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Customer Feedback & Testimonials About Europe and Our Europe Travel Advisors

 


Testimonials about Sarah  Baughman, Europe, Africa, Australia, Luxury Cruises Specialist:  Europe, Austria, Innsbruck

 

Hello from Jyldyz & Stephen :-)

 

We are all smiles. Our trip... our time together was simply perfect. We want to thank you for your expertise in arranging our accommodations. Your recommendation was just right. I do understand how much influence you and your company have in getting us such an incredible, upgraded suite in what is considered to be the finest hotel in all of Innsbruck. Where to begin? Well lets start by admitting that we do travel a lot... and I mean A LOT. 2009 alone saw us in NYC, Madrid, Goa, Pune, Moscow, Kyrgyzstan, London, San Francisco, Morocco, Puerto Rico, Hanoi, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Bali, Tokyo, Thailand... there are a few countries and dates mixed in there that I have missed but I think you get the picture. 

 

Our trip to Innsbruck was the only trip of the entire year where we consulted an agent. I am a bit of a seasoned professional and I do love the preparation and anticipation of getting ready to fly. As it turned out our Austria trip was conjured up with little more than 3 days to spare so.... Travel Wizard to the rescue!!!!  From the first moment we spoke to the time we checked in and beyond, your efforts and attention to detail were our saving grace. This was a very important romantic reunion for us and your incredible insight and stylish approach truly set the stage for love!   All we had to do was make it to our departure gate and the rest was a 5 star luxurious breeze. 

 

Innsbruck was very charming... the town center was fully dressed for the holidays... snowy, magical, lovely. Our dinners were all arranged by the concierge at our hotel. Each night was a complete surprise with different tastes, cuisines and settings all seamlessly becoming a permanent part of our experience. I would have to guess that we walked at least 20km in total all around the "Old City" during our 3 nights there. The meandering streets and endless hidden shops and cafes... a real winter wonderland!  On and off the slopes, Innsbruck is one of the finest ski towns I have visited and please understand... Thats really saying something. For the two of us... together... the variety of skiing was perfect! We visited the top 3 resorts while we were there and we want to make sure your guests can take a bit of advice from our experience. Schlick 2000 in Fulpmes is by far our favorite for an incredible romantic wild day of basically "easy" Skiing. You wont find much "easy" skiing in Innsbruck.  Schlick has some incredibly challenging areas but their opportunities for a peaceful day with endless intermediate trails and state of the art cable cars is not to be beat! 

 

In closing we want to say thank you... again. We will recommend your services to our friends and I will be checking back on your website for travel ideas. Austria has instantly become an annual destination for us. Schlick next year. We cant wait :-)  

 

Sara, you are the BEST!!!  We are really looking forward to sharing our growing families travel and vacation experiences with you. 

 

Kindest regards, 

Stephen & Jyldyz


Testimonials about Lidia Fiendeiro, Italy, Tahiti, Fiji, Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii specialist: Italy, Tuscany, Rome

 

Dear Lidia,

   We had the very best trip ever. We had such a great time. Everything went perfectly including the weather. Castello del Nero was a really interesting place and the staff was extremely friendly. The location had unbelievable views of the Tuscany hills. The only drawback, if I had to make one, was the only place to eat was primarily at the hotel, which had great food but was not cheap. The nearby village had a small place for lunch. We rented a car one day and drove around which was a lot of fun and found a place to eat for dinner. Rome on the other hand had too many places to eat and all were good. We walked and found a different sidewalk cafe each day and evening. It was great. The Splendide Royal Rome I would not recommend though. Staff was not friendly. The walls are so thin that when the people next door talked we thought they were in our room. Which is really funny since in the welcome letter they even say the walls are insulated for privacy. Also the vents are connected so when the people next door turned on the light at night the light would shine through to our room. Luckily there was people next door for only one night so this was never a problem. Hit all the spots in Rome. Vatican tour was excellent. The Hotel Santa Caterina in Amalfi was another place we would highly recommend. The views were spectacular from the cliff side. This place new the meaning of the word service. Waiters were always filling your glass and making sure you had what you needed. One night we could not finish the second bottle of wine. We only drank half. The waiter asked if we would like it sent to our room to drink later. By the time we got back to the room the wine was already there and in an ice bucket with a couple of glasses.

 

  I wish, as always, we had more time. But especially this trip. We will miss all the great food and wine. Now it is time to start looking forward to the next trip.

 

thanks again for everything!!

