 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Guest Comments About Attending the Palio
Kristen,
Just wanted to drop you a note to say “thanks”. The window we were in was perfect. Directly above where the parade was staged. The entire thing was beyond my wildest dreams. Thanks to all of you. Hotel Santa Caterina was as equally as great.
Michael B.
Dear In Italy,
Thanks in large part to you and your wonderful services, we have just returned from a trip to Italy that included the 16 August Palio in Siena. It's an experience that completely defies literal translation!
Thank you.
Ed and Karol H.
Dear Kristin,
We have returned from the Palio and I cannot describe the atmosphere and the excitement of the day. I cannot begin to thank you for the arrangements that your company made and the way that everything just slotted into place. When I first booked I was slightly unsure because I live in Jersey (UK) and your company is in USA. Everything was exactly as described on your website and when we arrived in Sienna your representatives were there. On the night before we attended the banquet and met many people who had also booked through your company and were as pleased as we were with the service received. The tickets for the day were perfect we had a wonderful view of the Palio and were able to join in the activities and the celebrations. I have mentioned your Company to all our friends and recommended you to everyone we have told about our magical time in Siena. Once again many many thanks to you and your team for arranging a truly wonderful time for us in Siena.
Best regards,
Janice D.
Dear In Italy,
Just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our trip to Italy. Every hotel and tour that we booked through you was a fantastic choice. We were constantly amazed at the hotels and how nice they were as well as convenient. We loved everything. One of the high lights was the Palio in Siena. The seats that you got for us were amazing. They were in a great location and the Palio and the dinner with the contrada the night before was a memory that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. It was more than we expected and worth every penny that we paid. I thought the bleachers were the better choice after being there as we felt that we were truly part of the action. The location of them meant that we had an easy entrance and exit. This was really great as the crush from the people in the middle must have taken hours to get out of. We also REALLY enjoyed our wine tasting lesson at Palazzo Bandino. I thought that it was a little pricy when I first signed up for it but it was so worth it. It was truly enlightening and the wines we tasted were all superb. Marta and Gabriele do an amazing job. The highlight was the amazing lunch after the tasting. We were able to pair the wines with the food. It was one of the best meals in Italy. I highly recommend this experience and understand why you recommended it to us so highly. It was an awesome vacation and I could not have done it without your help. I will highly recommend InItaly to any one. You have an amazing web site and my contact with the staff was nothing but helpful and pleasant. Every wonderful experience was because of InItaly. Thank you so very much. We will most definitely use you again as we totally fell in love with Italy.
Thank you,
Cheryl S.
Dear Kristin,
I just wanted to thank you very much indeed for all your help in getting Jon and myself to the Palio in Siena a couple of weeks ago. We had an absolutely marvellous time! Sarah, the translator, was lovely and explained the Contrada banquet to us, and Domenico looked after us so well during the race. And all the information you supplied on the parade and those taking part was invaluable; we were able to follow everything that was going on, which really brought it all to life.
We have wonderful memories of an amazing experience. Thank you again for your hard work, support, help and expertise. We want to do it all again some time (particularly today, as it's grey and miserable in England!), and will definitely be recommending your website and services to friends and family.
Thank you again - you have been terrific.
Kindest regards,
Sarah C.
Hi Kristin,
A little late I know, but just wanted to say thanks for arranging the tickets for me for the August Palio. It was a fantastic event made even more memorable by having such a great view to all of the proceedings. Probably the best seats in the house so to speak, we managed to get loads of great photos and the atmosphere there amongst all of the locals was truly spectacular. I’d booked the holiday as a surprise for my partner’s 30 th, we’ve been home for nearly 2 months and he’s still telling everyone all about it!
Thanks again, I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending you to friends and family in the future.
Regards,
Rachel H.
Hi Kristin,
We had a great time; the Palio day itself, and the banquet on the previous night, were completely problem free. It was fantastic to have a window to ourselves on such a good spot overlooking the Campo. We really appreciate all your help.
