Most days I write about my travel experiences: the good, the bad, and the ugly…
But mostly I write about the wonderful travel experiences that I feel and see through my rose-colored glasses.
I am grateful for the travel experiences that I have had around the globe and a recent invite by Trafalgar Tours, a global travel company, made me realize what goes into making those extraordinary travel experiences come to life. These travel experiences don’t just happen, they are planned down to the time, the place, and the authenticity of the moment, so that you, the traveler, can come away with that memory that you connected with on a trip.
Photo of Marta Cucchia
Those “WOW moments” that literally connect you to the culture and history of the past of the place that you visit. These moments are carefully crafted by the Trafalgar team so that you will walk away with an understanding and fascination of the culture, its people, and get a glimpse into the history behind it.
The Power of Travel Seen Through the Eyes of a Travel Company
I was lucky enough to travel with the CEO of Trafalgar, Gavin Tollman. I had a chance to sit side by side with him in the back of a luxury bus traveling from Rome to Perugia, Italy on our way to one of these authentic travel experiences.
This particular day we were traveling to the site of a 13th-century church where St. Francis of Assisi once lived and prayed.
Today Marta Cucchia was going to show us the living history of how her great-grandmother Giuditta Brozzetti started collecting, researching, and exploring the world of hand-weaving done on 19th-century jacquard wooden looms. Giuditta not only had a great passion for the art form, but she began collecting this style of art weaving from many of the locals, including several complicated looms.
This love and passion got handed down to Marta where today she is able to continue this ancient artisan craft by the funding she receives through TreadRight, a global initiative that Trafalgar’s parent company uses to support artisans like Marta.
Marta’s shop is one of the few remaining shops of “jacquard” style looms that showcase this 12th-century Perugian weaving.
Back then, Perugia was a textile-making center, where they were known throughout Europe for their handicrafts.
Today Marta recreates designs from medieval paintings where those famous Perugian tablecloths are seen. Think of the altar cloths and tapestries you see in those centuries-old paintings, that is what you will find here. They were featured in paintings by Giotto to Ghirlandaio to Leonardo de Vinci, just to name a few.
Photo of Marta Cucchia
When I travel, I love to discover the fabric of each destination, and literally, on this trip with Trafalgar, I was able to explore every inch of it– that thing that makes certain places unique and wonderful and makes me want to go back and tell the story of its existence.
According to Tollman, that is what Trafalgar is all about, finding those authentic travel experiences and bringing them to life.
I realize not everyone lives in the world of travel like I do, and may only have a chance to spend their money on a vacation once or twice a year. When the time comes to spend that hard-earned money, they want the best value for their money spent. In fact, getting value out of travel is something that I have always adhered to by maximizing airline points and hotel programs to create that value. But value can come in many forms.
And this travel company, Trafalgar, is giving you just that… unique travel experiences that is more that just the “must-sees” and “top things to do” travel company. They do that too, but then go beyond and get you under the surface of what really makes a place tick. Those are the memories a traveler goes home with that stays with them forever.
Insider Experiences with Trafalgar
They also have insider experiences called #BeMyGuest at Trafalgar and this includes dining with local families in their homes, staying in historic accommodations, discovering secret stories in places you visit, and exploring the hidden history behind must-see sights. So if you get a chance, check out Trafalgar Tours. There is a reason they are the #1 tour company of sales from the USA to Europe.
You can visit Marta Cucchia in her shop in Perugia, Italy:
Museo Atelier “Giuditta Brozzetti”
Via Tiverio Berardi, 5/6 – 06123 Perugia Italy
Open to public all year
Monday to Friday 09:00 – 18:00
Saturday and Sunday also available upon request
I will be writing about a few more of my fantastic travel experiences I had with Trafalgar Tours in Italy, so stay tuned. I will add the titles of each article here.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Positano, Italy: Bellisimo Part 1
Positano, Italy Bites Deep: Part 2
Furore, Italy: The Most Beautiful Place on Earth
Portofino, Italy: At least Once in a Lifetime
Disclosure: My time spent in Italy with Trafalgar Tours was a part of the Inaugural Media Tour and was provided by Trafalgar.