 

Eric


 Testimonials about Sarah Baughm Europe vacation specialist: Turkey, Greece & France 

 

You did such a wonderful job of planning our trip,including the hotels, guides, airfare and suggestions on activities.  I hope to use your expertise again soon.  I'm assuming that our credit for the cancelled flight and cancelled hotel in Izmir will be along shortly.  Thank you again for doing  such a fine job.  Sincerely, Diane Matagrano


Testimonials about Lidia Fiendeiro, Italy, Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii specialist: England, London
 
Hi Lidia:
 
The trip was wonderful!  Loved the Ritz London.  They offered us an upgrade to a beautiful two-room suite for 200BP a night, so we took it.   The room overlooked the park, which was next to Buckingham Palace.
 
Breakfast for the four of us was included -- which was great, because food was very expensive.   Service was exactly what you would expect at the Ritz -- everyone was pleasant, room was well kept, etc.  We did the afternoon tea -- very nice and expensive, but an experience to do once.  The kids didn't really like the British food, so we ate a lot of Italian in the evening! 
 
The hotel keeps a new Rolls Royce Phantom, which we hired for a two-hour sightseeing jaunt around town.  Took us to Abbey Road, and around some of the side streets -- pointing out interesting facts that you wouldn't get from a guidebook.  The driver had tales of driving President Clinton and other celebrities around town.
 
Couldn't have asked for a better location.  We were able to walk just about everywhere...and we took in many of the sights.  I had put together a schedule that didn't jam pack the days, and allowed for rest, sitting in the parks, etc.  We ended up taking a taxi rather than the underground the two times we needed to go a greater distance because the cost was pretty equivalent. 
 
We've got to download the pics, and will send you an interesting one or two.  Thank you again for arranging such a wonderful trip for us!
Kim

Testimonial about Linda Barber, England, Scotland, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: Scotland, England

 

Dear Linda,

We had the most enjoyable trip ever!  Our drivers shared a wealth of information about all the places we visited and were very professional, particularly our driver in Scotland.  He did his own little research of our surname and included trips to both home places (which we didn’t know about).  This made our trip complete.  We couldn’t thank him enough for his thoughtfulness.  

We enjoyed having a private driver instead of being “herded” around Britain with a tour group.  We were able to adjust our schedule and make spontaneous stops when felt like it.   We stopped at local places to eat lunch with the towns people and got a true taste of everyday life.  This is what we needed for our ancestors trip!  Thank you for taking care of us one our first trip to Britain.  Can’t wait for Italy!!!!

 

Sincerely,

Sandra Blair

 

PS. John tried the blood pudding and I was so thankful I was smarter than he!


Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: Italy

Sharon,

We are having way to much fun!

Villa dei lecci rocks!, Marika is such a wonderful person, since we are homeless and travelling for a long time her place feels like home.  Her cooking is amazing, she is making lasagna for us tonight.  the wine tour was excellent and the chocolate tasting was very enjoyable.  the driver for the wine tour--Pietro Massi--was such a delightful person that i would ask for him by name the next time around and would recommend him to anyone.

Still working on my trip to London etc.  any trip to greece will most likely have to be a last second type of arrangement.

Cheers.

Eshwar


Testimonials about Joan Smith, Cruises, Europe, Exotic tours, and River Cruise Specialist:  Hungary, Budapest, Danube River Cruise

 

Our Month Long Holiday in Europe

 

Joan, I just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate all of your work in making our trip such a nice one.  All of the flights were just as planned and you found us some of the best seats on the plane!  Staying at the Intercontinental Hotel in Budapest was the best!  We were in walking distance of everything and I am so glad you chose that hotel. 

 

We will want to do another river cruise in the future.  We loved meeting so many people on the river cruise, and it was like one big happy family.    It was really great, until the Danube decided to flood.  I understand that is a rare occurrence in June...it is usually LOW water that can be a problem. 

 

We were a little "miffed" at Air France.  Jonny had a carry on that he has carried for many previous trips with Air New Zealand, TAM, Continental, Southwest, (and maybe Air France) all over the world, but  Air France said it was over-sized and we had to pay $208 for extra baggage.  Our luggage wasn't over weight. What a bummer! 

