Reviews
Overall this was the most memorable day of our trip- France, Italy, everything. Thank you again- the experience was amazing.
Part of what made the day great was it got us acclimated to the general area - we had a better understanding how to navigate the villages the next day. If (when) we come back I'd like to stick with you and focus more on the wine and explore outside of La Morra- that's just me. I'm 100% coming back- we simply didn't have enough time. Two days is not enough.
Ultimately, I would recommend you to someone who is visiting the area. I didn't give you much direction on what to do outside of wine and food...you nailed. Again, it was the most memorable day of the trip.
Thanks again for everything.
David Sullivan
Part of what made the day great was it got us acclimated to the general area - we had a better understanding how to navigate the villages the next day. If (when) we come back I'd like to stick with you and focus more on the wine and explore outside of La Morra- that's just me. I'm 100% coming back- we simply didn't have enough time. Two days is not enough.
Ultimately, I would recommend you to someone who is visiting the area. I didn't give you much direction on what to do outside of wine and food...you nailed. Again, it was the most memorable day of the trip.
Thanks again for everything.
David Sullivan
Hi David,
We truly enjoyed the trip! The hotels and restaurants were great; we loved the wineries, cheese farm, and truffle hunt; and you did a great job arranging and shepherding us through the region! We would definitely recommend to friends and would love to do another region with you!
Thank you again and we hope to see you soon!
Best regards,
Marina
We truly enjoyed the trip! The hotels and restaurants were great; we loved the wineries, cheese farm, and truffle hunt; and you did a great job arranging and shepherding us through the region! We would definitely recommend to friends and would love to do another region with you!
Thank you again and we hope to see you soon!
Best regards,
Marina
David,
I definitely second Marina’s sentiments - you really did a fantastic job showing us great places and people in Piemonte. For me, the people/places that made the most impact were the hike to Portofino, Silvio’s farm, and the ViCaRa winery - although I am still floored by the Boglietti Riserva 2004 and Case Nere 2011 we tasted. We continued our eating tour of Italy the past few days in Milano and have not been disappointed!
I am happy to recommend you to our friends to send more business your way. Also, we will be back for more to visit the lakes/mountains to the north and perhaps Tuscany to the south. This was a truly memorable trip - thank you for arranging everything and being flexible with our requests to change things up at the last minute.
Best Regards,
John Cunningham
I definitely second Marina’s sentiments - you really did a fantastic job showing us great places and people in Piemonte. For me, the people/places that made the most impact were the hike to Portofino, Silvio’s farm, and the ViCaRa winery - although I am still floored by the Boglietti Riserva 2004 and Case Nere 2011 we tasted. We continued our eating tour of Italy the past few days in Milano and have not been disappointed!
I am happy to recommend you to our friends to send more business your way. Also, we will be back for more to visit the lakes/mountains to the north and perhaps Tuscany to the south. This was a truly memorable trip - thank you for arranging everything and being flexible with our requests to change things up at the last minute.
Best Regards,
John Cunningham
Adventures in Northern Italy – Making Dreams Come True
I found Adventures in Northern Italy through a chance reading of a USA article that described a company who provided an opportunity to create an experience not just take a vacation. It had been a life-long dream of mine to do more than just visit the area where my grandparents grew up and fell in love, but to experience La Vita of my people. But how could I make a once in a life-time vacation happen without knowledge of the area or command of the language?
Finding David Leibowitz was as though we had being placed in the care of a close friend of the family that lived in Northern Italy. From the planning stages of our trip to the last moment of our “adventure”, David proved himself to be knowledgeable, caring, insightful and competent.
I highly recommend David and Adventures in Northern Italy to all of our friends. It has been great fun to see eyes light up when we recount stories of truffle hunting and walking the Italian Resistance trail. David has a great ability to make each person’s adventure different and unique to match his or her expectations. As a very nice added benefit, my husband loved the trip and thinks of me as a very savvy vacation planner.
