Embrace Life.

“Travel is intensified living, with maximum thrills per minute. It's recess, and we need it.”

-Rick Steves

Rick Steves Heart of Italy Tour:

An Architect’s Travel Notes For You

Who?

We are family: Paul, an architect, and multimedia artist; my sister, Eva, is an artist, and Bob, Eva’s husband, all-around fun and a party guy.

Why Rick?

For me, the art and architecture of Italy are like old friends that I haven’t seen for a while. I worked and traveled in Europe and was skeptical about packaged tours. Would a Rick Steves Tour satisfy needs?

I remember always watching Rick Steves on public television growing up and was impressed by the well-rounded, accurate, and heartfelt nature of his content. I did my research, and the Rick Steves Tours met all my fussy criteria. Here is why:

This was our travel wish list:

(I hope it helps you. For more info, go here on Rick Steves.com for his 10 commitments to you, his fellow travelers. If you are on the fence, this will help.

1. True to the Culture

Eva and I are well-traveled and were skeptical about tours in general. Authenticity is important to us, and our Rick Steves Tour had unique local places and people to see. We received as much cultural immersion as was comfortable for our whirlwind romp. Interaction with the locals is high on our list.
We wanted to see the blockbuster sites again, but we also wanted to see what was off the beaten path. Rick Steves Tours specializes in these experiences.

2. Bang for the Buck

Can we afford this?! The tour was worth every single dollar we spent. We did not want or get the homogeneous gold-plated tour where you do not interact with the local culture and street life.
And yet, we didn’t want to bum around Europe with a backpack and minimal hostel lodgings like in our younger days (though it was loads of fun). Rick Steves Tours are not only well priced for the market, as a whole, but also fulfilled our travel needs and wants. In other words, a great value.

3. Passionate Travel Hosts

“Leave the hassle to the tour guides, sonny!” We were wary of robotic rote tour guides who were on the clock. “Passionate” is well bandied about, but our “hosts,” as I like to call them, really cared about us and what they did.
Rick personally chooses each host, and they are paid salaries so that they don’t take kickbacks from the businesses that they use. They are there to educate and have your interests at the forefront. Cheers to Colleen! Your hospitality and depth of knowledge wowed us.

4. Social Conscience

When I first heard of Rick’s idea in TED talks about “Travel as a Political Act,” I was curious about what he meant. His point is to travel so that we can make the world a better place by meeting, understanding, and empathizing with, and enjoying the cultures outside our own.
We can meet locals on their turf, walk their streets with some free, unstructured time, and eat what they eat.

5. Adventurous Travelers

In my past travels, I would only go with friends, and we would stay at the homes of friends. Our Rick Steves tour group had 28 friendly people that were willing to cover some ground. Colleen, our guide, told us in advance how much walking we would do every day. You could decide whether to go or not.
Our fellow travelers were knowledgeable and had a keen interest in the people/places we visited. Times together were always animated with conversation and laughter. We traveled simply with only one carry-on piece of luggage that we had to carry ourselves.

6. Choreographed Pace, Action & Timing

We moved efficiently because Rick Steves crafted the tour for ease and comfort. The trip maximized “thrills-per-minute.” The whole tour has a smart logic about its sequence of events so that the energetic times and chill times work for maximum fun and pleasure.

Like a good story, the tour has an introductory beginning, a varied and colorful middle, and a thrilling ending and wind down. Rome is a good beginning, the Tuscan countryside and the seaside an excellent middle, and Florence a spectacular end.

Simple, fresh, aromatic and an orchestra of varied flavors are the hallmarks of Italian cooking. It is no wonder that it is one of the favorite cusines in the world.

7. We Wanted, “Yum for the Tum,” Local Cuisine

Food. Food. Food. What is a vacation without local, fresh, and imaginatively delicious food? Eva, Bob, and I love all kinds of cuisine. There is a special place in our hearts for the utterly simple, straightforward, filling, spicy, colorful, and aromatic cooking of the Italians.
We were treated to the best out of the way local fare where the owner is usually the chef, and the rest of the family wait on you. We got extra special attention because our guide built up a relationship with these local restaurants that, for Colleen specifically, spans decades! (Yes, she started as a toddler. Tee-hee.)

8. Fun, fun, and more fun by living “La Dolce Vita!”

Traveling well is hard work. This tour minimized our hassles: a knowledge-filled, well-paced itinerary, a passionate, professional guide, entertaining travelers, and above all, incredible, authentic food would give us the most bang for the buck. This tour has a laser focus on the sweet life — La Dolce Vita! For more information about the 9 days Rick Steves Heart of Italy Tour, click here.