I have done two tours with Patsy and both were terrific. Drawing on her meticulous reseach and broad knowledge, she makes every site come alive, and I felt as if I had a good understanding of both the history and significance of each site. And equally important for travellers, her Southern charm and vivacious wit allows for never a dull moment. She is an absolutely superlative guide and person. Thanks, Patsy!
Edward S. Ligon, Classics Chairman, The Roxbury Latin School
I can’t imagine a better guide to Italy than Patsy Ricks. This well-seasoned professional has the perfect blend of knowledge, humor, sensitivity, energy, and Southern charm. Working with Patsy (Poets In a Landscape 1997 and In the Footsteps of Hannibal 2000) was the highlight of my career.
Peggy Brucia, Long Island, New York.
Patsy Ricks is a wonderful tour leader. Her knowledge, scholarship and passion for Italy made our trip one we will remember for a lifetime.
Vicky Brucia & Lincoln Greene, Burlington, Vermont
Inside Italy Tours continues to impress travelers with in-depth, informative, exciting, and personalized tours through Italy. Interested in joining us? Check out our current the places we visit and see what tours we have to offer. Want a personalized tour? Contact Inside Italy Tours today and see what we can do for you!
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My husband’s grandparents were Sicilian, and for years he and his brother had dreamed of going to Cefalu. We also wanted to see as much of Italy as possible, and since we only had two weeks, we needed help. Patsy helped us decide what we wanted to see and planned a fabulous Itinerary that included Venice, Florence , Rome, Cefalu, and even day trips to Tuscany and Pompeii! Inside Italy Tours helped us plan and enjoy a perfect trip to Italy. Patsy’s knowledge and love of the country, her fluent Italian, and her attention to details made our experience joyful and effortless! The small group tour is the way to go and we can’t wait to go back.
Lynn Williams, Jackson, Mississippi
I would very much like to thank you for the splendid trip that I recently made to Italy in your care. The planning of the itinerary, the care you took to find us the most pleasant accommodations matches only your constant concern for our comfort, amusement, entertainment, and instruction. I cannot express too highly my delight in all of this. As a veteran teacher of Latin and Roman history, you added an element to the trip that would be very difficult to find in other hands. As an inveterate traveler to modern Italy over so many years, you saw to it that we were able to visit the very best of each town and city that we visited. And as an expert student of Italian wines, you took care that our dinners were as memorable as the rest of each full day.
Thank you again for such wonderful memories.
Richard Hamilton, East Lansing, Michigan
Thank you so much for the best vacation ever! Touring Italy with Inside Italy Tours was much more than I ever imagined. In addition to visiting all of the important sites that one must see, we most especially enjoyed having an Italian-speaking guide with years of experience who could take us off the beaten path and tell us fascinating stories of the famous and infamous! We stayed in wonderful hotels, both elegant and quaint, and we ate in out-of-the-way restaurants with amazing food and unbelievable views of the
countryside. Thanks to our very knowledgeable guide, we experienced Italian life, art and culture in an especially personal and unforgettable way. I can’t wait to go again!
countryside. Thanks to our very knowledgeable guide, we experienced Italian life, art and culture in an especially personal and unforgettable way. I can’t wait to go again!
Sarah Barr, Jackson, Mississippi
Dear Patsy,
Thank you for a wonderful trip to Italy. I still dream about the beautiful sites I saw, the amazing art at the museums, the views from the towers. I loved all the walking, kept me from gaining any weight in spite of all the delicious food we had every evening. I loved going to local restaurants that you knew, rubbing elbows with the local folk after a day of tourist sights. And oh the sights, from Rome and the Vatican, to Siena and that amazing church to Florence and the Uffizi. Well I could just go on and on and name every place you arranged for us to go because every single visit was spectacular and each had its own charm. I also just have to say a word about the hotels, both in Florence and in Rome they were stellar. The more modern hotel in Siena was also fine, but the other two were my favorites, great locations and great service and lovely buildings. When I returned home I was talking with a Swiss friend of mine and mentioned the Tournabuoni in Florence. She knew the place and was amazed that I could afford to stay there as she remembers it from her many visits to Florence and wishing she could stay there. I felt quite lucky, and I owe it to you since you did all the arrangements. Thanks so much, I am ready to go again!!!!
