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Hi everyone...

I'd like to add our positive feedback on Luca; we found him through recommendations on this site as well. We were a group of five, two couples (us and my parents).

We did a transfer tour from Rome to Florence, which included visits to Siena and Orvieto, which was perfect since we wanted to see some of the hill towns but didn't have enough time to stay over in Umbria/Tuscany. We found his prices very reasonable, especially if you have a group of three or more. For us, a group of 4, express train tickets from Rome to Florence cost only slightly less, and we would have missed out on the visits to the lovely hill towns.

Also, once we were in Florence, we did a customized day trip with Luca which included a morning at the Prada outlet (during which he waited patiently while my mom and I went crazy!), followed by a scenic drive into Chianti and lunch at a historic working farm where the mistress of the farm cooked up a feast for us and we ate outside under the trees. The food was all grown on the farm - never have I seen green figs that fresh and perfect, right off the tree... they make their own olive oil and the most delicious red wine which is all sold locally, untreated with the chemicals required for export. That was one of the highlights of our two week trip - Signora Stefania was a wonderful, warm hostess and we had fun chatting with her and Luca. After lunch we visited a medieval village on the way back to Florence.

I second the original poster's comment that Luca is very knowledgeable, not just about the locations we were visiting, but generally on the economy and sustainable development and all kinds of other interesting topics that made him a great companion for the road. He also has a great sense of humor and got along famously with everyone.

Luca was very prompt in responding to questions and emails, was flexible with the itineraries and adapted to how we felt on the day of the tour. Also, I am pregnant and never felt too tired by the pace of the touring. Luca also does a lot of winery tours, which we would have done if I had not been pregnant and unable to imbibe!

We and our parents have recommended Luca to our friends who are visiting Italy.