 

Anyway, your planning was great, and we will let you know when we are ready for another trip.  Jonny gets to plan the next one, and he wants to go to South America and Antarctica!  If you run across any good deals, send them to him at ----------.  We have got to loose some weight before we go and get in better shape so we can dance the tango in Buenos Aires!  Warm regards, Jimmie


Jimmie Rascoe

Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Europe, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: Multi-Countries in Europe

Dear Sharon, 

I just wanted to say thank you for planning a wonderful trip for Sherri and I. I was a little apprehensive about going to Europe, and not knowing anything about where we were going, language, people, etc. It didn’t take long after getting there to see how incredible a job of planning that you did for us, and how you put us at ease. I’m not sure that “incredible” is a good enough word for the trip you planned for us! It was more than we could imagine. Every detail was taken care of for our trip. It was a trip of a lifetime for us and our 30th anniversary. 

I know that Travelwizard deals with hundreds of clients, and that we could have been a number on a list, but you made us feel like we were #1. The care and detail to every part of our trip was a tribute to how well you do your job. I hesitate to call it a job, it’s more of a gift you have. On a scale of 1-10, I would give you a 15! 

I hope that when your son gets older and people ask him what his mother does, that he will tell them that she helps make peoples Dreams come true. We just want to say “thank you” again for such a wonderful trip. We would like to give you this gift as a token of our appreciation for what you have done for us. 

Many Blessings to you and your Little Guy 

Randy and Sherri Ansley


Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Europe, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: Croatia

 
Hi, Sharon,
Croatia was amazing!!
We are now in our favorite spot in the whole world, Ischia.  The rainstorm this afternoon was the first we've ever had here in 10 years!
You outdid yourself, Sharon, with our trip.  Maryann and co. were fantastic, checking on us every step of the way and sending us wonderful guides and drivers. The best part was that the guides were all local and spoke English beautifully - they really loved their country!   Our only suggestion is perhaps not to keep changing the time of pickup ( 3 times), although we know it was at the request of the driver that it happened. 
We will head back to Trieste on Sat.  Definitely a trip worth recommending - thanks for everything!
 
PC!!  PC

Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Europe, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: Multi-Countries in Europe

Dear Sharon, 

I just wanted to say thank you for planning a wonderful trip for Sherri and I. I was a little apprehensive about going to Europe, and not knowing anything about where we were going, language, people, etc. It didn’t take long after getting there to see how incredible a job of planning that you did for us, and how you put us at ease. I’m not sure that “incredible” is a good enough word for the trip you planned for us! It was more than we could imagine. Every detail was taken care of for our trip. It was a trip of a lifetime for us and our 30th anniversary. 

I know that Travelwizard deals with hundreds of clients, and that we could have been a number on a list, but you made us feel like we were #1. The care and detail to every part of our trip was a tribute to how well you do your job. I hesitate to call it a job, it’s more of a gift you have. On a scale of 1-10, I would give you a 15! 

I hope that when your son gets older and people ask him what his mother does, that he will tell them that she helps make peoples Dreams come true. We just want to say “thank you” again for such a wonderful trip. We would like to give you this gift as a token of our appreciation for what you have done for us. 

Many Blessings to you and your Little Guy 

Randy and Sherri Ansley


Testimonials about Lidia Fiendeiro, Italy, Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii specialist: Italy 

Hi, Lidia.  The trip to Italy was wonderful!  It was one of our best trips -- jam packed and hectic, but we saw many beautiful sights over a ten day period.  Our tour guide, Annick, was delightful and got along very well with our group.  For a first time visit to Italy, it was a great way to get an overview of northern Italy

 

Claudia Itzkowitz


Testimonials about Viviana Gaeta, Europe, exotic tours, and vacation specialist: Madiera

Dear Viviana, 

Just wanted to drop a quick note and let you know how much we enjoyed our trip to Madeira.  Thank you for finding the CS Madeira Atlantic for us, it was perfect in every way. The weather was stunning,our ocean view was fantastic, the staff lovely, the food was excellent and the pool area was very relaxing.  The hotel location could not be beat and we were able to get out and walk around Funchal with no difficulty. We had no trouble getting our rental car and were able to cover the whole island in a week. I got to practice a lot of my Portuguese but everyone also spoke English beautifully.  I would definitely go back again.  I think it was more beautiful than Hawaii and in half the travel time. Thanks again for helping us put together a  family vacation that we will treasure for years.   

Sincerely, Genevieve Hunt

 


Testimonial about Leslie Bryant, Tahiti, Fiji,  Europe Specialist:  France, Paris

 

Dear Leslie,

We had a fabulous time!  France was absolutely wonderful, all of the hotels were great, the food spectacular and the service impeccable.  I would highly recommend La Villa Maillot in Paris, Negresco in Nice and La Magnaneraie in Avignon.    

