We are recovered from post trip Covid. Fortunately we got sick on the next to last day, we had Paxlovid with us (had a hard time convincing our Drs. to prescribe it before the trip) and as far as we know, no one else got sick. FYI, we had the new Covid vaccine 3 weeks before our trip and wore masks on the plane. Have no idea where we got sick.
Now the trip. This was an ideal trip for us. Other than Venice (which we love) we had not been to any of the other locations before. Milan was interesting (usual big city stuff ) and I will post some of the "cemetery" pictures which were mentioned above. Lakes Como and Maggiore are some of the most beautiful places we have ever visited and our weather was perfect. (Lucky for us we missed the current rain and flooding!) The hotels were like palaces and the food was quite good. Verona is charming, renaissance and I felt like we were ensconced in a Shakespearean play sprinkled with Roman ruins everywhere. Bellagio, Modena and Bologna were also historically interesting. For us, the Ferrari car museum was uninspiring but others considered it a high point of the trip. To each his own. We love Venice and would have preferred nicer weather (it rained, but not flooded) and of course we could have done without getting sick.
All in all it was a very good trip. The food, after a few days although good was primarily pasta and Sea Bass so that got a little boring. Wine was plentiful, good and was served at most meals courtesy of Tauck. Our tour director (Victor) was efficient, very knowledgeable and very congenial. He helped to create a very positive atmosphere on the tour.
As far as the activity levels: Mornings when we were relocating started early, days we we could stay put started later. There was a considerable amount of walking and stairs where there were no alternative means of getting from one place to another. That said, I think the median age of our group was about 75, with a few travelers with canes and everyone seemed to be able to participate in most of the activities. All in all it was a very good trip and I definitely recommend it for anyone who has already seen Rome and Florence.
good trip and I definitely recommend it for anyone who has already seen Rome and Florence.
