Guestbook
Monika, We have most the trip lined out for Sept. 14 thru Sept.21. Used your suggestions. Am looking forward to a more relaxing trip than what we normally try to pack in. Of course want to spend a day with you while we are there. Would not feel like home without seeing you and sipping wine in fabulous Florence, Italy. Ciao,
Bruce & Pam Hallvik - USA 6/2018
Hey Monika, Hope you are doing well! I can't tell you how much my family misses Italy—what an amazing day we had with you. I'm connecting you to my friend Kate (CCed), who will be in Florence with her mom sometime this summer. I'm not sure if you're available, but I thought it would be worth a shot! I'll let you two take it from here—but don't be surprised if I send other people your way! Our time in Tuscany was one of our favorite days of the trip :D Wishing you well, Oh PS: Tell Eleonora the Fitzgeralds say hi, and that her oil olive made great presents for our friends back in the States!
Britney Fitzgerald - USA 6/2018
Buongiorno Monika, Hope you and your family are well. We did a tour with you of Chianti region in Dec 2014 ( family of 5) which we thoroughly enjoyed. You were recommended to us by the De Boer family from Gold Coast Australia. Anyway, we are planning another holiday in Dec/ Jan this year and wondering if you had any recommendation on Amalfi Coast, arriving end Dec early Jan. Grazie mille Monika,
Joanne and Peter Doring - Australia
Dear Monika, It’s time to say good bye and hope that we can spend time together on another adventure. I cannot express how grateful I feel for your kind genuine attention to our journey with you. The wine was delicious and we had most of it in the first sitting in the hotel garden with panoramic view of Tuscan countryside. So it’s arriverderci Monika Bella, please keep in touch as we would love to know how life is treating you. Tante baci
Gladys & Christina from Australia 7/2018
Buona sera Monika! It was a pleasure seeing you again. Today was exactly how I had hoped it would go and better. The tasting at Montefioralle was perfect in every single way (obviously). There was so much I learned this time around. It was such a cool experience being there right after the harvest and actually seeing the middle stages of the wine making process to really grasp what goes into it. Lunch was breath taking. I stopped at least 3 different times and said "this isn't real". I also can't thank you enough for calling ahead and making those special requests for Danielle and her gluten free needs. It made a real difference in her's and our day for her to be able to eat the same dishes we did. I also now have another memory I will never forget visiting Dario... Thank you once again for everything! Today was a day that we will remember forever and we have you to thank for it.
Louie Cecchini - USA 10/2018
Monika, Thank you for all your help. I want you to know that we navigated through Tuscany fearlessly mostly due to your encouragement. Lucca and Pisa were kind of a bust, but we loved our whole stay in Tuscany. We’re here in Venice experiencing the high tides and a lot of CNN. Not all bad, but we’ll be glad to go home tomorrow. You were truly our highlight
Lorraine & Barbara Hulett - USA 10/2018
Monika- Thank you so much for a fantastic day touring the Chianti region. You were a wonderful guide and Robin and I were so pleased with everything you planned for us. Many thanks. Hope to cross paths again in the future.
Chad and Robin Yablonsky - USA 10/2018
Ciao Monika, We returned home last night from Italia! What a wonderful time we had! We all agree that the most special day was our tour of Tuscany with you. We didn’t realize what a full day it would be!! So much to learn and see!
Bernadette Hurely - USA 11/2018
Monika: Meg and I had a wonderful time and just wanted to thank you for taking us to such a varied and delightful set of sites! It certainly makes us want to return to Tuscany again soon! Thank you again and we hope to see you sometime when we return!
Meg and Eddie Pickle 10/2018
You certainly made our 2016 the most memorable one ever! Thank you Monika for the friendship, and for being the amazing person who could bring all of these lovely people together to display your gorgeous Italian countryside!
Jean Lupica 1/2017
Hi Monika- Just wanted to thank you again for an amazing day! We had a blast - it was our best day in Italy.
