We're off... with a light pack!

Rats, I forgot the Italy guidebook. There's another 1.5 pounds. I know, I know, we could just cut out the pages we need, but DH won't hear of it. So he should carry it, right? :-)

Hope you and Stan have a fabulous time. Drink some wine and eat some pasta for me!!

Great weight for you, Jane, and not terribly bad for hubby. And yes, put the book in his bag lol.

Have a wonderful tour!

Jane - have fun. I was thinking about you this am. Going to work today since I have been back on Sunday. My body is still on Europe time I think.

Still have to do travel report. Looking over pics for scrapbook.

Admire your packing. Don't think I could ever do it in my Appenzell. But pack light in my sm rs roller.

Hope it is not too hot!

Kim

Kudos to you Jane for your packing expertise and yes, I do agree: your husband should carry the tour book! You are going to have such fun on this tour. Lots of experiential experiences, great food and wines. Have fun!!

I took this tour last month. It's terrific. You'll have a great time.

Just make sure one of your pairs of shoes is good for long walks. You will be doing a lot of that. And plenty of hills.

You'll probably stay in the same hotels as my tour so one bit of advice--if you have gadgets to charge bring either a multi plug or better, an extension cord. The hotels I stayed in lacked plugs and they were usually behind furniture.

In Orvieto, I suggest one night you go to Restaurant Charlie. It's basically a sit down pizza restaurant but it ranks as one of the top five pizzas I've had in my entire life

And something you will be introduced to and probably learn to love--the Aperol Spritz. If you don't know what it is, you'll find out.

Thanks, Nance. And Debra, you can count on it, since you urged us to sign up for this tour. We'll be thinking about you!

Whoops! Three more people posted while I was responding. Thank you all. Kim, I'll see you in August. Frank II, thanks for the tips. One of my yoga pals loves Orvieto, and is very pleased we're going. Andi, unfortunately, DH's bags are full, and I still have room. So I get the guidebook.

And I'm signing off now, but I'll be checking back in from time to time. Thanks again to everyone.

Have a great time Jane!

I used to haul around a heavy laptop. Tell the DH to go get him a Chromebook to travel with--$150-$175. Mine has Windows 10 on it.
I use my Chromebook for internet and Facebook. My big laptop still has all my business saved on it, but I just start it up from time to time.

Congratulations on discovering you can make a trip carrying less "stuff." We've traveled that way for years.

RS's Italy Book is available on Kindle, so if you have that app loaded on your phone or iPad, you can purchase it and save the weight.

Quick, while DH is still napping, desecrate that guidebook

Or, if its in yr bag, give it that Hansel and Gretel treatment, leaving pages behind each night. :)

Jane,

Have a wonderful time on your tour!

Where did you find that "tiny but lovely fabric purse"?

Eat some gelato for me! ;-)

Jane, this is such a fantastic tour! At the risk of repeating myself yet again...the ceramics "factory" in Deruta has shipped items home for us...twice..they're just beautiful and are packed extremely well...arrived in perfect shape., even several large platters. Just FYI. Have a wonderful time!

Have a great time and post reports!

Good for you for packing so light!
I took the Village Italy tour about 12 years ago and loved it.
And let me second Frank II on the Aperol Spritz. I saw them in cafes all over Slovenia and Croatia (Best of the Adriatic) and finally ordered one on a very warm day in Dubrovnik. It was as tasty as it was enticing to look it!
Happy trails!!!
SharYn

Jane
I hope you have a great trip. That tour is on my bucket list. Have lots of great wine, gelato and tiramisu! Please post a trip report when you return.

Yo, Jane. I'm in Venice, all packed up except the last minute stuff. See you tomorrow in Padua. I failed at packing as lightly as you do and had to go to my trusty Eagle Creek roller bag.

I'm looking forward to meeting you and Stan. I think I can learn something from your packing, although my list of contents is similar. If you are a small person who wears small sizes and has small feet, I won't feel so badly. If you are plus-size with size 10 feet, I have no excuse!

