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Jon and Jan relived the trip where they met 31 years ago. We met while
on a concert tour with the California State Polytechnic University, San
Luis Obispo wind ensemble. Jon played french horn and Jan played alto
sax. We are pleased to report the same conductor, Professor William
Johnson, is still directing the band and offering incredible musical and
life experiences for his students. The Cal Poly band took another tour in 2006 so we decided to meet up with them in Schladming, Austria after visiting Italy. We purchased a package tour from Globus for the Italian part of the tour. Globus made all of the hotel reservations, tour admissions and most of the meals. A package tour is an excellent choice, even though it seems somewhat rushed and one does pay for the convenience. Tour groups get in special lines for attractions, museums, etc. and don't have to wait. Even in early Summer, Italy was very, very crowded with tourists. O.K, that is exactly what we were. The tour guide, Elena, was excellent and our travel companions were compatible. Ages ranged from 9 to about 82. Several family groups went along including three sets of honeymooners. There were about 44 total in our group. The Italian part of our tour included Rome, Capri, Assisi, Venice, Montecatini and back to Rome. We extended our tour into Salzburg, Schladming and Bayreuth We flew back to the U.S. from Munich. Because of weather, it was a grueling 25 hour transit and was almost longer but we were the last two passengers on standby to board the last flight out of Atlanta. Summer travelers might be advised to avoid hubs that have a history of thunder storms in the Summer - mostly Southern states. Likewise Winter travelers should plan trips that avoid Northern states because of snow delays. One unfortunate detail was that the airlines lost about 25% of our tour groups luggage. Be careful how you pack. Take a carry on with provisions (toiletries, medications, unmentionables, a clean shirt or 2, etc.) to get you through a couple of days then check the rest with enough room for souvenirs and treasures. Luckily our luggage arrived with us but we certainly learned a thing or two! |
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