Tuscany by Scooter in 2014 with Edelweiss, Couples Tour.

[puppychow]

It would be interesting what price points you guys come up with, I would love to find out if it would be affordable to me. I do miss Italy (Tuscany and Amalfi in particular). I have been wanting to go back to both places. I have never been big on guided tours, too restrictive for my tastes, find it better to explore with a guidebook than follow a guide around, even if some mistakes are made here and there - that's part of the adventure.

If you come up with something, would it be a "Couples Tour" only? What about the lone wolves on the Forum, who like me, may not want to bring Sand to a Beach..

 

[beemerdons]

If you come up with something, would it be a "Couples Tour" only? What about the lone wolves on the Forum, who like me, may not want to bring Sand to a Beach..

Dear Sam, why would you break Don Carver's heart with cruel talk like that! Please, do you think that dcarver doesn't want to go to Tuscany with you?

Tour is aimed primarily at Couples, but unless Dr. Itch has a problem with lone wolves: I personally see no issue with lone wolves attending.

I have drafted Rich as my Co-Leader, so he has to agree with this lone wolves issue of course!

 

[puppychow]

If you come up with something, would it be a "Couples Tour" only? What about the lone wolves on the Forum, who like me, may not want to bring Sand to a Beach..

Oh Please, do you think know that dcarver doesn't want to go to Tuscany with you?

It's not what I think. It's what I know and I am very thankful for that!!

Lone wolf it is. Unless Ms. MEM wants to go..

 

[Dr. Rich]

I mean no disrespect to anyone but the title of this effort is pretty clear. It is a couples tour. I think if guys want to worry about "bringing sand to the beach", they need to book a tour to Rome or Paris and cruise for babes. The appeal of this trip is for wives to go with the guys and enjoy short days of riding and enjoy the countryside, the culture, history, food and the art of Tuscany. My wife rides her own motorcycle at home and would definitely be up for a scooter in Italy. I don't know how many have driven in Italy but the roads are small and drivers are about the craziest in all of Europe. The appeal of this tour to me was a central location, short day trips and easy fun filled days with someone you care about. It is now evolving into bigger bikes, singles and who knows what comes next. I think a person is foolish to think that you can fly to Italy, rent a bike, find lodging, pay for meals, fuel etc etc for under $5000 per person. Maybe it can be done but I am not willing to stay in a hostel. Maybe some of us married guys should consider renting a villa that provides breakfast. We could rent bikes or scooters and go our separate ways during the day and meet back at night. I have had several friends and relatives that have done this will great success. What people pay the group for is lodging in a central location and breakfast. Everything else is up to the individuals. I think this may be why I rarely go with groups...

 

[puppychow]

I mean no disrespect to anyone but the title of this effort is pretty clear. It is a couples tour. I think if guys want to worry about "bringing sand to the beach", they need to book a tour to Rome or Paris and cruise for babes. The appeal of this trip is for wives to go with the guys and enjoy short days of riding and enjoy the countryside, the culture, history, food and the art of Tuscany. My wife rides her own motorcycle at home and would definitely be up for a scooter in Italy. I don't know how many have driven in Italy but the roads are small and drivers are about the craziest in all of Europe. The appeal of this tour to me was a central location, short day trips and easy fun filled days with someone you care about. It is now evolving into bigger bikes, singles and who knows what comes next. I think a person is foolish to think that you can fly to Italy, rent a bike, find lodging, pay for meals, fuel etc etc for under $5000 per person. Maybe it can be done but I am not willing to stay in a hostel. Maybe some of us married guys should consider renting a villa that provides breakfast. We could rent bikes or scooters and go our separate ways during the day and meet back at night. I have had several friends and relatives that have done this will great success. What people pay the group for is lodging in a central location and breakfast. Everything else is up to the individuals. I think this may be why I rarely go with groups...

Hey no offense meant Dr. The sand to the beach comment was in jest and was supposed to be taken as such (I was speaking to BeemerDons and I believe he took it in the manner it was meant to, sorry if it itched you the wrong way), but I understand what you are saying about this being a couples tour. Sorry for interjecting my lone wolf self into the mix. You obviously don't have to include singles. However, I didn't think it would hurt to ask, so I did.