Cheers,
Lisa & Scott Chandler
Claudio was a true professional, prompt, friendly and courteous with an immaculately, clean and comfortable car and delivered us to all our destinations in a timely manner. It was such a comfort for Gwen and I that Claudio took care of our local transportation needs.
Both Danielle and Valeria were not only knowledge guides but tailored their tours according to our particular interests. Danielle determined that we were very interested in gardens and make arrangements with our boat captain to visit the botanical garden in Lake Maggiore.
Valeria deviated from our defined tours and showed us a contemporary skyscraper, business & design communities and helped us navigate the subway system for restaurant locations. She also helped us navigate a luncheon restaurant for business clientele. She made us feel very comfortable in Milan.
Having a personal guide is an exceptional experience and allowed us to maximize our experiences.
Mahalo, Mandy Spangler
I can wholeheartedly recommend working with David. He's a true professional; totally competent and utterly reliable.
Having a personal guide is an exceptional experience and allowed us to maximize our experiences.
Mahalo, Mandy Spangler
I can wholeheartedly recommend working with David. He's a true professional; totally competent and utterly reliable.
David and I met in 2010 when I was visiting Piedmont. We'd been introduced by a mutual friend. As soon as we met, we began discussions about leading tours together. (I'm a professional photographer and wine aficionado; I've been leading photo and wine tours for many years... mainly in the US.).
Over the past few years David and I ran several very successful tours in Italy, most based on his Smuggler's Return concept. Our group sizes typically ranged from between 6 and 14 guests.
David's handling of the itinerary preparations and tour logistics was always exemplary. He's extremely thorough and, as a result, we were always very well prepared. All our tours went smoothly, exactly as planned, due largely to David's thorough approach to planning and logistics.
The tour participants made many favorable comments about David's local knowledge and his approachable manner during the tours. He's a pleasure to be around and everyone benefited greatly from his presence.
David is also trustworthy and honest. He does what he says, and follows through on agreements. He's a forthright communicator. We never had any trouble with financial arrangements or any other aspect of our working partnership.
All my best,
Nat Coalson
Hi David,
We have returned home after a wonderful holiday in Italy – we will definitely be coming back!
Thank you so much for a wonderful couple of days spent together as well as your general input to our planning from touring suggestions to music to Calcio. We really appreciated your insights and all the history, background information and anecdotes you shared with us. Thank you also for your introductions to all the “locals” who shared their passion with us.
We hope to meet you again when we can come back to Italy.
With our best wishes,
Michelle, Steve, Benjamin & Nathan
David Leibowitz was an invaluable part of our very enjoyable vacation in Italy 3 weeks ago.
He conferred with us before our trip and created an itinerary that satisfied our wishes for a vacation that would bring us to the "non-touristy" parts of Italy, focusing on wine and the beauty of the land. Thus, we visited Pienza, Lerice and Monferrato. David arranged for private visits to wine cellars and tastings, castles being restored, a complete tour of a synagogue in Monferrato, and an afternoon exploring Alba, accompanied by David and his personal friend, the former Mayor of Alba. Actually, wherever we went, we received special attention due to the friendships David has made in Italy and the respect and affection people have for him.
This was demonstrated many times, from our receiving truffles in a special dinner in Moletto, to postcard packets in Monferrato, to visits with winemasters even during their very busy harvest time. We were so grateful to have had David with us for the guided portion of our trip, as his fluency in Italian helped us navigate Italian parking rules, banks, and even pharmacies, not to mention menus and brochures.
Finally, David was personable and knowledgeable, and prompt. He has a great deal of knowledge about Italian history, and this made our visit more meaningful. In addition, David’s love of food, Italian cooking, and wine added greatly to the enjoyment of our trip.
We would recommend him without hesitation to anyone seeking a private guide for a tour in Italy, and hope we will have another trip to Italy, with David's guidance.