Steve Sardinia 9/2016
Buongiorno Monika! We have been home for over a week and I am already dreaming of a return to Tuscany! We wanted to thank you again for our wonderful tour. We are still marveling at the gorgeous photos we took and enjoying some of the wine we purchased. We wanted you to know how much we enjoyed getting to know you and enjoyed our day with you. We will cherish these memories for the rest of our lives.
Amy & Matt Brown 9/2016
Hi Monika, just wanted to say thank you again for our touring days with you this week. We had a fantastic time and are already talking about next time! Regards
Jane Mazzone 5/2016
Ciao Monika! We had the most incredible day with you. Thank you so much for making our trip special. We appreciate the warmth and hospitality. I passed your info on to my mom who is coming to Tuscany in June. I know you're really busy but I thought she may try you if they are looking for a tour or ideas. Thanks again for everything Monika!!! Arrivederci
06/2016 Alex Gans
Dear Monika, I hope this finds you well and happy. Of course, it is hard to imagine you any other way! I am finally feeling over jetlag and back to normal but I am definitely missing your beautiful Tuscany countryside and towns. I am hopeful that we will make it back to visit before too much time passes. I want to thank you again for the wonderful introduction to the region and especially to delicious Chianti! (Friends cannot believe I am actually drinking anything other than my ‘pink wine’.) Our experience would not have been half as great if not for you! I am hoping that Kelly was able to make up for the misunderstanding regarding payment. Kelly is notorious for overcompensating but he was obviously misguided in Spain regarding tipping and thought it was the same throughout Europe. Live and learn! We will be better ready next time. Spero di vederti presto. Arrivederci! .
Debi Donovan 10/2016
This belated email to thank you for such a wonderful day. Keep up the amazing service you provide. We have passed your details to all our friends and hopefully we'll have an opportunity to come back to your beautiful region in the near future.
Michael Taylor - Australia
Monika, we will be highly recommending your fantastic service as we were very impressed with your friendliness and your commitment to providing interesting tours of your beautiful region, as well as giving helpful suggestions for travellers.
Tracy Butlert - Australia
Because our day with you was one of our highlights of our entire vacation to Italy, I wanted to thank you again for a lovely time with you and your sharing some of Tuscany's treasures with us ! Paul is telling everyone about the day's excursion with you and how he had initially not wanted to do it, but how it turned out to be his favourite day of the vacation !
Teri & Paul Henning - California
'Monika, you are a dream of a guide'
Jeanne Rothenbueler
Dear Monika, we cannot thank you enough for your hospitality, knowledge, sense of humor, expertise, efficiency, professional driving and your delightful attitude. YOU ARE ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS WHY OUR TRIP TO TUSCANY WAS INDEED A 'trip of a lifetime. We will contiue to recommend your outstanding service.
Nancy & Ken Wisniewski - Chicago
Thank you so much for the past five days. Your knowledge with logistics ecc has made our vacation stress free. We have some great memories of our visit to Tuscany and all the good times spent with you will live with us forever !
The Doring family Gold Coast - Australia
Thank you for the wonderful day you provided us. We enjoyed every town. I give your tour that same rating as your restaurant had !
John Boerman USA
Monika, Thank you so much for a once in my lifetime excursion! Your patience and knowledge made our trip to Italy perfect. Michelle and I thoroughly enjoyed each turn and town we visited with you. Thank you for your insight and beautiful vantage views we had with your day! Our pictures are really nice and we hope to send some along to you for your website! Traveling in another country is truly an eye opening experience. What a nice easy going life so many people have. Thank you very much for a wonderful vacation!