I will definitely be contacting you again in the upcoming months to help us plan our trip to Tahiti for next year.  In the meantime, enjoy yourself in the warm South Pacific!

Best,
Josh


Testimonials about Melinda, Europe, Australia, Tahiti--Cruise Specialist: Italy, Croatia, Greece 
 
Melinda,

 

Thank you so much for planning ANOTHER awesome vacation for us! Everything just runs so smooth when you plan our vacations. Thank you for always being available… you have no idea what a comfort that is!

 

The hotels in both Rome and Venice were perfectly situated in the city. They were in our price range and had great access to both cities. We enjoyed your suggestion of taking the water taxi to our hotel in Venice ~ what a great view of the city!

 

Transportation in and out of Croatia was a dream! The flights that you booked for us had the friendliest staff; they gave us great suggestions on where to eat in Dubrovnik. We loved seeing the Old City and would recommend anyone to see the beauty of this unexploited city.

 

Lastly, we absolutely fell in love with the hotels in Athens and Mykonos. From the window of the Hera Hotel, we could see the Parthenon. It was an incredible view that we had as we drank wine from our hotel room balcony. The Petasos Beach Hotel had the best breakfast, pools and hotel rooms. We never wanted to leave! We spend our 4th of July breaking plates, drinking ouzo and yelling, “Opah!” with the locals!

 

Our last days of vacation in Santorini were spent drinking wine at local wineries, riding scooters and eating all the Greek food we could get our hands on! The island transfers in Greece were so easy for us to manage. Everyone was so helpful, organized and concerned with getting us where we needed to be, when we needed to be there!

 

We more than appreciate your patience, fact finding, and the detail that you put into planning dream vacations for us!

 

There isn’t a vacation we won’t plan without you!

 

Many thanks,

Kelly and Niccole Kaller


 Testimonials about Patricia Mullen, Hawaii, Tahiti, Mexico vacation specialist: Greece

 

Hi Patricia,

 

We had a great time!  The hotels were gorgeous with amazing staff and all the transportation arrangements were flawless, which was a huge stress reliever.  Thanks again!  I'm sure we'll be in touch with you about the next trip." - Patricia Young


Greece was amazing! Thank you so much for all your help! The trip was very memorable!
Warm Regards - Adam Young


Testimonial about Mike St. Jovite, Europe, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: Italy, France
 
Mike,

 

Just wanted to let you know that our trip to France and Italy was wonderful.  We received upgrades at all the hotels as hoped and also the Virtuoso amenities.  Also got a great table at Jules Verne.  Our friends were very impressed with what you were able to do and I have given them your information for future trips.

 

Thanks again for all your help.

 

Bruce


Testimonial about Lidia Fiandeiro, Europe, Hawaii, Caribbean, Mexico Specialist: France, Paris
 
Hi Lidia,

Thanks for asking..

sorry for replying so late! we really enjoyed staying at the Marriott Champs Elsyees, and we are so happy for your high quality satisfying services!

 

thanks again for everything you helped us with in this trip :)

 

regards

Reema Al-Ajlan


Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Europe, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna
 
Hi  Sharon-
We are back home from our AMAZING trip to Amsterdam, Prague and Vienna.
The day you got on the  line after my calling the central office number for
Travel Wizard, will be a day  that I will forever gratefully remember. 
Planning and preparing for a trip  to Europe, somewhere I had never been was both
exciting but yet so stressful, as  I knew I would be stretching my personal
comfort zone for such a venture.   However, with you in control, leading and
steering me, you had me prepared, and  your itinerary was completed with not one…
again, absolutely not one glitch. I  can say with total conviction, you are
amazingly gifted in your profession,  detailed orientated, and so efficient. 
Personally, you are patient, kind,  encouraging, thoughtful and generous.  
Although I had never  been to Europe, I am blessed to say I have had many
opportunities to travel  throughout the Untied States, Canada, Alaska and the
Caribbean, but not one of  those prior trips can compare to the itinerary you
planned, the hotels you chose  (thank you again for the amazing upgrades!), the
tours you choose, and choice of  days per location.  There is  absolutely
nothing you didn’t do on your part to help make this trip a dream of  a lifetime,
and it was.
May I please ask you  for a mailing address my wife and I could use to send
you a personal thank  you?   I also wanted to include  a photo so you could see
two faces of two people whose lives you have forever  touched.
Sincerely and  gratefully.
Ted

Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Europe, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: Europe
 
Sharon...you have been a blessing this entire time, and now when you don't 
even have to be planning, you still are.  I am very grateful for all  that you
have done for me and continue to still do.
 