Steve and Diane Solomon
White Plains, NY
We had a great day with Paola. As we expected, she is extremely knowledgeable about Florence. Based on our time constraints I thought she did an exellent job of highlighting the "can't miss sights". We would definitely recommend Adventures in Northern Italy and Paola.
Regards,
Suzy Rubenstein
Loved the walk in the woods and the dog. Hunting truffles is almost as good as hunting birds. We found a ton of truffles. Great start. Lunch was very good, served by 3 generations of truffle hunters, and a fourth in pictures on the wall. Love the family tradition. Davide did a great job at the Regional wine store trying to help us drill down to a Barolo style for me. I would absolutely use Davide again if I wanted a sommelier guide for a day. Great guy, very comprehensive personality.
All the best,
David Hughes
Boruch,
Thank you so much for the great tour you provided to us today. It was so informative with interesting details of the Jewish lives of the past and today.
Best regards,
Leonard
Thank you so much for the great tour you provided to us today. It was so informative with interesting details of the Jewish lives of the past and today.
Best regards,
Leonard
David, Daniela and David,
I am sorry to be delayed in my Thank You!!! I arrived home to a full work schedule, and believe me it was hard to come back down to earth after a week in heaven!
But I also wanted time to gather up all the pictures and create a book of memories. With all the camera's and cell phones going we took about 1000 pictures!! It was hard to choose the best, as you can imagine, but I finally finished a book, it is being published and should arrive this week.
It really was a trip of a lifetime, and David (Leibowitz) you did it again! Thank you for working your magic and making the perfect suggestions.
Daniella, you were wonderful, and so patient with us. Musicians work on a different schedule and you accommodated us with such grace. We are still talking about the little detour into the instrument room at The Academy. It was perfect!! And I know the Galileo Museum is not on everyone's list, but we loved it!! Also, you suggestion for a quiet spot in the afternoon couldn't have been more welcome and perfect.
David (Walthall), What can I say? I knew with the first pun and wordplay that we had many laughs, (...and groans ;-) in store as the days went on. Every place we stopped was more perfect than the last. The American Cemetery was so moving, we are so happy to have done that, you should add that to every American tour.
The food, the wine, the wine cellars, the beautiful hilltop towns, the church bells!!! Did you plan for us to arrive in Montepulciano at noon??
And OMG, the cooking class with Andrea .... we already have plans to make Pici for our families when we are together at the beach in July. It was amazing. As was Dionora and Giulio. A little slice of Heaven, our dream is to return. A perfect location, every part of it was wonderful.
And when I said enough wine, I'd love a cocktail, you knew just where to take us!! You are a pro!
But I must say, our final stop in Montefollonico, at the beautiful Innocenti winery, and Vittorio, who is the spitting image of my Grandfather, was the icing on the cake. The view, the wine. Just magical.
We have all been raving about the trip, and have told people that there is no other way to see Tuscany. Your ears must be burning!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Grazie Mille!!!!
I am sorry to be delayed in my Thank You!!! I arrived home to a full work schedule, and believe me it was hard to come back down to earth after a week in heaven!
But I also wanted time to gather up all the pictures and create a book of memories. With all the camera's and cell phones going we took about 1000 pictures!! It was hard to choose the best, as you can imagine, but I finally finished a book, it is being published and should arrive this week.
It really was a trip of a lifetime, and David (Leibowitz) you did it again! Thank you for working your magic and making the perfect suggestions.
Daniella, you were wonderful, and so patient with us. Musicians work on a different schedule and you accommodated us with such grace. We are still talking about the little detour into the instrument room at The Academy. It was perfect!! And I know the Galileo Museum is not on everyone's list, but we loved it!! Also, you suggestion for a quiet spot in the afternoon couldn't have been more welcome and perfect.
David (Walthall), What can I say? I knew with the first pun and wordplay that we had many laughs, (...and groans ;-) in store as the days went on. Every place we stopped was more perfect than the last. The American Cemetery was so moving, we are so happy to have done that, you should add that to every American tour.
