met at the airport by our tour coordinator. She was pleasant and helpful right from the start and she remained pleasant & helpful throughout our entire tour package. In fact as we neared the end of our tour and my mom & I would soon be "on our own" as per the plans we set up through the travel agent I was most concerned about how we were going to get to the bus station and get the correct bus that would bring us to Pescara so our family members could get us. Our coordinator spoke with our cousin to determine which bus company she expected us to use (that way we would be sure to be on the correct bus), she also spoke with the staff at the hotel to get information on the bus schedule for the Sunday buses going to Pescara so we could get on the right one, and she arranged for a boxed / bagged breakfast since we were entitled to breakfast but would be departing before that service began in the hotel. From some of the negative reviews I read before traveling with Gate 1 I wasn't entirely sure we would have such care given to our needs once it became clear we were "on our own" for the remainder of our time in Italy. I am most happy to state our experience was not like any of the negative reviews I read prior to our travels.
In fact as I wrote yesterday one of my mom's biggest complaints was all the walking & talking. The talking referred to was the informative guides that showed us the sights and gave us the history & brought to our attention the details that made what we were looking at so important. Several times I felt like asking why they didn't just hand us a brochure so we could spend more time "seeing" the sights rather than listening about them. This was never more true than in Rome when we were ready to see the Sistine Chapel. We spent so much time outside of the chapel where the guide went on & on about every detail of the ceiling ... of course she did this because we aren't allowed to speak inside the chapel and she wanted to make sure we all understood all of the details that went into the workmanship of the Sistine chapel. When we finally got inside I felt cheated on my time I could have spent the entire time we were outside "listening" about the important details inside just staring at the ceiling & walls. I can always read about the details she went on & on about! So yes that was a negative however you pay for an informative guide you expect that they will know their history and share it with you not just talk for a couple of minutes & send you on your way.
So many things words fail to give the full beauty or impact the actual being there in person and seeing with your own eyes does. For example I've watched on television the way glass is made at the Murano Isle in Venice Italy. I saw how it was handled, the processes the glass master went through to yield the end results. But being there in person & watching first hand the way the glass looked as it was processed was incredible & far outweighed the feelings evoked from watching it on t.v.. Nothing compares & honestly reading about it would not give the same emotion as was evoked in the first hand viewing of the process.
Our tours happened in a what seemed like a whirlwind. And yet I managed to have gelato every where!! ;)

More when I can ... after all I leave Thursday morning for a women's conference & return late afternoon on Sat. ... then I'm home (busy to be sure but home) until Oct. 7th when I fly to NC to spend some quality time with my daughter & son in law. So my friends I will be gone almost all of October too.