Welcome to Our Rick Steves Family Europe Tour Scrapbook!
“Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures.”
– Lovelle Drachman
After two years without travel we were so thankful for the opportunity to get back on the road and pursue adventure! We hope you'll join us as we:
WELCOME
BIENVENUE WILLKOMMEN BENVENUTO |
Meet the FamilyMike has been a Rick Steves fan since he met Rick in the 1990s after a travel talk in Milwaukee. He went so far as to use Rick Steves Travel Fan on a dating site (pre-Anne) in hopes of attracting a like-minded traveler. Both Mike and Anne have traveled in Europe using Rick Steves guidebooks and were thrilled to have the chance to do a fully guided tour based on Rick's travel philosophy! This was the first foray to Europe for our two sons, Alistair-11 and Edmund-10 but they already had a must-do list after immersion in Rick Steves Europe TV shows, podcasts, and books as we not-so-patiently waited for international travel to return.
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Rick's self-proclaimed #1 fan is on the left
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RagenRagen is a 23-year veteran Rick Steves travel guide. As a father, he had great rapport with the kids and was a model of energy and efficiency. He brought a depth of knowledge and contagious enthusiasm to every tour experience. I especially appreciate how he and Jesús made sure our COVID-anxious son felt comfortable in group settings.
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JesúsWe hit the jackpot with Jesús as our assistant guide. Jesús is already an experienced guide and leader of Rick Steves tours in Spain. He joined us to learn the specifics of the Family Europe tour to all our benefit. An experienced uncle, he also did an amazing job relating to younger travelers. Calm and friendly he brought a surprise talent as bus DJ.
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Big John
An integral part of the team, Big John expertly drove the bus. From Mike's journal, "He is everything we could want as the captain of our ship. Gregarious, informative, and helpful, he negotiates Alpine hairpin turns with the agility of a mongoose." I was not aware that mongooses are extraordinarily agile, but Mike says, "Everyone knows that, it's a big compliment."
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"There's no Veruca Salt on this tour!" "In my mind, there are tours-and then there are Rick Steves tours. We don't just go sightseeing: we create a unique esprit de corps that turns a bus tour into a merry band of travelers, working together as a team" |
Edmund uttered his reference to the egocentric Veruca of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as we left our Welcome to Europe tour meeting on the first day. What an AMAZING group of people! We couldn't have asked for better companions. Our group comprised 7 families, with 3 grandparents, 12 parents, and 13 kids ages 10 to 16. Rick Steves travelers tend to be curious, informed, flexible, friendly, and all around fun people and this extended to both adult and younger members of the tour. I was especially impressed by the older kids who went out of their way to support and include everyone. Veruca need not apply.
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Buddy Check!An ingenious system to avoid endless roll calls and keep us moving. During our orientation we paired up with a buddy outside our family group. Each time we moved from place to place a rapid buddy check let us quickly ensure the gang really was all here. |
Shelley and Brent, our fabulous buddies!
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Four countries in 13 days! The London to Florence tour is the best of the best, a little taste of everything and great for first-time European travelers like our kids. The itinerary is just the start of the story, every stop a new page unfolding with the delightful and unexpected. Each guide brings their own experience and expertise to the trip so that no two stories are the same.
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Why Chose a Rick Steves Family Tour?Most of All We Wanted to Have FUN Traveling Again! |
"Globetrotting destroys ethnocentricity. It helps you understand and appreciate different cultures. Travel changes people. It broadens perspectives and teaches new ways to measure quality of life."-Rick Steves One crucial lesson we learned from the pandemic is to seize opportunities to travel with our children when we can, nothing is guaranteed. During those long travel-free months we came up with a list of destinations we wanted to experience with our kids to help them develop a global perspective. Authentic travel makes a wonderful classroom and that is what sets Rick Steves Family Tours apart. When we looked at other providers' family tour itineraries, the experiences were often artificial and isolated from the people and places they visited. In addition, adults and kids on these tours split up for portions of each day and we wanted to see Europe with our children and through their eyes. Most of all we wanted to have fun traveling again!
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"Experiencing the real Europe requires catching it by surprise, going casual... Through the Back Door."
-Rick Steves
Home Base |
Rick Steves tour hotels are special. Map their location and link to their website.
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Travel Tip |
We learned a lot! These are the tips we will use on future trips.
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