The food, the wine, the wine cellars, the beautiful hilltop towns, the church bells!!! Did you plan for us to arrive in Montepulciano at noon??
And OMG, the cooking class with Andrea .... we already have plans to make Pici for our families when we are together at the beach in July. It was amazing. As was Dionora and Giulio. A little slice of Heaven, our dream is to return. A perfect location, every part of it was wonderful.
And when I said enough wine, I'd love a cocktail, you knew just where to take us!! You are a pro!
But I must say, our final stop in Montefollonico, at the beautiful Innocenti winery, and Vittorio, who is the spitting image of my Grandfather, was the icing on the cake. The view, the wine. Just magical.
We have all been raving about the trip, and have told people that there is no other way to see Tuscany. Your ears must be burning!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Grazie Mille!!!!
Ellen, Clem, and the whole Sayers family.
Hi David, Rochie and I are on the way to the airport. I fully agree with Ari, Tania on Lake Como was excellent every respect. We had an outstanding time on Tuesday. We also appreciate all your assistance and suggestions in coordinating every aspect of our visit to Milan and the surrounding areas. Please feel free to use me as a reference if it would be helpful to you. Have an enjoyable and successful summer, and we look forward to crossing paths with you in the future.
All the best.
Les Kirshenbaum
Les Kirshenbaum
Hi David,
We are home, missing Italy, but have so many good memories.
We can't thank you enough for all you did for us in arranging our tours, guides, lodging, and the many extras. Everything worked out fine, the drivers and guide were always on time, very friendly and accommodating and spoke English!
Georgio was our driver most days. He met us in Alba and took us to Villa Pinin in his comfortable big car with a stop on the way at LaCa' Nova for wine tasting and food pairing - all very delicious and such an interesting winery. By the time Georgio took us to Malpensa for our rental car several days later we were good friends and hated to say good-bye.
Beatrice is over the top as a guide. We would highly recommend her to you or anyone we know going to that area. She is nice, sweet, very knowledgeable, and gave us great tours and hikes. Our trip with Beatrice and Georgio to the Alps was extra special. It was a bright sunny day and Monte Rosa was spectacular as were the villages we passed through.
Villa Pinin was the perfect spot for us on Lake Orta with beautiful views of the lake and a short walk to the ancient village of Orta. Mariagrazia was a gracious hostess and served us well.
Our last night on Lake Maggiore worked out well for us, too, since it was close to Malpensa.
I would also like to recommend the Agriturismo Antica Torre near Parma, but only a few minutes from Salsomaggiore Terme. It is a beautiful spot with views of the surrounding area. The owners were kind and helpful and served excellent meals. From there we could walk to the nearby winery, drive to interesting castles, drive through the countryside, visit the local villages and towns.
We would be willing to give you and your company a good review on Trip Advisor or any other site if you would like. Please provide us with instructions.
Thanks again. We are so glad we found you!
Ciao,
Bill and Bette Haberlach and Mary Lou Banta
We are home, missing Italy, but have so many good memories.
We can't thank you enough for all you did for us in arranging our tours, guides, lodging, and the many extras. Everything worked out fine, the drivers and guide were always on time, very friendly and accommodating and spoke English!
Georgio was our driver most days. He met us in Alba and took us to Villa Pinin in his comfortable big car with a stop on the way at LaCa' Nova for wine tasting and food pairing - all very delicious and such an interesting winery. By the time Georgio took us to Malpensa for our rental car several days later we were good friends and hated to say good-bye.
Beatrice is over the top as a guide. We would highly recommend her to you or anyone we know going to that area. She is nice, sweet, very knowledgeable, and gave us great tours and hikes. Our trip with Beatrice and Georgio to the Alps was extra special. It was a bright sunny day and Monte Rosa was spectacular as were the villages we passed through.
Villa Pinin was the perfect spot for us on Lake Orta with beautiful views of the lake and a short walk to the ancient village of Orta. Mariagrazia was a gracious hostess and served us well.
