Food-themed day tour in Bologna. Apartment in Paris.

REPORT ON ITALY…

I took a truly fun and memorable day trip in Bologna, Italy, with Italian Days Food Experience Tours (Via G. Marconi, 20 40060, Savigno, Italy; phone +39 338 421 6659), which I found by Googling “Bologna, Italy” and looking for activities and day trips.

On Oct. 3, 2012, I was picked up at 7 a.m. by a driver in a Mercedes van. I was returned to my hotel at around 5 p.m. There were 14 or 15 guests plus drivers and the tour leader in three large vans. I was one of five guests in our van.

The tour leader and founder of the company, Alessandro, was delightful and shared a wealth of information regarding the production of Parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar and prosciutto ham. We were taken to three different locations where these products are produced. After touring each facility, there were samples of the products and nice wine.

When you reserve this outing, you will be told that the price (€145, or near $188, per person) includes a light lunch. Don’t be fooled! This “light lunch” lasted for three hours, and every morsel was delicious. The accompanying wine was equally good and came in great abundance.

Italian Days has a wonderful staff, and the entire tour was a pleasant experience.

Pat Kruse, Rancho Mirage, CA

REPORT FROM PARIS…

From Homeaway.com, my husband, Mike, and I found a wonderful apartment in Paris near Gare Montparnasse. Stepping out the front door, you were right in the middle of the action. Yet, because the apartment was an inner unit, you had no street noise.

We could walk to a lot of major sights, or the Métro steps were about 15 feet from the front door, with lines 4, 6, 12 and 13 to choose from. (We did find that to catch line 6 it was just as easy to walk to the Edgar Quinet stop.)

For our apartment (71 Blvd du Montparnasse, Paris; phone 33 06 87 74 37 57), we paid €1,100 (near $1,429) for 10 nights, Oct. 1-10, 2012.

The owner, Bernard, answered e-mails promptly during our planning. When we arrived by train from Brittany, he met us at Gare Montparnasse and helped with the bags. He spent time explaining everything, and there were written instructions.

The apartment had plenty of light, and we have never seen so much storage space in a holiday rental. There was an oven, microwave, 4-burner range, dishwasher and a large (for Paris) fridge with a nice-size freezer, plus more cooking utensils than I have at home!

There was a phone and TV, and Bernard had a computer. The WiFi worked great. The bed and sofa bed were very comfortable. The shower was very nice or we could use the tub. There was plenty of hot water. The bathroom hadn’t been cleaned very well from the previous renter, but there were cleaning supplies, so we cleaned it and made Bernard aware of it at the end of our stay.

There was a large Monoprix grocery store and also a small one nearby. We liked the smaller one better because it wasn’t as crowded. There were plenty of restaurants and boulangeries close by.

I would highly recommend this as a holiday rental for a couple with or without a couple of kids or as a long-term rental for one or two people.

Jane Tumey, Hebron, KY