I am creating this discussion thread for tour group members of the Best of Venice, Florence, Rome tour group that begins on May 22nd 2016. I have also created a Facebook page for the tour group to use and communicate while out and about.
The page is called "Rick Steves Best of VFR - May 2016". Search for it on Facebook and ask to join. (I would post a link to the page, but I do not want to possible violate the RS Forum Guidelines.)
Once you reach the page, request access, and I will match your name to the list sent out to us by Rick Steves. This way, we can all be assured the most privacy and security. For the moment, the page is private (not secret) so that you can find it in a Facebook search. Once we begin the tour, I will change it to Secret and it will no longer be searchable or visable to anyone outside of the group. You will also have the ability to invite friends and family to the group if you want them to be able to see your posts without your entire friends list knowing you are out of town (because you never know who would use your house to host a wild pool party).
When we are on the tour, we can use the page to post pictures and talk about what we are doing and where we are going during our free afternoons. This way, if a number of us are going to a remote location (like the Appian Way Park and Catacombs for me on 5/31) we can coordinate travel, share cab fare, and have a bit more safety in numbers.
My wife and I are so looking forward to the start of the tour in just a couple more weeks. We also look forward to meeting the group. We took a RS Paris tour a few years back and are still good friends with members of that trip.
Salute!