The tour was, for the most part, thoroughly enjoyable and significantly more relaxing than the Tour of Portugal we took last year—it had a much slower pace. Simone was absolutely amazing and a great manager. The food experience, however, was not as exciting as we had anticipated, though that was partially due to our own choices.
My only complaints were about the hotel in La Spezia and the villa in Florence. The hotel rooms were so small that it was impossible to have two mid-sized suitcases open at the same time. Additionally, there was a noticeable lack of restaurant staff during breakfast each day, which meant we were constantly waiting for any hot food.
In Florence, our first room assignment felt like being on a stage—there was a busy walkway directly outside our window, making it difficult to keep it open. We raised the issue with the front desk staff, and they kindly accommodated us with a room change. However, my complaint remained the same: the lack of restaurant staff. While our food was excellent, we were not acknowledged for 30 minutes after sitting down, and our wine request took an hour to arrive. I don’t mind a casual pace of service, but waiting for 30 minutes without even being greeted, and then only receiving water for another half-hour, was excessive.
Despite these issues, Turin and Florence were both incredible cities to visit, and I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Italy for the first time.
The pictures below capture some memorable moments:
The first, which I call Turin at Sunset, shows the breathtaking sunset from the roof of our hotel in Turin.
The second features the Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista, located just across the street from our hotel in Turin.
Finally, the last image showcases the stunning Tuscan landscape on our last day.