Thank you.
Ted

Testimonials about Carol Jaxheimer, Luxury Cruises, Caribbean, Egypt, Morocco vacation specialist: Italy, Lake Como, Positano
 
Hi Carol,
 
WE had a wonderful vacation!  Both Lake Como and Positano were just
beautiful.  We had great weather--not one rainy or cloudy day, although
it was certainly warm.  Both hotels, although different, were just
beautiful.  The views and surroundings just can't be captured with a
picture.  We took several boat rides and one van tour in Positano.  We
rented the Il San Pietro's boat for a day and went to Capri and toured
and swam along the Amalfi coast.
 
I would highly recommend both of the hotels to anyone and everyone.
Some of the staff at the Il San Pietro were a bit "aloof", but others
were extremely friendly.  Everyone at the Tremezzo Palace was very
friendly and helpful.
 
We did have Cindy and Barry's wedding dinner at Le Sireneuse, and that
was also wonderful, but I don't think you can beat Il San Pietro with
both a pool and a private beach.
 
We've decided we're going again for Barry and Cindy's 5th Anniversary.
We'll have to start "saving" now--and hope the Euro exchange gets a
whole lot better!
 
Thanks for all your help.  I can truly say it was a "vacation of a
lifetime"!
 
Mary Jane

Testimonials about Patricia Mullen, Hawaii, Tahiti, Mexico vacation specialist: Ireland, England, London
 
Patricia, Thanks for the email!  We had a wonderful trip!!  We are all very tired and trying to rest up before going back to work. Everything went well.  We saw a ton of stuff while we were out there maybe a little to much.  I think we need to schedule some down days next time we take a trip like this.  Europe has so much history that you want to try to take it in all in one trip.  In Ireland we got to see ruins of my Moms family farm that dates back to the late 1700's pretty amazing stuff.  The only compliant about the whole trip is Heathrow airport.  What a giant mess.  Other than that things were great!  Thanks for all of your help in putting this together!   My Uncle Kent is getting better but both are very disappointed that they did not get to go.  Let me know if you have more specific questions. Thanks! Matt

Testimonial: Eastern Europe, Exotic Tours & Luxury Cruise Specialist : Danube River Cruise
 

Hi Guys!  We had a wonderful time!  We loved the Danube. The itinerary. the boat was great and the rooms were a very nice size and the windows were incredible.  Also the hotel in Berlin, Louisa's Place was exactly what I love and also the hotel in Munich.   Great planning for us and we will hopefully be doing more trips with you soon. Thanks again. Pam


Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Europe, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist:  Croatia, Dubrovnik
Dear Sharon,
We returned from a superb luxury adventure in Croatia,
You planned it to perfection and our driver/guide Joseph was fantastic.
The family really loved the hotels you chose and the Villa Argentina in Dubrovnik was simply lovely.
Thank you for your time and effort in planning this trip.
Best Stephen
 

Testimonial about Diane Boyle, Europe, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: 

Hi Diane, 

I apologize for the late reply. As it always happens after a long vacation, things piled up and I was sitting here sifting through emails

for 3 days. Italy was absolutely amazing. I'm so glad to have been to Italy as my first non-tour guided destination in Europe. The people are friendly everywhere we went. The weather was gorgeous, 80 degrees everyday andrained only for half a day. The food, oh the food, I've never tasted tomatoes so sweet or mushrooms so fresh. But 10 days of pizza and pasta in a 80 degree heat was kind of harsh on our body, so we ended up having Chinese food in Rome, which was fun since we experienced what Chinese food was like in another country.

Our favorite destinations are Taormina and Capri. The view was breathtaking and the little winding streets was so much fun to explore. We wish we could have stayed longer in both places.

Our drive to Sorrento was a bit long, took us total of 9 hours, because we went through the Amalfi Coast drive, instead of the high way. We definitely could not have survived the road without our GPS, there were some constructions that led us off of the road and all the signs were in Italian, so our GPS definitely saved us the trouble of having to stop and ask for directions. The Amalfi Coast view didn't impress us because we had been to Taormina already and the drive in Sicily were all by the coast line, which is very similar to the Amalfi Coast. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the winding roads and the first hand experience of Italian drivers. Let's just say, we are very happy to be alive right now. The hotels were ok in general. Like most hotels in Italy, they were smaller compare to the states, but very clean. Hotel Isabella in Taormina was very very small, it was uncomfortable since we had luggage too. But it did have a balcony with view, which made up for the small room. The flight to and from Italy were probably the worse I've experienced in my life. I travel to Asia a lot, so I'm used to the transferring and long flights. But I think it had more to do with the Italian airports and the personnel services. Getting on and off the flight took more than half an hour, having to transfer twice at Dusseldorf and Turin was not pleasant, since the waiting time in between were long and there was practically nothing around. Coming back to the States, our flight from Washington to NJ were delayed for 4 hours because of a possible storm.  

