Hi all,

My baby sister is living in Florence at the moment, so my other sister Ange and I are heading over to have Christmas with her, then jumping onto the Simply Italy bus for a couple of weeks on the 28th. We're from Cairns, Australia, where our Christmas Day usually involves a seafood and cold meat lunch, air conditioning and a swim if possible. Needless to say, this will be something of a culture shock!

We'd love to get in touch with anyone else who's booked on this tour as well, so drop us a line.

** Only 14 weeks and 2 days 'til we leave!! **

Hi there,
I just booked my trip today...I am so excited!!!..I am looking forward to meeting people from different parts of the world. I will be traveling by myself from the USA.
Hope to hear from you..

Hi there! I know what you mean about getting excited, I have to keep reminding myself that it's still three months away, otherwise I'm likely to start packing already!

That's great that you're travelling alone - my youngest sister (the one living in Florence) did a summer tour by herself, and she highly recommends it. I've also read a lot of comments on the Contiki websites and forum saying the same thing, so I'd say you'll be in for a great time. I doubt that you'll be the only one, either, so I'm sure you'll make friends quickly.

So what part of the US are you from? Are you used to having a cold Christmas? It's already starting to get down to single digits in Italy at the moment, so I'd say we'll definitely be in for a cold one this year! I'm really looking forward to it, it'll be such a fantastic change from heat and humidity.

Thanks for writing in, it's great to hear from others on our tour. Hopefully we'll hear from some others soon, too, and we'd love to get some more details from you.

Talk soon!

** Down to 12 weeks and one day now!! **

Hi!!
I am Peruvian, and i have lived in the US for a while. I am used to having cold Christmas. i had lived in the East Coast before, and it's freezing!!!, but beautiful.
I also feel like start packing, especially the days in which i have a lot of work!!! I am really excited about going to Italy. I have been planning this trip for a long time, and now i decided to give this gift to myself before graduation...
I'd love to keep in touch with you and other people who will be going to Italy with us..
Talk to you soon!

Hey ft_explorer, it's Ang, Courtney's sister.

You must be excited, only a few weeks to go!!

Are you only going to be in Italy for the tour, or are you spending time there before/after?

And what's your name, so we know who you are when we get there - or should we just call you FT?

Hi Ang! Yes, I am really excited about our trip..By the way, my name is Tatiana.
I will be arriving on Dec 28th in the morning, and i will stay one more day in Rome after our tour ends. How about you? Have you guys booked tickets for the Cenacolo in Milano?
I am looking forward to meeting all of you soon,
Take care and keep in touch,
Tatiana
PS. Say hello to Courtney

Hi again Tatiana. We're staying in Rome for an extra day at the end as well, and we've booked to stay at Gigli Dell'Opera for the extra night. But looking at our itinerary, it's not really clear whether we'll actually be staying there at the end of the tour!! Oh well, I'm sure we'll work it out.

We did try to book for the Last Supper, but we weren't able to get in. How about you? If you've found a way to book, please let us know!

I'm so excited - we fly out of Cairns on Wednesday 17th, so it's only 8 days away now! I can't wait, especially to experience the colder weather. It's really hot and humid here at the moment, so it'll be a very nice change.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Ciao,

Courts.

Hi Courts,
Sorry that i didn't reply before. I have been working a lot so that i get everything done before my trip. I will stay an extra day in Rome at Giglio Dell'Opera as well. It's good to know that you guys will be there (We can hang out...). I am staying one more day because i want to have enough time to explore Rome. I will be arriving in Rome on Dec 28th in the morning..I am not sure if i will be able to do something during the day.Do you guys are planning something for the 7th and 8th of January in Rome? Are you going to be in Rome on Dec 28th? How can i contact you?
I also tried to book a ticket for the Cenacolo, and i didn't have luck. I did that on Dec 1st, and the website didn't work. It looked like there were tickets available, but the link didn't work...I attempted to buy during that week, but i didn't find anything.
I can't believe you want to experience the colder weather i moved from New England to the Weast Coast because i couldn't handle the weather (too much snow!!- it was freezing!!).
Looking forward to meeting you..have a safe trip..
Buon viaggio,
Tatiana

quote:

Originally posted by Courts:
Hi again Tatiana. We're staying in Rome for an extra day at the end as well, and we've booked to stay at Gigli Dell'Opera for the extra night. But looking at our itinerary, it's not really clear whether we'll actually be staying there at the end of the tour!! Oh well, I'm sure we'll work it out.

We did try to book for the Last Supper, but we weren't able to get in. How about you? If you've found a way to book, please let us know!

I'm so excited - we fly out of Cairns on Wednesday 17th, so it's only 8 days away now! I can't wait, especially to experience the colder weather. It's really hot and humid here at the moment, so it'll be a very nice change.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Ciao,

Courts.

Hi Tatiana,

We're staying the extra time in Rome for the same reason. We figure there will be an organised tour on the 7th (since that's the last full day of the tour), and we might do that, and then the following day we can cover anything else that we've missed so far. It's good to know that you'll be staying at the same hotel - at least we won't be the only ones!

As far as the 28th, I really don't know what time we'll head there. We'll be catching a train from Florence, which is a couple of hours away, so we'll have to consider that. But I imagine we'll try to give ourselves some time there that afternoon to explore a bit, so feel free to try to find us. I'll send you my mobile number in a private message so you can try and track us down.

We had the same problem with Il Cenacolo. When Ang went last time, apparently they told her you need to book around three months ahead, but you couldn't do that online. A bit disappointing, but I'm sure we'll keep ourselves amused for the short time we're there.

I think my enjoyment of the cold weather is just a matter of the novelty value. I'm so used to hot, humid summers and cool (not cold) winters, it'll be a very interesting change. I imagine if I lived in it, I'd get tired of it too!

I'd best get back to work - I'm doing my best not to leave a mess for my colleagues, as well! If we don't speak to you again, I guess we'll see you in Rome in a couple of weeks!

Ci vediamo,

Courts

Hi everyone !! I'm happy to say that I have booked my trip to Italy about a week ago. This is my second time doing Contiki during new years and I can't wait !

I'm coming in from the States so not a long flight.

Well hope to hear more from this group

Hello! My husband and I are going on this tour! We got married in May, so this is a late honeymoon/vacation! We are both sooo excited!

Chaski, where are you from? We are from New England, but live in Florida, so I was hoping we could deal with the cold weather considering New England has some pretty cold winters! I posted awhile ago to see who is going, but no one responded, so I started to get worried that not many people would be in the group.

How was your last Contiki trip? Where did you go?

Anyway, hope to hear from you soon! I would be nice to know someone else going!