As for this comment: "I think a person is foolish to think that you can fly to Italy, rent a bike, find lodging, pay for meals, fuel etc etc for under $5000 per person." You are wrong. I have done it before (with local help) and probably can do it again, and didn't stay in a single hostel. Granted I didn't stay in 4 or 5 star accommodations either, but it's probably not feasible to manage as part of a larger group, so I will give you that and since you are the one doing all the legwork for your forum friends, I will defer to your wiser judgement and remove myself from the discussion.

 

[Dr. Rich]

I mean no disrespect to anyone but the title of this effort is pretty clear. It is a couples tour. I think if guys want to worry about "bringing sand to the beach", they need to book a tour to Rome or Paris and cruise for babes. The appeal of this trip is for wives to go with the guys and enjoy short days of riding and enjoy the countryside, the culture, history, food and the art of Tuscany. My wife rides her own motorcycle at home and would definitely be up for a scooter in Italy. I don't know how many have driven in Italy but the roads are small and drivers are about the craziest in all of Europe. The appeal of this tour to me was a central location, short day trips and easy fun filled days with someone you care about. It is now evolving into bigger bikes, singles and who knows what comes next. I think a person is foolish to think that you can fly to Italy, rent a bike, find lodging, pay for meals, fuel etc etc for under $5000 per person. Maybe it can be done but I am not willing to stay in a hostel. Maybe some of us married guys should consider renting a villa that provides breakfast. We could rent bikes or scooters and go our separate ways during the day and meet back at night. I have had several friends and relatives that have done this will great success. What people pay the group for is lodging in a central location and breakfast. Everything else is up to the individuals. I think this may be why I rarely go with groups...

Hey no offense meant Dr. The sand to the beach comment was in jest and was supposed to be taken as such (I was speaking to BeemerDons and I believe he took it in the manner it was meant to, sorry if it itched you the wrong way), but I understand what you are saying about this being a couples tour. Sorry for interjecting my lone wolf self into the mix. You obviously don't have to include singles. However, I didn't think it would hurt to ask, so I did.

As for this comment: "I think a person is foolish to think that you can fly to Italy, rent a bike, find lodging, pay for meals, fuel etc etc for under $5000 per person." You are wrong. I have done it before (with local help) and probably can do it again, and didn't stay in a single hostel. Granted I didn't stay in 4 or 5 star accommodations either, but it's probably not feasible to manage as part of a larger group, so I will give you that and since you are the one doing all the legwork for your forum friends, I will defer to your wiser judgment and remove myself from the discussion.

I was a student in Europe in the 60's and know what it cost back then. We were in Scandinavia this fall and costs were off the chart. We have been in Europe more times than I have fingers and I am always amazed how cost continue to climb. My brother in law was in Tuscany at the same time as we were oversees and he could not believe the costs. Simple math would show that airfare into Rome would be around $1500 per person (economy) on a scheduled airline. My days of flying on a consolidator fare on an off brand airline are long past. The cost of the Edelweiss tour is somewhere between $2000- $2500 per person. You are going to pay for some meals, fuel (gas is probably between $7-$8 dollars per gallon USD), side trips, entertainment, and god knows what else you will want to return home with... and you can see very quickly that $5000 may be low.

 

[beemerdons]

Folks, I think it is safe to say we are going to stay with the original concept in the Thread Title: 1) Couples Only. 2) Still look to Edelweiss as the Tour Vendor of choice, they treated us great last August and I have used them for 20 years with great success.

3) Continue with this as a Scooter Tour, going out each day on 60 to 80 mile day jaunts returning to a base hotel nightly in Florence.

Budget: I would have to say that Dr. Rich is right on, in forecasting the potential for this trip to be $5,000 maximum for each person.

Please remember, after the five day scooter adventure of Tuscany, there then follows three days and night of exploring Rome also!

