Though we've traveled to Europe quite a few times now, we've not yet been to Italy. We are thinking about doing the RS Rome Tour. We have never done a tour and have always traveled on our own. We'd like to do some independent travel on both ends of the trip. I've spent a lot of time playing with $$ and Miles on Delta and also some time on Google flights. It would appear that the only reasonable fare I can get is round trip to Zurich (about $900 vs. 1350 or so). So I could look at flying from Zurich to Florence or Rome or using the train, or perhaps train one way and plane back. It looks as though the most direct train route is Zurich to Milan though I need to look at the Swiss Train map to determine if another route might be more scenic. I've been doing a lot of research to determine preferences in Italy, and I'm not sure I'm all that interested in Milan (should I be?). The cities/areas of most interest for this trip (there will likely be more trips) would be Florence, Sienna, and smaller less touristy Tuscan town; Assisi and smaller less touristy Umbrian town(s), and possibly something around Lago Maggiore and possibly Cinque Terre, depending on how much time we have (in addition to the 7 days in Rome). If we have time, and if it makes sense itinerary time, we might spend a day or so in Luzern (have already been there). Not sure if we'd have enough time to do any more in Switzerland, tho I'd love to return to BO, or try Lausanne/Vevey.
I'm not much of a shopper. We like food and wine and scenic areas, and interesting architecture. I love to visit churches and to spend some time in art museums.
And as an aside, in terms of airline tickets, if I do use Delta, if I wanted to check my luggage on the way home, I could with my AMEX card. But it looks like I could end up paying a quite bit if I want to pick my seat, which is aggravating.