In the past 15 years, my wife Annamarie and I have had the privilege of traveling to Italy a half dozen times. Our typical approach to travel includes planning our own itinerary, renting a car, and touring from city to city based on our personal schedule and whims of the day. Typically, the prospect of touring with a group does not entice us, but since we knew Mario, it seemed like fun, and a unique opportunity to see the “real Italy”.

We joined with 3 other adventurous and fun loving couples, and off we went. We quickly realized several distinct advantages to “Tour de Mario”. Mario is native to the regions in which we traveled, so we were able to get the “story behind the story” on many of the sites we visited and people we met; we heard the local trivia tidbits, or dark history never found in Rick Steve’s travel books! Mario is passionate about food. Each meal was an event, whether we ate lunch at a small sidewalk bistro or enjoyed a large dinner at a local gem. Each meal was hand selected by Mario, and often we received information about the tradition of the meal, and what made it special to that region. Guided by Mario We were taken to “off the beaten path” tour sites, which embodied the same spirit, Italian history, and architecture as the main-steam tourist traps, but without the typical crowds of people found at such venues. The most amazing aspect of this trip with Mario was, however, our visit to his hometown. We met his family, joined them in visiting local sites, learned authentic cooking techniques and dishes special to that region, and of course danced and sang into the night!

The pace was well balanced, we saw many sites, never felt rushed, had opportunities to explore on our own, and made new friends. I hope you consider this unique perspective, and maybe we will join you!

Carl Fernyak,
CEO, MTBT