Best holiday in years...and we will definitely be back!
Thanks again,
Jon C.
Kristin:
This was our 4th trip to Italy in four years. It was a spectacular trip. The Palio was truly a life time experience. The hosts you arranged were very accommodating and just as excited about the race as the rest of us. The view from the balcony was excellent. As you know, we were right above the staging area for all of the pre-race shows. I would definitely do it again. I did bring one bottle of wine to the apartment and was unsure about that. Next time I will bring more. The apartment owners did not mind at all.
Mike P.
Hello Kristin,
We had a perfectly lovely time in Siena with one major exception...our Eagle ( Acquila) horse came in second!!! We enjoyed our dinner with the "Eagles" the evening before and our guides/translators were really wonderful. The balcony seats were superb and I thank you for all of it! I hope that you will help me again when we return...and we will!!!!!!!!! The Palio, with your help, was so much fun!
Our thanks, our best wishes!!
Judith B.
Grazie Kristen,
We had a wonderful time, our seats were perfect and we met some very nice people. I had the misfortune of having Chianti pour over me from the above balcony, but the people apologized and were very sorry. They offered to pay for my shirt which was white of course. I declined then they brought me a bottle of wine which I shared with my new friends. The Palio was fantastic and an experience which we will never forget. Thanks for doing such a great job.
Grazie,
Frank and Lori N.
Hi Kristin,
The trip was great. I was especially pleased with the Hotel Santa Caterina-Lorenza and the staff were outstanding we really did get a very high level of service. The breakfast was excellent and the view from the apartment was beautiful. I can’t say enough about the stay at the hotel.
Everything was ready and the car rental was easy. The parking lot is a tough one to negotiate-fortunately, after the first day of having to back up the hill onto the street with mirrors folded-in, the next day. I was first in and turned the car around facing out for an easy get-away. I was a little surprised to find no iron-but I had my hand steamer so it wasn’t an inconvenience.
The contrada dinner was at Drago and Beatrice did a fine job.
The seats for the race were pretty cramped-I was glad I had three spaces because we needed them. Also, the view was kind of awkward since we never saw the pageantry head on. The race view, however, was great though-and quite a race it was The seats were easy to find and access to a bathroom was a plus.
Thanks for all you help –I was quite pleased with your
assistance.
Walt S.
Kristin,
I should have emailed you when we got back from Italy, but unfortunately just got caught with things.
I wanted to email you to say how absolutely fantastic il Palio was - we had such a wonderful time, and the balcony position couldn't have been better - being able to see the parade lining up to come into il Campo and almost being able to touch some of the headdresses/flags etc. - honestly words can't how describe how wonderfully special everything was. And I just wanted to thank you so very, very much for your help in organising it for us - I had always wanted to go and just didn't know how to get tickets and you and your company really made a special wish come true!
Many thanks again.
With kind regards,
Jill F.
Dear Kristin,
What a fantastic job you did for us regarding the PALIO. The whole experience was beyond belief! The seats were fabulous and we could see everything so perfectly. We loved the banquet on Monday night as well! We just fell in love with Beatrice....what an engaging gal she is. Your company is just the best and I will have no problem recommending you and your service to everyone!!! I plan to write an issue soon for ARTexpress on taking a family to Tuscany and you will be on top of my list. Many, many thanks for helping to make our experience in Italy amazing and wonderful.
With best regards and many thanks,
Suzanne P.
Dear Kristin,
The Palio rehearsal dinner was a highlight of our vacation. We enjoyed wine, a five course meal, song, and speeches as we absorbed a great deal of palio history with our guides, Christina and Luana. We partied with the Unicorn contrada. The streets were lit up with contrade banners waving in the breeze. You could hear other contrada singing in various parts of the city; and you could feel the energy, anticipation and excitement building all over Siena as the evening progressed. A very memorable evening. Too bad "we" didn't win on race day.
Bill Y.