Heart of Italy in 9 Days: Arin & Cithara's April 2024 Trip
Ciao! We are Arin & Cithara by way of Texas and North Carolina. We've been married for almost a decade and have talked a lot about traveling. Finally, in 2024, we decided to throw caution to the wind and finally book a trip to Europe. After mulling it over and going through many choices, we settled on Rick Steve's Heart of Italy in 9 Days tour. And with spring aroud the corner, that first week of April was the perfect time.
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Why Rick Steves?
We looked a lot of different options before settling on this one. A big reason was that Cithara saw a lot of Rick's programs on France during French class in high school. Then she found some of his other stuff on different countries in Europe and then onto his website. Rick's always teaching people about the amazing sites around the world as well as giving great travel tips. Aimed with those, it only seemed right to follow along with. He's a man with a heart of gold, pants of khaki.









What's In The Tour?
The entire itinerary for our tour can be found on Rick's website:
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https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/heart-italy
It's a combination of seeing some big cities along with charming small towns, the old meets the new, art meets history. There's a lot to do, explore, and indulge in 9 days! It should be noted that Rick's tours are active ones and this is one of the most active out there! Be prepared for a lot of walking around all kinds of terrain.
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Though let's be honest, we spent a little more than 9 days here due to needing to settle in, get over jetlag, and take in a few other experiences.
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Days: 9 on tour, 11 in general
Pasta eaten: Loads
Artwork admired: Too many to count
Memories Made: Plenty