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Warren and Nancy Brakensiek, Untourists of the Week

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March 5, 2013 by Mtaussig

Tell us a little bit about your most recent Untour.: Our most recent Untour was Rome, one of our favorite cities that we have visited many times, always staying in an apartment. The UnTours apartment near Piazza Navona was great and the transportation pass encouraged us to use all forms of public transportation, more than we ever had before.
Why did you choose to go there?: In our judgment, no city offers more than Rome — great sights, food, history and cultural events. We feel very comfortable there and revisted many favorite places as well as doing things that we had never done. There is something for everyone.
What is your favorite UnTours memory?: We have taken more than a dozen UnTours with special memories from each one so it is difficult to pick a favorite. That said, one of the most unexpected and treasured memories occurred while on the 1999 Millenium Swiss Untour. On New Year’s Eve, the group event was dinner on top of the mountain with a view over the entire valley. Our transportation up and down the mountain was via ski lift. After the fun and fabulous dinner, we watched all the village fireworks down below. It was magical.
How is taking an Untour different from other ways of traveling?: Having traveled with UnTours so many times, things like independence, cooking at home, getting to know the neighborhood, comfortable apartments in great locations, informative but not intrusive ground support personnel, the On-Site guide, local cell phones and transportation by a variety of methods have become our expected norm for a European trip. No one else offers that combination. While we sometimes travel to Europe independently, we cannot imagine traveling with a typical guided tour.
If you could describe an Untour in just 3 words, what would they be?: Opportunity, fun, memories

Warren and Nancy stayed with us in the Pace apartment in Rome on their last Untour.  Our best count is that they’ve taken 18 UnTours with us!  Along with Rome, they’ve gone to Venice three times ,   Holland twice (the Frans Hals apartment, pictured below)  Other UnTours they’ve chosen are the Swiss Heartland and Spain.

They’ve stayed in the: