Tuscany: The trip of high points What a fantastic week! Stunning scenery, a great variety of walks, a lovely place to stay, good food and tremendous company. Oh, and the weather put on a big smile for us too (apart from the last day) and possibly the best guide in the business. It really would be difficult to think of a way of beating it.
Monte Prado and Monte Sumbra were good to 'bag' but walking some of the ridges and through the beautiful forests added a different dimension as did exploring some of the local settlements on the valley day. The Golden Eagles on the first day, Alpine Choughs on the second and the Fire Salamander later in the week were pretty good too.
What brought it all together was the way the group gelled, good banter, a few 'wind ups', people looking out for each other and a very relaxed atmosphere, a perfect combination for a great trip.
the tip was very fast, I think in winter maybe the travel times should reflex the daylight, we arrived in the dark so time available for activities were limited, for instance Venice a big ticket spot, too dark for photo's, if we had not checked it before sightseeig we could have saved at least an hour. Our tour guide was excellent and tried very hard to keep all on board happy, but with a few people constantly turning up late, it impacted everyone else. All in all we saw heaps and had a great time.
Puglia is a great place to visit by bike and they were helpful in setting up the trip! Travelling mostly on small country back roads, it's a wonderful way to explore these small towns.