1. Tell us a little bit about your most recent Untour.
Last September we made a return visit to Paris. We stayed far away from the tourist areas and enjoyed a real Parisian neighborhood. Instead of vendors hawking trinkets we shopped in neighborhood stores and watched children playing and people going about their daily tasks. It was our third visit to Paris and we can never get enough of Parisian food, art and architecture. A return visit to Monet’s studio, gardens and lily pond allowed us to better understand the inspiration for so many of his famous paintings. We love Paris and we love the Parisian’s acceptance of us as visitors to the their “city of light!”
2. Why did you choose to go there?
Once you experience Paris, you will always want to return. We have always loved the Untours small village experience. We have always loved the Untours small village experience, because we have lived in small towns most all of our life. However, traveling over the years with Untours has added several metropolitan areas to our travel experience, such as Vienna, Berlin, and Seville – but in our opinion Paris is the most beautiful city we have ever visited.
3. What is your favorite Untours memory?
Tuscany – we drove to Massa Marittima for the Balestro del Girifalco Pageant which features competing groups of villagers parading dressed in middle ages costumes and contesting in flag twirling and tossing, and ending with a crossbow archery contest. We settled in on the top steps of a church in the plaza and to our delight we discovered that we were sitting in the cheering section for one of the competing groups. Our group’s colors were yellow and blue and soon someone had painted our faces in those colors and gave us a corner of their giant flag to help hold up – we tried to join in the songs, but couldn’t quite get the lyrics right. But we did cheer loudly at the appropriate times. Here were a couple of American tourists taken into the festival as if we were neighbors. This provided a lasting impression of the warmth and inclusiveness of the Italian people.
4. How is taking an Untour different from other ways of travelling?
The independence of setting your own itineraries and yet having the guidance available represented by Untours guidebooks and on-site representatives. Living like a local. Untours are relatively worry-free experiences.
5. If you could describe an Untour in just three words, what would they be?
Independence – Support – Unique
| The Haggarts have gone on 15 Untours; here’s some of the most recent that Pete and Maggie have chosen | ||
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| 2012 |  |
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| 2008 |  |
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| 2008 |  |
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| 2005 |  |
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