Need recommendation for private guide and driver in Rome?

[Jim Avery]

Ragnar. Finally did receive a recommendation from the UK. In the Gatwick area. The Bell at Outwood. Off the A23 South of Redhill, Surrey. belloutwood.co.uk. They usually pick excellent eat/drink places. Enjoy.:D

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Thanks!

[Jim Avery]

Bon Voyage Mr. & Mrs. Ragnar.:D

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Well, we survived being in Italy during the week of Easter and the canonization of two popes, as well as the Italian national holidays of Liberation Day and Labor Day :eek:

 

Seems half of Italy and most of Eastern Europe were off work and bent on a "Roman Holiday"! Thanks to Jim's suggestion of Rome Cabs, along with the private guides they arranged, it was like strolling calmly and unscathed through a swarm of tornados :). We saw all the sites we wanted to see in Rome and then decamped to the Sorrento area. A quarter of the Italian population followed us...

 

Visited the National Archeological Museum in Naples, and Pompeii. At Pompeii it looked like Vesuvius was erupting as dark storm clouds billowed around and the sky flashed with thunder and lightening. We looked at the clouds and at the 45 minute ticket line and wisely decided to hire one of the authorized guides. He was in his 80s and I was a bit worried about a slow paced tour - wrong! He was amazingly spry and we could barely keep up! He really knew the place and knew just where to duck into to avoid cloud bursts. After the tour we dropped into a pizza joint to dry off, and down a good bottle of "Lachryma Christi of Vesuvius" wine. An act we were to repeat several times during the trip :D

 

We then checked into our cliff top Sorrento hotel, with an awesome view. Next morning we looked out the french doors, and parked in front of us was the Seaborne Odyssey, that we had been on two years previous! We took the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi, and returned via the ferry. Lots of photo ops!

 

We strolled Sorrento and had a couple of nice dinners (sorry Jim, not two dinners on the same day.). Then off to Florence.

 

We toured Florence on our own, it was not too crowded. I suspect most of the residents were still sipping lemoncello in Sorrento... One of our Florence days we devoted to a bus tour to Pisa and Siena. Ragnar climbed the leaning tower! I'm sure its leaning more precariously now... Had lunch and wine tasting at a farm in Tuscany, very nice.

 

Then off to Venice where we spent two nights. Did guided walking tour of Venice, including St. Marks and Doge's Palace (with a tour of all the secret rooms and passages).

 

On the last day we took a private water taxi to the airport, from the hotel's little dock on a minuscule canal. That was more fun than the gondola ride! The taxi boat is rather large and the skipper had to execute several multipoint turns to get back to the Grand Canal. We had the top back and got great photos. Felt like James Bond in the sleek teak boat.

 

Then unwound at the Marco Polo lounge at the airport (this was very nice for a shared lounge). Had a couple of "spritzes". Then off to London for an overnight and back to LAX the next morning.

 

A little whirlwind, but a very nice trip!

 

The logistics were a bit trying, and scrounging around to find good restaurants not my favorite thing to do, so the next trip will be a cruise!

Edited May 11, 2014 by Ragnar Danneskjold

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Here's a photo of Mrs D. looking at the compass app on her iphone in front of a statue of the man from Amalfi credited with the invention of the compass. Figured the mariners amongst you might appreciate it :D

[Jim Avery]

Sounds as though you had a great trip Ragnar. Glad the guide worked out. We had a similar guide they recommended. Maria was 80ish and had been a tour guide at the Vatican for over 50 years! We barely kept up with her. What a great tour we had! So, how much damage did all that good food do?:eek:

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I gained 5 lbs, and a peck of lethargy :(

 

But the honeydo list is long and the the baleful glare of Mrs D is forcing me out of the recliner....