Angela Mastrobattista USA
Dear Monika, my sister and friends totally enjoyed our trip to Tuscany and we are all in agreement that you were the best driver and guide we had during our trip. We saw so much more of beautiful Tuscany in the short time with you. I do hope I will have an opportunity to travel in Tuscany again. And will definitely recommend you if any of my friends plan to travel there. Once again, thanks very much from all of us. It was a pleasure travelling with you. All the best
Sharon NG Kuala Lumpur /MALAYSIA
Monika, I hope you are well. We had a wonderful trip and much of it was due to you assisting us through our travel plans. It was a trip of a lifetime and we continue to talk about it, and you, with friends and family. You were a gift to Cam and me and we are forever grateful for all you did for us. We hope to return soon.
Laurie & Cam Fassbender USA
Cara Monika, we just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our Chianti tour with you! It was well thought out and planned. It fit our schedule perfectly!
Frank Tomars USA
I can not begin to express our appreciation and gratitude... thank you for treating my family as your family and caring so much.
Kathy McKarthy USA
Monika, here are some pictures for you. Don't the two of us look so happy - all because of all you did for us!!! You did so good on that day with us. It was a dream!!!
Rea and Jerry Jackman USA
Hello Monika, Thank you for the picture of Jim and me with the church at Assisi in the background. It was wonderful to have you as a driver for two days and it gave Clare a chance to see some of the countryside as she didn't have to pay attention to the roadside. Thanks for your help in making the trip so special.
Pat McCulla USA
Dear Monika, I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how much we enjoyed our tour of Tuscany with you . We had a lovely dayand will continue to recommend your services to all our friends and family traveling to Florence and hope to return soon. Thank you again for your kindness, generosity and knowledge of Tuscany.
Sincerely, Suzanne and Pat Lynch USA
I wanted to thank you for a wonderful day we will never forget! Being with you was like visiting a family member who was able to take us to special places. Of course, your knowledge was also a most valuable part of the tour as well. You are truly the best! We hope to return to Italy in the near future and we will definitely get in touch with you again for any of our tour needs. Thanks again! Enjoy your beautiful country and your family!
Lisa Brala USA
Thank you for the beautiful pictures! I had such an amazing experience with you a few years ago and will continue to recommend friends and family to you that go to Italy. Hope you're having a wonderful 2014!! All my best !
Allison Drake
Buongiorno Monika, we still talk about how great our trip was and the most impressive for us, in Italy, was your special treatment for our group along with those uniquely different, and interesting Chianti/Tuscany locations! With some Tuscan wine, olive oil, recipes and many photos we will enjoy many memories of Tuscany while flying our Chianti flag whenever we get together with our friends. Fino alla prossima volta, molte grazie! Saluti.
Mike and Connie Nordcord USA
Buongiorno Monika, sadly all good things come to an end! We have been home for a week now & it has given Helen & I time to reflect on what was a wonderful holiday.We would like to thank you for making our time in Tuscany & Cinque Terre so special,it will hold incredible memories for the rest of our lives. Best wishes for the future
Giovanni & Helen , John & Helen Ayres AUSTRALIA
Dear Monika, thank you so much for the Tuscan tours for our "crazy bunch" of Americans. We really enjoyed our stay and appreciate your kindness, gratitude and patience in accommodating the eight of us. Your knowledge of the area and your many friends and acquaintances were indeed helpful in facilitating us in getting the most out of our vacation.
Joan LeBlanc USA
"Goodmorning: This email doesn't require a reply, ok, because yours was so informative and gracious. The reason your tour business is so good is because you are so personable and people like me, and the canadians that year, think they are special and you give that to people, special touches. Probably, meeting your children was the best part of that trip, and knowing that the joy of children and their innocence is the same all over the world. I know that because of your openess, the tour business is booming and will always boom."