I just realized that you are probably already in country. It's been hot and humid since I arrived in Rome on 13 June, until today. We've had wind, rain, thunder, lightning and now it's calm and sunny.

Today was the first day I could have used that 11 oz rain jacket I've been lugging around. At least I've off loaded lots of paper.

Jane and Lo!! Have a wonderful time!

Jane - wow, what a great pack job you did!

Can't wait for both of your Trip Reports!

Greetings from a villa somewhere in Tuscany! We are on day 8 of the tour, and are having a wonderful time. I just wanted to touch base with all of you; I'll post a trip report when we get home.

A couple of points: priscilla, I got the purse at an art fair held yearly in Tulsa. But the people who made it are in Colorado; I'll check when I get home.

People always ask about the makeup of the group. We have 24 people, including 7 couples and one mother-daughter pair. The age range is 16 to 76. We are all getting along splendidly. There are only 7 men on the tour. There were actually supposed to be only 6, but a second mother-daughter pair had to go to plan B when the daughter couldn't get away for 2 weeks.

One more thing: 19 of us actually managed the climb into Civita! And made it back out, which is even harder.

Oh, Lo and Debbie (she posts as broekerd) are lovely people, good travel companions.

I'll check in again in a week or so, and will post a trip report and some reviews in the second half of July.

Thanks for all your comments and good wishes. --Jane

It is great to hear you are enjoying your Village Italy Tour. Oh how I wish I could be there, too!! Happy Fourth of July!!

Hi Jane - Glad you checked in. Hope you are having fun.

Jane,
I will be so happy to read your trip report when you return. Hubby and I are planning to take this tour next fall. God bless you for going during summer! I do not enjoy the heat at all. Hopefully fall will be just as nice. We will be unable to arrive early. Hoping we could have enjoyed a few days in Venice before the tour....alas, we are not retired yet and that darn work schedule just gets in the way of our fun! It will be our 4th RS tour. The BOE21 day tour was the biggest tease for us....now we just can't get enough of Europe! We thoroughly enjoyed the Best of Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna tour during the Christmas markets....and this fall we embark on the Best of London, which I'm convinced one needs at least 2 weeks!

In Orvieto, I suggest one night you go to Restaurant Charlie. It's basically a sit down pizza restaurant but it ranks as one of the top five pizzas I've had in my entire life

I appreciate this recommendation......it is my notes for next year!

Okay, we're finally home! Flight out of Heathrow yesterday delayed for 4 hours - something about the plane we were supposed to use had multiple problems, including not starting! So we missed our connection to Tulsa, and didn't get home until after midnight.

It was a wonderful tour, and we also had fun both before and after the VI tour itself. In the next week or so I'll be posting trip report and some reviews. We spent 4 days in Milan after the tour, and loved it.

Thanks to all for your suggestions and warm thoughts. I'll post more when I've had a little sleep.

Jane

Welcome Home!! So sorry to hear about your journey home, but glad you made it home. Can't wait to read about your experience.

Thanks, Debra. And you were right: Village Italy is a great tour. And guide Tricia Brady is first rate.

I may not be able to post a trip report until next week; our internet isn't working at home. (I'm at the library; stopped by to see if there were any updates on our Tour Group thread.)

So thanks for pushing us to sign up for VI. We'll be in touch later.

Glad you are home! I knew you would enjoy this tour. It's different than some of the others and I very much loved it!

Poo on the hold up at Heathrow and your lack of internet but glad you are safe and sound.

OOOHHH! Super excited you had Tricia. She is, IMO, the best guide EVER!! Sorry to shout, not sorry. Anyway, so sorry, really, your interwebs is down. Hopefully, it will be up and running soon. Can't wait to read all about your adventures.

Glad you had a great trip! Looking forward to your trip report. The VI tour is on my bucket list.

So glad you had a wonderful trip! I am looking forward to hearing more!

I did your tour with Tricia at least 6 years ago, how lucky you were to have her as a guide. Congrats on packing lightly; I attempt this every trip myself and do make it carryon but at the maximum weights. I do however cut my book apart!

Thanks for posting; it was nice to hear a bit about your packing and your trip.