But all in all, I enjoyed the trip very much. Checking in with the documents you provided was a breeze, no problem at all. Getting the car and returning the car took no longer than 15 minutes. Everything worked out perfectly and we really enjoyed ourselves. If there was anything I'd do differently, I'd book a directly flight and pick less places to go (we went through 6 places in 10 days). We were so exhausted by the end of the trip, we only went to the coloseeum in Rome and spent the second half of the day in the hotel room watching movies.

I'm glad I booked the trip through you; I could have never done this on my own. Throughout the trip I felt very safe knowing that there is a # I could call to contact someone if I had a problem. Our first experience in Europe was a success and I have told everyone around me about Travelwizard. I will definitely call you if I need help booking another trip.

Thank you so much Diane! We truly appreciate your effort. Thanks for a wonderful experience.

Stephanie and Henry


Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Europe, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: 

Sharon,
"You are amazing...it has been phenomenal working with you!!!

Ted 

Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Exotic Vacations, New Zealand and Tours Specialist: 

Mom and I had a wonderful time in Ireland!!  Thanks for checking in.  My head has been spinning since I got back trying to settle into my new home (I feel like the unpacking will never end) and right back to the work grind.
The Hayfield Manor was beautiful and the service impeccable. Unfortunately one night we had no heat though and woke up at 2 am freezing and had to have the night manager bring in a space heater.  Oh well, but breakfast the next morning was yummy!!  And we loved the pool, jacuzzi and spa!  We drove the Ring of Kerry but didn't kiss the Blarney Stone.  We actually forgot all about it -- oops!  Our time along the ocean in Dingle Bay was wonderful too and we got some amazing photos.  Hertz ended up not having an automatic car and I had to use a manual shift while driving on the left
side of the road with the steering wheel on the right side of the car.  I
told the Hertz man he didn't know what he was inflicting on his fellow
countrymen!  Getting out of Cork was interesting as a result of the manual car, but we laughed about it!  But the Irish are crazy drivers anyway!  My left elbow got sore from all the shifting but I learned fast and became quite the whiz at it, and started to eventually love it.

But I think our favorite was the Currarevagh House in Oughterard, County Galway.  An amazing old manor house from 1840 that could use a little interior decor update, but the family that ran it was fabulous and the home-made breakfasts and dinners they made every night were just amazing -- things like duck a l'orange, fois gras, fresh fish from Lake Corrib and beautiful vegatables that were not to be had anywhere else in Ireland!!
I'm not sure the Irish really understand what fresh vegatables are.  But the best were the desserts: baked alaska, chocolate mouse cake, lemon mouse cake w/ fresh blueberries.... I could go on and on!!!
We also did a little ancestry hunt and had fun doing so, but in the end hit a dead end.  The Irish have great geneological societies established in each county and they plan to have them all on-line within the next year.  So hopefully we can find out more concrete info here at home and then check again with the parish records in Ireland thru the geneological societies on-line. Thank you so much for all your help and hard work in pulling this together for us.  It was a vacation we both needed and we really enjoyed living it
up!!!  It was a very special mum and daughter trip -- a trip of a
lifetime.  Thank you!!  Here are a few pictures...
-Regina.


Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Exotic Vacations, and Tours Specialist: 
 
Hey Sharon,
We are home & had a fantastic time. 
I have to say that the Vatican tour was fantastic.  The wine & food
experience in Chianti was soo much fun too.  The car rental was Mr.
toad's wild ride so we drove to Pisa too and I have many many pictures.

