Rick Steves'
Best of Italy in 17 Days
Where are we?
Each page will contain map orientation
We've selected music
which we feel typifies each city/region on our tour. From Italian opera to more popular themes, we hope each selection will add a new dimension to your scrapbook experience..
PLEASE ACTIVATE AUDIO PLAYER
Test it here!
A Tasteful Introduction To Italy
Italy is a country that appeals to ALL the senses.
Unfortunately, we're limited as to how many of
these we can share with you via this website.
By clicking on each of these two menu buttons,
Northern Region: Days 1-10
Central Region: Days 11-17
you will find information on cuisine and wines
of the northern and central regions of Italy
as well as guides to its unique dining culture.
You may also access these pages by clicking either of these images on the bottom of designated pages.
"When in Rome, do as..."
Taking artistic liberties with an old adage, we have placed photos under this heading that show many of our free time activities.
Whether you choose to pursue specific tour sites, or venture out on your own, your tour guide, Rick Steves guide books or hotel concierge are great resources.
TO ENLARGE ANY PHOTO ON THIS WEBSITE PLEASE CLICK ON IT.
Andiamo a Milano
"Andiamo" is Italian for "Let's go!"
Heraldry has historic prominance in Italy.
Click on the coat of arms at the bottom of each page to be linked to that city's page.
May we recommend...
Beneath this push pin is a collection of brochures, ticket stubs, business cards, wrappers, etc. from many of the places we visited on this tour. We present them as suggestions of things you may also enjoy.
 VARENNA |  VERONA |  DOLOMITES |
|---|---|---|
 VENICE |  FLORENCE |  CINQUE TERRE |
 PISA |  SIENA |  ASSISI |
 ORVIETO |  ROME |
Benvenuto in Italia!
"Welcome to Italy"
... CLICK ON EACH PHOTO TO SEE TOUR OVERVIEW ...
Buon giorno!
We are Bill and Wendy Budge and this is
our third tour with Rick Steves' Europe.
We became acquainted with Rick in the early '90s when his travel shows first appeared on our local PBS station. At that time we could only dream of the far-away places he talked about. Four years ago we retired and those dreams became realities.
Initially, based on our ancestral heritage, our "bucket list" contained only two tours: "Best of Scotland" and "Best of Germany, Switzerland and Austria". After completing these trips we realized they had merely piqued our curiosity for what the rest of Europe had to offer...
WE WERE HOOKED!
Why Italy?
We knew that this was just the beginning
of what we hoped would be our good fortune to experience, so we polled a few of our well-travelled friends and Italy became our next destination. We love
art, history, food and wine (not necessarily
in that order) and Italy fit the criteria!
Italy was beyond our expectations.
We hope this travelogue reflects that...
