Steve Bayer
USA
From the Cities to the Mountains to the Sea and Back, 1700 kilometers, amazing!
The highlight of this review is that I have never had the pleasure of a more capable, attention to detail, knowledgeable and skilled guide under any circumstances.
We were a ragtag group of weary travelers, just off 18 hours of transatlantic flights with canceled connections and lost equipment. I had some brief email correspondence with Giovanni, as finding him had been a bit last minute. It was a foreign country that I had been to before but never for an adventure like we were about to embark on. Truth be told, I really just hoped that he showed up. I had sent him some idea of the ride as I had laid out, I knew some of the highlights I wanted to get to, up through the Dolomites to Innsbruck in Austria and back down through a section of the Alps to the sea at Cinque Terre, Italia. He met us the day of arrival with a great big broad smile and Ciao. I still can not explain how or why but a renewed energy came through us all and we were off on a quick start. It was to be a short ride east to let my traveling companions get a quick glimpse of Venice before heading north. His insights into the location and roadways proved immeasurably invaluable within the first hour as we encountered a traffic snarl of at least 20 miles. No matter, Giovanni got us where we needed to go in as timely a manner as possible. We were 5 distinct and different personalities all with different expectations of the trip. Somehow he was able to adapt to all of our needs. As we headed north and back we planned a lot of flexibility to see where the days ride would lead us, so most accommodations were chosen within the last hours of each day no easy task. Every road, view, visit and evening meal seemed better than the last. The only negative thing about the trip was that it had to end. Until the next great adventure.
The highlight of this review is that I have never had the pleasure of a more capable, attention to detail, knowledgeable and skilled guide under any circumstances.
We were a ragtag group of weary travelers, just off 18 hours of transatlantic flights with canceled connections and lost equipment. I had some brief email correspondence with Giovanni, as finding him had been a bit last minute. It was a foreign country that I had been to before but never for an adventure like we were about to embark on. Truth be told, I really just hoped that he showed up. I had sent him some idea of the ride as I had laid out, I knew some of the highlights I wanted to get to, up through the Dolomites to Innsbruck in Austria and back down through a section of the Alps to the sea at Cinque Terre, Italia. He met us the day of arrival with a great big broad smile and Ciao. I still can not explain how or why but a renewed energy came through us all and we were off on a quick start. It was to be a short ride east to let my traveling companions get a quick glimpse of Venice before heading north. His insights into the location and roadways proved immeasurably invaluable within the first hour as we encountered a traffic snarl of at least 20 miles. No matter, Giovanni got us where we needed to go in as timely a manner as possible. We were 5 distinct and different personalities all with different expectations of the trip. Somehow he was able to adapt to all of our needs. As we headed north and back we planned a lot of flexibility to see where the days ride would lead us, so most accommodations were chosen within the last hours of each day no easy task. Every road, view, visit and evening meal seemed better than the last. The only negative thing about the trip was that it had to end. Until the next great adventure.
Ciao!
Steve
