This afternoon, we drove to another Untours apartment in Carcabuey, where we (and the other Spanish Untourists) were treated to a paella made from scratch by one of the landladies. It was the best meal we had in Spain. We thoroughly enjoyed the food, the company and the conversation that afternoon. And that evening, Maria (Spanish staff person) guided us into Priego de Cordoba to witness another Semana Santa procession, followed by tasty tapas at El Arjibe.

Joy Rankin, Spain Untour, Spring of 2003

One of the reasons we use Idyll is to have our own "home" where we can do our own cooking using local foods. We could step outside our door and pick fresh rosemary, mint, sage. The produce in the area was fresh and so good. We love the lettuce in Europe. Our nightly salad was lettuce, tomatoes and fresh mint with olive oil and vinegar. Shallots were so inexpensive, we used them in everything. And, of course, olives.

Lunches were usually wine, cheese, bread and fruit (or a sandwich from "home") alongside the road. You can always get a sandwich at the local bakery. Rather than hunting for a restaurant and then having a casual (but sometime lengthy) lunch, we would rather picnic. One time we were serenaded by a herd of goats, their shepherd and his dog. Their bells were an interesting contrast to the speedway we heard afar off!

 

Annette and Jim Jordan, Provence Untour, Fall 2002 

Prague/Budapest/Vienna ’93; Castle, Rhine ’95; Tuscany South ’96; Swiss Heartland, Holland ’01; Provence ’02; Swiss Ticino ‘04

We and 2 other Idyll couples spent a holiday at a wine picnic near our apartment and met a Colmar physician who invited the 6 of us to his home for dinner. We also enjoyed a Citroen auto rally and a local castle fund-raiser medieval festival in Chatenois (I was even interviewed in French by a local French TV crew) that we spotted advertised on posters in shop windows.

 

Doug & Judy Campbell, Alsace Untour, Spring 2003

Provence ’97; Prague/Budapest, Castle ’00; Swiss Ticino, Tuscany South ’01; Alsace ’03; Rhine, Holland ’05

Having seen Italy on both a bus tour and an Untour, we prefer the latter. We worked harder this time, what with driving, getting lost and finding our way around, buying groceries, stamps at the post office, medication at the farmacia, preparing many of our meals, etc. But we really felt a part of life in Italy, not separated from it by a bus window. We enjoyed the freedom to decide each day when we would awake, where we would go, how long we would stay, where we would eat. We spoke more with local people in our fractured Italian, and found them generally very kind and helpful. Perhaps the best feature of an Untour is not having to pack up and move on every other day. It facilitates the "slow travel" concept. Instead of rushing from place to place to check off each item in our guidebook, we took time to enjoy the moment and make time for the unexpected.

We are looking forward to our next Untour. There’s still so much more of Italy to experience... will it be Tuscany North? Umbria? We know whatever we decide, we won’t go wrong.

JC and Diana Prinzo, Tuscany South Untour, Fall of 2002

Tuscany South ’02; Umbria ’03

Dick and Joan Stewart hiked the Hohenweg (High Trail) but this path led to more than just gorgeous Alpine scenery. Here is their story, as told by Joan, of meeting a Swiss couple from Luzern. We struck up a conversation and ended up hiking all the way to Kaserstatt with Kurt and Lotti. While Lotti was easy to understand, Kurt struggled with his English. Struggle or not, communication was sufficient to learn that Kurt was an animal lover anxious to retire in three years so he can spend more time among the animals grazing in the high alps. What would have been at most a two-hour hike became a two and a half hour hike as Kurt spotted a young eagle flying overhead and discoursed on eagles, then spotted a marmot and discoursed on marmots, then spotted a certain type of cow and discoursed on cows. You get the picture. We learned a lot about mountain animals from Kurt, and Joan had a good time with Lotti, discussing everything up to and including U.S. politics and the war with Iraq.

But that's not the end of the story. On reaching Kaserstatt the four of us sat on a bench to rest, or so we thought. Not so. Kurt opened his Swiss Army rucksack issued in 1962 at the start of his military service, a rucksack still in excellent condition. He removed from the rucksack a Swiss Army knife and a chunk of bread, which he cut into four slabs. Then he took out a block of cheese and some wurst, cutting these into four pieces. Out came a tube of mustard. In no time we were in the midst of an impromptu and delightful picnic. Minutes later, out of the rucksack came a canteen filled with tea, which Kurt poured into four small cups. On this warm sunny afternoon the four of us continued munching and yacking. Picnic nearly over, Dick suggested we go into the restaurant where we would treat for dessert. Kurt would have none of it. Again his hand went into the rucksack and out came a chocolate bar, ending further discussion of dessert. Kurt and Lotti lingered as we left to resume hiking.

Dick & Joan Stewart, Swiss Heartland Untour, Summer of 2003

Swiss Heartland ’95; Swiss Oberland ’02, ’03