RBroussard
"How can we ever thank you enough for the experience you gave us, you are constantly in our thoughts and also in all my descriptions of our adventure in Italy. I am so passionate about Tuscany (this was my dream, to visit Tuscany) and it seems that I am now imparting that dream to everyone I speak to about our trip, they all want to go!!!!! Of course they all know that the reason it was so wonderful was Monika Iris sharing her Tuscany with us, because you are in all the stories I share. You taught me personally how to eat and I have transferred that to our lives here. I have managed to find some delicious Australian Olive Oil produced in the North East of Victoria in Cobram, although it is not Tuscan, it is at least local (and I believe in eating locally produced food). I crave the taste of that every day and I can feel that is is good for me. There is no way to reproduce the taste of the wines from Anna Maria and Fernando but we have good Australian wines too, so they will have to do, and I do have the memories of the Tuscan wine experience. Anyway we are eating in a much healthier (mind and body) way thanks to you also.
So I will keep in touch and we will see you again and thank you for sharing yourself and your beloved country with us, we are both extremely, eternally grateful. "
Su
"Dear Monika – our special friend in Italy Oh how good to hear from you and we too hope you have a very, very Happy New Year & that everything is going kindly for you. Oh what a glorious photo – is that taken near Greve? !!! We feel “homesick” for Italy!! Did you have a lovely snow-white Christmas Monika? We hope your family all had a really lovely time. I apologise for not writing sooner – it has been a very busy & very emotional year since we last saw you back in April. Our journey after we left you in Florence continued to be ever so enjoyable but oh boy did we miss you Monika. We felt just so comfortable with you & would love to return again one day."
Chris & Neil
"Just a quick note to thank you for your wonderful tour in Tuscany. Your enthusiasm for your subject is contagious, and good for the soul."
Paulo
"We have been speaking of you much today, as we had our large annual family gathering of around 40 people in the sunshine around the barbeque at my parents country home. We were telling everyone about our wonderful trip and of course Monika Iris was one of the highlights and no relaying of our journey could be complete without you in it."
Su & John
"Monika, We have been meaning to send you a note of thanks since we returned from our trip, but somehow "real life" happened and we've now been home for over a month. (Why didn't we take Valerio up on his offer to stay in his available apartment??) ;) Regardless, I wanted you to know how much we truly appreciated our time with you while in Florence/Tuscany. I keep telling people that our mini-tour of Chianti country was my favorite three hours of the trip. That was so generous of you to give up your Saturday evening, and it really made our trip. If we have family or friends coming to the area, we will definitely refer them directly to you. And for that matter, we can't wait to come back to visit you again ourselves!! I've attached a few pictures of our time with Lucia, Fernando, and Valerio. Please pass them along to our Tuscan friends. :) Thank you, thank you, thank you... "
Allyson & John
"Ciao Monika, I just wanted to write you a short note saying how much my family enjoyed the experience we had with you last week. My parents talked of nothing else for the rest of the trip. I loved the itinerary that you designed for us, each of the 3 times I went on a trip with you I had a wonderfully different experience. Thank you so much for sharing your home with me, i know that Italy and the Chianti will be a part of my life forever now. Also, thank you so much for introducing me to Fernando and to Montefiorale, I had amazing experiences at his vineyard, and I think my family will be loyal customers for many years to come. I think the service that you provide is unique, and you have a remarkable ability to allow people to see your home from your individual and extremely beautiful perspective. I think that Georgetown is very lucky to have a relationship with you. We very much enjoyed spending the day with Lil and her father. As you said people that go together on these things are always brought together for a reason, and I think my parents and Lil's father became excellent friends, and will continue to be in contact in future. My mother would like to send you a note by mail. If you could provide us with a mailing address we would very much appreciate it. Thank you again, and I am sure I will see you in future. Arrivaderci!"
Charlie
" Monika, not to belabor and obvious point, but thanks again for such a wonderful glimpse into your world, it is something I, nor my wife and daughter, and of course our friends will soon forget. I especially enjoyed the time we spent with Fernando, a man who is tied to the earth by his mere will and love of the abundance of his land, If life could be so simple for all of us. After meeting him one believes it could be."
Gary
"Let Monika Iris drive you on the curvy and narrow roads of Tuscany - and save your marriage !
Anonymous