About Dr. Cacinda Maloney
A value-luxury adventure traveler at heart, Dr. Cacinda Maloney shares her experiences as someone who has traveled every six weeks of her life for the last 20 plus years. Being a travel writer, blogger and social media influencer, she now travels more than that! She is Phoenix, Arizona based, but maintains an apartment in Santiago, Chile. She is a member of the Professional Travel Bloggers Association (PTBA), Media Kitty and the International Food, Wine and Travelers Association (IFWTWA). Read more...
I’m generally an independent traveler (I usually travel with my husband) but on a solo trip to Switzerland I decided to take a Trafalgar Tour – and I’m glad I did. Our tour guide was wonderful and really helped my fellow travelers and me to experience some of the hidden delights of this beautiful country. I’d traveled to Switzerland on a few occasions before but had I not done a Trafalgar Tour, I wouldn’t have discovered some of the spectacular sights and attractions that I did. The ‘Be My Guest’ dinner we enjoyed was a highlight of the trip, too.
Whilst a tour perhaps isn’t for everyone, for me traveling solo, the tour was the perfect hassle-free way to see Switzerland. And I made lots of new friends, too!
Fantastic! That is great to hear and I am glad you enjoyed Trafalgar Tours!
This is a great article – really speaks to me because this is really at the heart of why true TRAVELERS travel, not vacationers, if that makes sense. This is a great look at why it moves us the way it does!
Ahh, thanks! I agree!
My husband and I were in Rome, Venice and Florence, Italy for our honeymoon back in 2010 and we’ve always wanted to go back. It’s such a beautiful country and now you are giving me ideas where to go next in Italy with your beautiful photos! :) And oh, we also worked with a travel agency who made everything smooth for us as far as coordinating our itineraries, tours and activities while we were there for 7 days. That was the best travel I did with my husband! We enjoyed everything we did and see there! :)
Fantastic! Italy is such an amazing place to visit for Cultural travel.
I love this company’s dedication to help countries bring out their beauty. You don’t need to see the well-known places when you travel, you can choose to see a place for how it really is. I think this was an awesome learning experience for you as well.
it was fantastic!
I love that they try to showcase the cultural side of a place and not just focus on the main attractions. It’s a great way to learn more about the country you’re visiting.
yes, me too!
Wow, how cool you got to travel with Gavin Tollman, I’d love to have these authentic travel experiences with someone like that – or, at least, I’d have loved to have been a fly on the wall listening to you guys chit-chat :D
It was cool!
I’ve never used a travel company. I think it’s great that they actually go out and experience the things they’re offering their clients.
It was wonderful!
This just makes me fall in love with travel all over again. What an amazing outlook.
I have always been in love with travel and these are reasons why.
What an amazing and memorable experience. Traveling offers so much and can open your eyes to many things.
It was an amazing experience!
I’ve been hearing about Trafalgar Tours forever. They are very different to other tour operators and I like that. Having been around for so long, says it all.
yes, I agree!
yes, great company!
My husband and I wish we could do more traveling. We probably roughly fall into the group you mention that travels once or maybe twice a year, although lately it seems less!
We will have to check this Trafalgar out.
I love that when you travel to new places you can learn so much about the culture and history. Even staying locally there’s much history to be learned.
yes! So much history and culture everywhere!
I am glad I came across your blog. I will have to read more about Trafalgar and see what they can offer me. It looks like you did have a very satisfactory experience with them!
Yes, I did.
I must be on the email list of every tour operator and they all seem to run the same cookie cutter tours. So to read your Trafalgar experience has made me receptive to considering an organized tour and more specifically Trafalgar because of their philosophy.
It was amazing!
Those insider experiences sound really wonderful! What a great way to get an authentic travel experience and a wonderful way to experience the area like a local.
I agree, each authentic experience we had was amazing with Trafalgar!
What beautiful photos. I had never thought about all the work involved in putting together a trip like this but Trafalger Tours has it all together and it shows.
yes, they certainly do!
I would love to travel more. I always say the day will come when the kids are older.
Do it before then, you just never know!
I used a travel company through Thailand and I found it helpful. It definitely depends if you feel like self guided or having some great culture and in-depth stories told. Really felt connected to Thailand and the people because of the travel company.
I agree, I do a little bit of both, depends on how lazy I am.
Thanks for this read. I have often found that the best parts of travel are the parts that most people don’t see or look for.
So true!
That is such a great read! I always love to see things from a different perspective. It keeps life interesting.
thanks!