Our last night on Lake Maggiore worked out well for us, too, since it was close to Malpensa.
I would also like to recommend the Agriturismo Antica Torre near Parma, but only a few minutes from Salsomaggiore Terme. It is a beautiful spot with views of the surrounding area. The owners were kind and helpful and served excellent meals. From there we could walk to the nearby winery, drive to interesting castles, drive through the countryside, visit the local villages and towns.
We would be willing to give you and your company a good review on Trip Advisor or any other site if you would like. Please provide us with instructions.
Thanks again. We are so glad we found you!
Ciao,
Bill and Bette Haberlach and Mary Lou Banta
Hi David and Rebecca,
We returned home last weekend so can now start looking through the e-mails! We had a wonderful time in Bologna and not having heard very much about the city or the area prior to our visit, we were very pleasantly surprised by the beauty and vibrancy of the city and the area.
In reflecting on the days spent there and the tours you organised for us, we can offer the following feedback:
I can let you know that the Metropolitan hotel was excellent – they put us in the apartments for the same cost and it was very comfortable and convenient. The breakfast staff at the hotel deserve special commendation for doing such a fine job in the very small space they have available.
The tour guides and instructor you organised for us were excellent. Daniella provided a very informative but entertaining history tour which really set the scene for the whole stay and gave us an appreciation of Bologna’s history. We did not use her on the Wednesday afternoon, not because we did not appreciate her expertise, but because we were pretty well exhausted!
David’s tours for the next two days were also very professionally and well done. It was disappointing of course that rain prevented our mountain walk on the Wednesday but David’s alternative was very good under the circumstances. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with him as he was very easy to chat with and learn from and he kept the pace to a manageable rate at all times. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable couple of days and we would recommend it to our friends if they are going that way.
Rita’s cooking background walk and class was a delight. We found her so approachable, interesting and knowledgeable you could not help but enjoy the day. We learnt so much (now we just need to remember it and apply it!) and had so much fun doing so we will always remember the day spent in her company. A holiday highlight.
We really can’t think of any constructive criticisms to offer. Everything was done as per the information supplied and the guides were of a very high professional standard so you can’t ask for much more can you? Thank you for organising this part of our holiday and we will certainly speak of our experience in Northern Italy very positively with all our friends.
Cheers and Ciao!
Ian and Elizabeth Miles
We returned home last weekend so can now start looking through the e-mails! We had a wonderful time in Bologna and not having heard very much about the city or the area prior to our visit, we were very pleasantly surprised by the beauty and vibrancy of the city and the area.
In reflecting on the days spent there and the tours you organised for us, we can offer the following feedback:
I can let you know that the Metropolitan hotel was excellent – they put us in the apartments for the same cost and it was very comfortable and convenient. The breakfast staff at the hotel deserve special commendation for doing such a fine job in the very small space they have available.
The tour guides and instructor you organised for us were excellent. Daniella provided a very informative but entertaining history tour which really set the scene for the whole stay and gave us an appreciation of Bologna’s history. We did not use her on the Wednesday afternoon, not because we did not appreciate her expertise, but because we were pretty well exhausted!
David’s tours for the next two days were also very professionally and well done. It was disappointing of course that rain prevented our mountain walk on the Wednesday but David’s alternative was very good under the circumstances. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with him as he was very easy to chat with and learn from and he kept the pace to a manageable rate at all times. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable couple of days and we would recommend it to our friends if they are going that way.
Rita’s cooking background walk and class was a delight. We found her so approachable, interesting and knowledgeable you could not help but enjoy the day. We learnt so much (now we just need to remember it and apply it!) and had so much fun doing so we will always remember the day spent in her company. A holiday highlight.
We really can’t think of any constructive criticisms to offer. Everything was done as per the information supplied and the guides were of a very high professional standard so you can’t ask for much more can you? Thank you for organising this part of our holiday and we will certainly speak of our experience in Northern Italy very positively with all our friends.
Cheers and Ciao!
Ian and Elizabeth Miles
