Every now and then it is a good idea to splurge on hotel accommodations.  We frequently present good value 3 or 4 star hotels on our small group tours to Italy.  Today we take a little bit different direction with telling about some luxurious hotels in Florence.  These are all full service Florence hotels, some of them offering spa services, superior dining, and spacious rooms.

The Traveling Professor offers and runs about 10-15 small group tours through The Traveling Professor website each year. However, we do run tours that are not offered on our website. Usually these tours are for private organizations who are running these tours to raise funds and build loyalty for their own organization. In other situations, small group tours are offered as professional development programs. In this blog post, I will describe the benefits of running a small group tour for your organization.

We recently got back from a small group tour to Peru.  The Traveling Professor has been bringing his small group tours to Peru for almost 8 years now and this was our 20th trip.  It included Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Amazon jungle.  We made the tour with 15 travelers from all over the United States.  In this blog post, The Traveling Professor will tell you about our accommodations, the outstanding food, and what was on our very exciting itinerary. Check out the blog post for our small group tour to Peru trip review.

The Traveling Professor has been going to Paris and Italy for at least 20 years now.  In that time, he has seen a lot. Although France and Italy are very safe to travel to, and rarely will there be any violent crime, travelers still need to be aware of annoying petty crimes. In this blog post, The Professor goes over some of the most common scams and how to avoid them.

I've been following Joe Henley's social media and blog posts through his "Traveling on My Own Agenda" website.  I find his outlook to be refreshing and honest.  I've asked him to be write a guest blog post on his favorite restaurants in Florence, Italy and I think you will like them. Thanks for your contribution, Joe.  And I am sure readers of The Traveling Professor's blog will enjoy your contribution of your favorite restaurants in Florence.  The Traveling Professor will certainly be trying Joe's spots on our next small group tour to Italy.

I am constantly on the lookout to get a good air itinerary.  Getting a good air itinerary doesn't always mean getting the best price, it means getting a flight that gets you there without cumbersome layovers and most comfortably.  I'll be flying to Europe from the United States quite a bit in 2018 (I've already done 5 trips already this year) and I have some strategies for getting good flights at good prices. Read my blog post and learn how to fly inexpensively and in style!

Everyone loves to travel to Florence, Italy.  And why not?  There's David at the Accademia, the Uffizi Gallery, and lots of other wonderful places to see.  It's a great walking city with everything within 15 minutes of each other.  There are great transportation connections to wineries and other small cities in Tuscany like Lucca, Siena, and San Gimignano.  And the food!  Probably the best in all of Italy.  It's no wonder why The Traveling Professor's small group tours to Italy and Florence always fill up as soon as they are offered.  Read about my two favorite hotels in Florence in today's Italy blog post. 

I don't know about you, but my favorite activity in Paris is to have lunch!  After many small group tours to Paris, I have found some of the best Paris lunch spots that I am sure any traveler would enjoy.  Some are very simple, one or two are on the elegant side.  In any case, a visit to one of these Paris lunch spots may be the best part of your next trip to Paris

Linda and I just returned from a week in Scotland.  We spent a short stay in Edinburgh, the city of famous writers like Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.  It's a busy and beautiful city of stone. We found the people to be over-the-top friendly, the food to be hearty and good, lots of things to see and do. We enjoyed or stay and plan on bringing The Traveling Professor's small group tours to Scotland and of course, Edinburgh. But for a start, see what we liked on our tour to the capital city of Scotland where the motto seems to be, "Today's Rain is Tomorrow's Whisky".

A few months ago, I found a travel product that has been one of the most practical travel products I have ever used.  When on the road, it is always difficult for me to pack a variety of clothes for the different locations I go to and the different functions I attend.  For instance, I might spend a few days in Iceland, then I am off to Peru, then I need to go to Scotland for some business meetings.  I have found a product that is perfect for me, and maybe perfect for you.  Read the blog post to find out more.