The tour in Venice we changed up and had him take us on a walking/boat taxi tour around Veniza and completely enjoyed our guide.  He was from Chile and was a bit hard to understand, but a very nice man and showed us the 'inside' of Venice.
I'll send you but a few of the MANY pictures we took.  I have to say
that the trip home was tough.
JFK airport is an absolute zoo and if we can avoid it next time that
would be great. (1 hr on the runway waiting to take off....) 50 planes
at least in front of us.... After a 1+ hr delay for a mechanical
issue...) we got to Seattle at 2am..... And on a plane for Spokane at 10 the next morning.  We figure we got 4 or so hrs. in 36.... But we are back on track, sharing pictures and have some great memories.  
We bought wine at the Castillo de Verazzanno and can't wait.  Chianti
Reserva!  Sooooo good!
It truly was a trip of a lifetime.
Thank you - Thank you - Thank you - Thank you - Thank you - Thank you -
Thank you - Thank you
Grazia
Merry and Ralph, 


Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Exotic Vacations, and Tours Specialist:  

Thanks Sharon,
We had a great time in Italy. You did a wonderful job with the
accommodations!
We took you advice and took a train to Naples, then a ferry to Capri.
What a beautiful place. We went to the information booth and they called
a couple of hotels and got us into a nice three star hotel (which seemed
more like a four star) for 160 euros. It overlooked the Mediterranean
with a gorgeous view.
The next morning we tried to get on a boat tour around the island, but
just missed the boat. Luckily, another boat company gave Cindy and me a
private two-hour boat ride around the island. That was the best 100
euros we spent. He took us into all of the grottos with the beautiful
bright blue sea.
We have such great memories.

Thanks again,
Dan and Cindy

Bona Sera!
 
 
Sharon we are having a wonderful time!  Tonite we are in Firenze. 
Let me start with Como  - simply THE most romantic place we've been (other than Bora Bora)... the Villa de Este' is beautiful & romantic & spacious rooms & great food & romantic & great sight seeing & did I say romantic?  When you send your next clients there - highly suggest the private boat ride to Bellagio.... expensive... but very very worth it!  I will just tell you that for dinner one nite we had champagne & strawberries on the veranda......
The train was delayed via train from Como to Milan- thus missed the connection from Milan to Venzia - however, we got the next train 30 minutes later but missed our pickup.. but caught a water taxi to Hotel Luna Baglioni ... also, the company that was to pick us up from Baglioni to the train did not have us so we had to water taxi from there ourselves...$115 euro for both ways... so you might check with them for a refund....
a n y w a y   Venice was so much fun. We saw everything & walked till our feet hurt up to our ears!  For the tour to Murano & Burano...... we changed our mind & convinced the guide to take us on a tour of Venice.. He was fantastic!  He took us to his home area & to his normal cafe's & to a most beautiful church & gave us a very good 'walking-water tour' & dropped us off at a museeà across town where we walked & ate & drank & went into more churches on our way back to the hotel. Luna Baglioni was a cruise ship size room (small) so we barely unpacked, however the staff was excellent and the resturant-bar downstairs were great.  The entertainment guitar-piano guy was superb and all the staff was extremely nice.
The train to Firenze was a nice ride & we picked up the car at the airport - thank the Good Lord for tomtom navigation that speaks English!   The Wine & Food experience at Villa de Verazanno was soooooo much fun and very informative.... we arrived a bit late due to being lost & our nav system didnàt have it in there, but they were very gracious and we caught our group nearly at the beginning....  a very nice tour, very fun and informative - the lunch provided was superb and very Italian with lots of wine and most beautiful scenery!!
Today we drove to Firenze - may I say that my American husband drives very well with these c r a z y Italians!! the scooters are kamikazes and nobody signals or waits for anyone else on any road and merge nicely?? ha!  Ralph was in his element.....
We saw the Duomo & San Lorenzo's & several others - however the Uffizi was booked till Friday..... so!  thatàs where we are so far....VERY smooth wine Chianti Reserva.....  will arrive home in 4 or 5 weeks......
Tomorrow we'll make that up as we get there....
 
Ciao
Marià & Rafael
 



Testimonials about Donna Salerno, Europe, exotic tours, and vacation specialist:  

We are back and the arrangements you put together for Europe was great. Your reservations were seamless from the time we left until we returned last night.   

All of the hotels were wonderful.  We enjoyed the hotel in Salzburg the best -our room had a balcony that overlooked the river.  Our visit to Dachau outside of Munich and the Sound of Music tour in Salzberg were the most memorable experiences for different reasons. Innsbruck was by far the prettiest city I have ever seen.    
 
Our only other experience with European travel was a Mediterranean cruise so we were a little intimidated.  However, your arrangements made it easy to navigate.  Thanks again for all your help; deciding on where to go next We'll talk soon. 
 
Private

 

Testimonial about Sarah Baugman, Luxury Cruise Specialist 
 

This is a note to compliment your agent Sara Baughman.

