What does an architect, an accountant, a busy executive, and a mother of four young children have in common?
They all want to experience Italy.
They just want to experience it completely differently.
This week, I found myself planning Italy for all four of them, and it reminded me of something I love about what I do.
There really isn't one “right” way to experience Italy.
I have a client who is an architect, so architecture has become the thread running through his trip—from Venice to Florence to the Tuscan countryside.
Then there's the busy executive who wants to experience the culture and connect with Italians, but doesn't want to spend a minute worrying about how everything is going to work.
So we've woven opportunities to meet locals and experience Italian life throughout her trip, while making sure the logistics are handled behind the scenes.
She's in Italy right now, and tonight she'll be sitting outside in a garden in Puglia, surrounded mostly by locals, with traditional music playing and people dancing the pizzica under the stars.
Not simply seeing Puglia, but being part of it for an evening.
I also spoke with a couple this week who reminded me that ease doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.
They're very detail-oriented people—one is a financial planner and one is an accountant—and they wanted to know that the logistics were truly taken care of.
So we made sure they were.
Their itinerary includes everything from transportation details to Google Maps links showing exactly where they'll park when they're driving between destinations.
During our final itinerary review, they told me several times how much that level of detail had put them at ease.
And then there's the mother of four.
Her version of luxury is simpler: she doesn't want to have to manage everything while she's on vacation.
She wants to arrive in Italy and be there.
And honestly, I understand that.
Because the more I plan trips, the more I believe that the best Italy isn't necessarily the Italy with the most places, experiences, or things checked off a list.
It's the Italy that feels right for you.
For one person, that might mean spending an afternoon immersed in Renaissance architecture.
For another, it might mean sitting outside in a Puglian garden with locals, listening to pizzica and watching people dance under the stars.
For someone else, it might mean knowing that every detail has been thought through before they ever leave home.
And for someone who's spent the last six months juggling a demanding career or a family of four children, luxury might simply mean:
I don't have to think about any of this.
That's what I love about designing trips.
I don't start with a list of places and try to fit people into it.
I start with the person.
What are you curious about?
What makes you light up?
What do you want to remember?
What do you not want to have to think about?
Then we build the Italy around that.
Because I don't think the best Italy trip is the one where you see the most.
I think it's the one where, at some point during the trip, you realize:
This feels like it was made for us.
So I'm curious:
What do you want your Italy to feel like?
Hit reply and tell me.
I really do want to know!
Alla prossima (until next time),