We were able to cover so much ground in both cities, thanks to the tours! The Hop on Hop off was a wonderful intro to Paris, and the one-day tour was so thorough!

Thank you so much for planning a trip we will fondly remember in our family for a lifetime!!!! I hope to work with you again soon.

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 I was taught in a journalism class to never bury the lead….so here goes:  We loved our driver!  Beth and I spoke to you about finding the right driver for us – Kathy, you found the PERFECT driver. Kieran delivered on everything we could have hoped for and more!  He brought all of your great planning and itineraries to life for us!  He became more than our driver.  He never expected or assumed anything but we always happily included him in our sightseeing, dining and of course pub crawling!  We learned so much from him about the history, land, culture, politics, religion, sports, food, family life – anything we wanted to know, he shared.  We also appreciated that he made suggestions on things to see along the way; he always left it up to us – but in most cases his ideas were spot on!

The 3 hotels in Ireland were terrific.  They were all very different but all first rate and they could not have been more accommodating.  I’m not sure how you could ever beat Dromoland Castle!  We got there early enough that we could walk the gardens and hike through some of the woods.  It is just amazing!  Thank you for booking us into the dining room for dinner – it was simply magnificent; I don’t think we will ever forget the elegance of the service.  Kathy, thank you very much for the room upgrade you arranged for Beth and me.  We actually felt like royalty!  I am not sure we will ever experience a room like that ever again!

You suggested that we use a driver rather than doing the driving ourselves.  And you were absolutely correct about that!  The driving in Ireland is not easy:  the traffic in Dublin and on the roads to Killarney, roads on the Ring and the Cliffs are not easy to navigate and you would miss so many points of interest not knowing what you are looking for or what you are actually looking at!  We would strongly recommend a driver to anyone considering driving themselves!

We very much appreciate your attention to every detail of our trip.  You made this trip – a once in a lifetime experience for all of us!  We can’t thank you enough!

Slainte!…..JOHN

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After Taha’a we ventured off to Bora Bora. In Bora Bora we stayed at the beautiful St. Regis resort. This is the most luxurious and top notch hotel we have every stayed at. It had everything we ever wanted and more. From the first class service to the amenities. The St. Regis staff welcomed us with open arms from the minute we got there. We loved the attention to detail and the care they have for their guests; we were treated wonderfully. We had a large Over-Water Bungalow with the view of the lagoon. We enjoyed the many restaurant offerings from the Italian at Far Niente, to the sushi at Bamboo, to the fine dining at the Lagoon Restaurant by Jean-Georges to the theme nights at Aparima Bar. We really enjoyed the bicycles that we were able to grab when we wanted and we went to and from one spot to another. It also allowed us to explore the resort and the vast grounds. We spent time in the man-made lagoonarium which had a ton of amazing fish and sea life as well. You can’t get any better than that! We also took advantage of the spa where we were able to relax even more. The vast grounds were great to walk around and take in on each beautiful day we were there – not wanting to ever leave! We also took a Safari Jeep tour on the island of Bora Bora where we saw the sunset from the top of a hill, the various canons from American soldiers and saw different views of the water and islands from various spots. We also visited the famous Bloody Mary’s bar. Like I said, the staff and butler services were exceptional and they knew our names from the minute we arrived to the final day we were there. I can’t say anything bad about the St. Regis.

Both of these hotels were dream hotels and we will never forget this experience. This trip was unforgettable. If we could do it again tomorrow we would! Kathy Mueller and the travel team were amazing and we are so grateful for the amazing trip that was put together for us.

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I can’t say enough good things about our Tour Leader, Rocio Cortéz and our Cusco-Machu Picchu Guide, María Núñez. Each was highly professional, attentive to all our needs, personally engaging, and highly informative. Together they made a highly effective team. Kudos to both.

Mike & Patty

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Windstar Cruises are known for their sailing vessels, but they have added some ocean liners and we cruised on their Star Breeze which accommodates only 212 passengers. Much smaller than your typical ocean liner. The crew was predominately from the Philippines and they were outstanding – genuine and professional. The food was perfect. We had breakfast and lunch each day al fresco on the aft deck and one night to celebrate the big birthday we dined alfresco under the stars. This was the same night that we cruised through the many locks of the Panama Canal.

I didn’t expect the locks to be such an interesting experience but to my surprise it was! My husband was in his glory and had acquired another check on his bucket list.

We spent two nights before the cruise began in the city of Panama, staying at the beautiful Hotel Bristol. The city of Panama is a dichotomy of old & new. I preferred the old. Casco Viejo (Spanish for Old Quarter) is the historic district of Panama City. It was built following the near and total destruction of the original Panama City in 1671 when the city was attacked by pirates.

Today, it is vibrant and authentic with many wonderful restaurants and homes. It’s a must see when traveling to this part of the world.

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We’ve been to Italy several times but never to Lake Como.  I dreamt of lying alongside the lake whiling away the hours in the Italian sun and drinking Bellinis!  So that’s exactly what we did.  The plan was to feel like a local!

Since we were going to spend 7 nights in one place, we opted for a more reasonably priced hotel but also very authentic.  We stayed at the small boutique Hotel Belvedere.  Our room overlooked the lake and had a huge terrace which was great for early morning cups of tea and late day sunset viewing.  We stayed in the town of Bellagio which I would highly recommend.  We were able to walk from our hotel into town for meals, shopping and people watching.

We rented a car and each day after a delicious breakfast at the hotel, we ventured out in our small rental car (with a HUGE sign that said RENTAL on the side) to explore all the towns of this lake region.  The sign on the side actually was a blessing as the Italians could easily recognize that we were not locals and politely gave way on their extremely narrow road ways.

We visited two of the most beautiful hotels I have ever seen while on this trip.  Frist, we drove to Villa d’Este in Cernobbio.  We were treated to a delicious lunch by my Virtuoso partner.  We sat beside the lake under an umbrella and felt like we were in another time.  We had the opportunity to look at many of the room categories and one was more beautiful than the next.  The gardens at Villa d’Este are epic and make the resort feel like paradise.

Another day, we took a boat across the lake from Bellagio to meet with another Virtuoso partner at The Grand Hotel Tremezzo in Tremezzo.  She too treated us to another lakeside lunch on the most beautiful terrace.  The food and atmosphere were beyond my expectations.  One of their three swimming pools literally sits over the lake and the hotel has a private beach.

If you are looking for a romantic getaway and have the luxury of time then I would highly recommend a week in Lake Como.

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The service onboard was excellent and the river cruise schedule could not be more relaxing.  Due to the small size of these vessels, you pull right into the cities you visit.  This means literally walking off the ship when you are ready to explore – so easy and convenient.

We stopped in some wonderful towns and cities such as Antwerp know for it’s Belgian Chocolate, Rotterdam known for their beautiful Delft China, Kinderdijk famous for their windmills and finally Amsterdam.  Although each stop was wonderful, for me, Amsterdam was the highlight!  Amsterdam is a biker’s paradise with more bikes than people and the major source of transportation around the city.  The museums are outstanding – my personal favorite was the Van Gogh museum.

When all is said and done, however, the absolute most amazing thing that I saw on this trip was the Keukenhof Gardens outside Amsterdam.  Tulips are my favorite flower and as a tulip worshiper I have always wanted to visit this special place.  The gardens were more beautiful than I ever imagined and the fact that this wonderful place is only open eight weeks a year, yet employs a staff year round was fascinating to me.    They receive over one million visitors per year and I am very happy that I was one of them!

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