I'm back from my tour to Italy that included visits to Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Florence, the Tuscan hill towns of Monterrigioni an Castellina, and Venice.    We had a small group tour of about 12 travelers, from all over the United States and Canada join us.  The weather was unpredictably cool, but delightful.  In our two weeks in Italy, we only experienced one day of inclement weather and even that day was not so bad.   Read the blog post to find out more about our tour to Italy.

The Traveling Professor just returned from a tour to Italy with about a dozen travelers.   We visited Rome, Florence, the Amalfi Coast, Florence, Tuscan hill towns and Venice.  When on a tour to Italy, food is a very important element of the tour.   We ate in several kinds of places, some of them called a fattoria, trattoria, enoteca, or osteria.   What's the difference between these eating establishments.   Let's talk about it in my Italy blog post.

Celebrate and take your choice of either Reims or Épernay for tours and tastings.  It takes about an hour by rail from Gare de l’Est to travel into the French countryside.  I advise making an appointment for tours and tastings on weekends, holidays, and peak travel periods.  Raising a glass at two, maybe three Champagne houses is the limit for me on a day trip.  On your next tour to Paris, take a day off and do an easy tour to the Champagne region.

Paris is one of the fashion capitals of the world.   Sometimes I think the city of Paris is a fashion show unto itself.  It seems that Parisians have been born with a sense of style and panache.  For instance, observe how the French women wear scarves.  Notice how the children are neatly attired.  French men can dress casually and still seem to have that sophisticated sense of style.  In this blog post are some fashion sites to visit on your next tour to Paris.

We just got back from a Traveling Professor small group tour to Peru.   We took 10 travelers to South America on a tour to ancient Cusco, spectacular Machu Picchu and for the first time, The Traveling Professor went to the Amazon rain forest in what turned out to be a trip that exceeded all expectations.    To get a trip report, read The Traveling Professor's blog.   There is also a link to view all the photos from The Traveling Professor's small group tour to Peru.

In 2014, about 150 people joined The Professor on his small group tours to Paris, Italy, Spain, and Peru.   A good percentage of travelers are return travelers and they have been begging for more and more destinations.   We've already practically sold out 2 new small group tours to Norway for the Summer of '15, so we decided to add another exciting destination - Ireland.   For full details, see the blog post on our newest tour - a small group tour to Ireland.

Paris is a wonderful place to visit.  Nothing beats the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Orsay and Notre Dame.   There are quite a few hidden secrets on a tour to Paris to uncover while visiting too.   However, there are some places I recommend staying away from on your next trip to Paris.  In this blog post I will talk about some places to avoid in Paris.

The Traveling Professor jumps on the bandwagon and is offering his special "Black Friday" travel deals to everyone on his mailing list.  This is your opportunity to get a discount on The Traveling Professor's already affordable small group tours.   Check out the blog post to see what the special deals are.

The Traveling Professor logs about 75,000 miles in the air each year.   Internationally, I have traveled to Italy four times in 2014, I have gone to Paris twice, have visited Norway, and have been to Peru.   Domestically, I have visited Savannah, Charleston, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Tucson, Dallas (four times), and Austin (twice).   Actually, it was a light year for me.   But through my traveling, I have come across some great items that I can recommend to you whether you are taking a small group tour to Paris for a week or a weekend trip to Chicago.