Sara has handled two trips for me – last year on the Seven Seas Voyager from Rome to Athens and this year in on the Paul Gauguin in Tahiti.  All hotels, all transports to and from locations were 100% on target.  The accommodations were all excellent and most importantly Sara was always available before and during the trips.  She is to be complimented on a job well done.  She becomes a “friend” not just a travel agent.

If my plans call for future travel you can be assured I will call Sara.

O. Jules Romary of Jupiter, FL 


Testimonials about our Italy, Europe Specialist 

We've returned home from our wonderful two weeks exploring the beautiful cities of Spain. The advance planning that you did for our trip was terrific. All the hotels that you found for us were located in the heart of the areas we wanted to explore, and each was distinctively clean with helpful staff. The half day planned tours were perfect for our initial overview of each city yet left us enough free time to spend at selected sights we wanted to explore further. The sequence of cities visited was perfect...Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Granada, and Marbella....allowing us to move easily from one location to the next first via train (First class was definitely the right choice for the train tickets!) and then with the easy car rental for the last leg of our journey (many thanks for thinking of passing on the website information to us to obtain maps in advance!). The final three days at Costa Del Sol were a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary and wind down from all the sightseeing we had done in the first portion of our vacation. You made our Spanish adventure both easy to plan and to enjoy. Thank you for a wonderful time!

Kind regards, Diane & Ralph


Testimonial about Linda Barber, Hawaii, Alaska, Exotic Vacation Specialist

Linda,

I don't know where to begin.  The trip was absolutely perfect from the moment I left my house until I returned.  Celebrity is a great cruise line and I would definitely join them on another cruise.  The tour at Ephesus was magnificent and my guide in Rome, Francesca, was amazing.  I am so glad you recommended a private tour - I felt like a "celebrity".  It will be a while before I come back to reality (even if I'm back at work this morning).  Thank you so much!

Penny


Testimonial about our Europe, Italy Specialist  

I want to let you know that I received the travel documents/pkg today.  I am very impressed with the document case and the way you set up the itinerary etc.  Never have seen such attention to detail for a customer.  I need something like that for my travels.  Sure wish I was able to also go on this trip. I know that my sisters will have a great time.  Thanks for all care in making this trip a reality. 

Mike


 Testimonial about Joan Smith, Luxury Cruise Specialist

Hi Joan,
   So nice to hear from you!  I keep meaning to e-mail you a note and then you
beat me to it - oh well.  We had a wonderful time.  The ship was gorgeous and the ports were beautiful.  Thanks for ordering the sunshine for us - we got very toasted!  We really apprecited all the time and effort that you put into getting everyones questions answered etc... Our rooms were so close together - and the 10th floor was a great location.  If you have anywhere where I can sing your praises to your company let me know because I do that often for nice people, doing their jobs and still enjoying it.  The best thing about the cruise was, everyone was healthy and stayed that way, we all celebrated something special and even though another one of us is dealing with a crisis, we all managed to enjoy each other and we all came back still friends.  Thanks again for your help and we look foward to a future vacation planning together!

--
Best Regards,
Colleen Saufley



Testimonials about Sharon Walters, Exotic Vacations Specialist:

Thanks Sharon.
We had a great trip. I am in love with London. What a terrific and vibrant city. So much to do and so little time. The weather was perfect for this time of year. In the 50's and sunny every day. Did all the tourist things. Viewed and toured all the main sights from Big Ben, Parliament, St. Pauls Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Fountain, Tower of London, Globe Theatre, Hampton Court Palace, Harrod's, The V&A Museum, Buckingham Palace etc;. Rode the "Tube" everywhere.

We attended the Evensong service at Westminster Abbey and had the privilege to sit in the seats normally reserved  for the dignitaries and choir only. We sat right next to the choir. They sounded beautiful.

Saw a play (The Entertainer) at the Old Vic Theatre. It was Fantastic. What great acting!
Robert Lindsay played the lead role of Archie Rice that was originally played 50 years ago by Sir Laurence Olivier.
We had six row center seats that we got half price at Leicester Square TKTS. Unbelievable!!!
 
The hotel and all arrangements were excellent. Thank You!

Oh yes, we did have dinner at a terrific little restaurant called the Masala Zone (right up your alley taste wise) right around the corner from the hotel.

Now on our next  trip to England I have to visit my cousins who live just outside of Manchester, in Leicester, and Nottingham.
Although our next trip will probably be to Italy. Take care. I'll let you know of our next travel plans.

Rudy




 
 

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