Thank you for a wonderful trip to Italy. I still dream about the beautiful sites I saw, the amazing art at the museums, the views from the towers. I loved all the walking, kept me from gaining any weight in spite of all the delicious food we had every evening. I loved going to local restaurants that you knew, rubbing elbows with the local folk after a day of tourist sights. And oh the sights, from Rome and the Vatican, to Siena and that amazing church to Florence and the Uffizi. Well I could just go on and on and name every place you arranged for us to go because every single visit was spectacular and each had its own charm. I also just have to say a word about the hotels, both in Florence and in Rome they were stellar. The more modern hotel in Siena was also fine, but the other two were my favorites, great locations and great service and lovely buildings. When I returned home I was talking with a Swiss friend of mine and mentioned the Tournabuoni in Florence. She knew the place and was amazed that I could afford to stay there as she remembers it from her many visits to Florence and wishing she could stay there. I felt quite lucky, and I owe it to you since you did all the arrangements. Thanks so much, I am ready to go again!!!!
Jeanne Drewes, East Lansing, Michigan
“On the trip I made that Patsy co-led to Italy in the summer of 2000, everything was exquisitely arranged and organized with just the right amount of free time. I will travel with Patsy again at my next opportunity.”
Madeleine Henry, Assoc. Prof. of Classical Studies, Iowa State University
Italy: foreign ways and foreign streets, a bit of fear married to adventure. For me Italy echoes my past and my future. Fortunately I have been able to explore it with Patsy in two incredible ventures called “Poets in Landscape” and “In the Footsteps of Hannibal.” Poetry takes the shape of fields, waterways and “ruins” as I traveled with her to places where classical poets were inspired and where contemporary writers and lovers of life find the pulse of life. The day begins at a steady and happy pace with curiosity building through her knowledgeable guidance. This continues through our explorations, lunch, dinner and the evening.
Happily for me I also revisited Hannibal’s courageous route to history’s pages. Along with Peggy Brucia she scouted this path and then shared the campaign with us in ways that even the elephants would be thrilled to revisit! I am hoping to travel with her again in the near future and look at it as one of my “plans” for my life.
Happily for me I also revisited Hannibal’s courageous route to history’s pages. Along with Peggy Brucia she scouted this path and then shared the campaign with us in ways that even the elephants would be thrilled to revisit! I am hoping to travel with her again in the near future and look at it as one of my “plans” for my life.
Bea Gravino, Long Island, New York
When traveling with Patsy, I have seen others drawing aside to hear her lectures, leaving the group whom they accompanied or with whom they were assigned.
Sometimes, they would ask me, usually at the rear of our group, if they could remain with us throughout a museum, and one group of college-age girls were so
impressed with Patsy’s knowledge and manner of presentation that they requested to tour with Patsy for the duration of their time in Florence.
When I went to Pompeii without Patsy, my tour lasted one hour. With Patsy, we wear jeans and feel we have covered the general outline of the place in around
eight hours. She once spent a semester studying and working on a paper there, so she even knows which restaurants serve the best Buffalo Mozzarella there. She is also a scholar, who has led other scholars of the classics on many tours.
She knows Italian and where the Italians actually stay, rather than Americans, some of whom confuse the American-like hotel in which they lodge for the country
which they are visiting. She brings the study of a lifetime to bear on her tours, having studied and taught the ancients, art, wines, and a life of bounty and discovery. She still presents each day of a tour as if it were an adventure in itself, and anyone who
selects her as a guide has the opportunity to experience a life-changing journey.
Sometimes, they would ask me, usually at the rear of our group, if they could remain with us throughout a museum, and one group of college-age girls were so
impressed with Patsy’s knowledge and manner of presentation that they requested to tour with Patsy for the duration of their time in Florence.
When I went to Pompeii without Patsy, my tour lasted one hour. With Patsy, we wear jeans and feel we have covered the general outline of the place in around
eight hours. She once spent a semester studying and working on a paper there, so she even knows which restaurants serve the best Buffalo Mozzarella there. She is also a scholar, who has led other scholars of the classics on many tours.
She knows Italian and where the Italians actually stay, rather than Americans, some of whom confuse the American-like hotel in which they lodge for the country
which they are visiting. She brings the study of a lifetime to bear on her tours, having studied and taught the ancients, art, wines, and a life of bounty and discovery. She still presents each day of a tour as if it were an adventure in itself, and anyone who
selects her as a guide has the opportunity to experience a life-changing journey.
Celia Wood, Jackson, Mississippi