 

[beemerdons]

If you come up with something, would it be a "Couples Tour" only? What about the lone wolves on the Forum, who like me, may not want to bring Sand to a Beach..

Oh Please, do you think know that dcarver doesn't want to go to Tuscany with you?

It's not what I think. It's what I know and I am very thankful for that!!

Lone wolf it is. Unless Ms. MEM wants to go..

Really puppychow, why on earth would you want to go with Mary Ellen!?!?! Your SFI (Silly Fooking Irishman) jes' sayin' and nuff' said!

 

[puppychow]

If you come up with something, would it be a "Couples Tour" only? What about the lone wolves on the Forum, who like me, may not want to bring Sand to a Beach..

Oh Please, do you think know that dcarver doesn't want to go to Tuscany with you?

It's not what I think. It's what I know and I am very thankful for that!!

Lone wolf it is. Unless Ms. MEM wants to go..

Really puppychow, why on earth would you want to go with Mary Ellen!?!?! Your SFI (Silly Fooking Irishman) jes' sayin' and nuff' said!

Cuz then we can take turns riding!

 

[beemerdons]

Hello Rainer,


You may not have to move your already scheduled standard Tuscany Tours by Scooter, I'll ask both www.azbeemers.org and www.fjrforum.com if there are dates that work best for our clubs.

https://www.azbeemers.org/forum/index.php?topic=4030.0 Rainer, I'm the Rally Master of a Rolling Colorado Rockies Tour during MOA Rally Week; bagging as many high passes as we can!

Best regards,

Don StanleyChandler, AZ 85225



-----Original Message-----
From: Rainer Buck <[email protected]>
To: beemerdons <[email protected]>
Cc: Jens Ruprecht <[email protected]>
Sent: Wed, Mar 6, 2013 8:49 am
Subject: AW: We Members of AZ Beemers MOA Club #89 and the FJR Forum are looking to book another Custom Tour.


Hello Don,
first of all sorry for answering so late but unfortunately we had a server crash of the mail server and Jens email system still doesn’t work. I don’t see any problem to make last week of September 2014 for you and your friends available for the Tuscany Tour by Scooter. It would be great if you tell me the exact date and I will reschedule the standard Tuscany scooter tours in 2014 so that your custom tour will fit in the general tour schedule of Edelweiss.
Just let me know.
Will you be at the MOA rally in Salem, OR this year?
Regards
Rainer


________________________________
RAINER BUCK DIPL.-WIRT.-ING. (FH)
Managing Director

EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL
Sportplatzweg 14
6414 Mieming/Austria
[email protected]
www.edelweissbike.com
Tel: +43.5264.5690
Mobile: +43.664.5233267
Fax: +43.5264.5690-3

www.facebook.com/edelweissbike

www.worldtourer.com

 

[beemerdons]

EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL- KARIN GRITSCH
Marketing & Communications - Sportplatzweg 14
6414 Mieming / Austria - [email protected]
www.edelweissbike.com - https://www.facebook.com/edelweissbike

Dear Karin,

How was your weekend in Garmisch-Partenkirchen? I love Garmisch, I was stationed at Augsburg, Germany for the years of 1969 and 1970 in the US Army and I routinely rode my 1966 BMW R60/2 to Garmisch, staying at the USO hotel for troops General Patton.

Attached to this letter is Compass Bank Check #1008 in amount of $500 to secure a spot on September 2014 Tour of Tuscany for my Girlfriend & Companion Donna Monkhouse.

As you know I have posted and promoted this Edelweissbike Tuscany Scooter Tour at www.fjriders.com and www.azbeemers.org plus www.fjrforum.com motorcycle forums.

I believe we will easily obtain the 10 needed participants to achieve our 5% discount.

Here is a list of participants noted by their respective Motorcycle Forum Organizations:

AZ Beemers: 1) Don Stanley and Donna Monkhouse (Don is also a member of FJRiders). 2) Patrick and Carolyn Rourke. 3) Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Johnson.

FJRiders: 1) Dr. Rich and Susan Christensen.

Note: I've informed all in our Scooter Gang to mention one of the forums when booking!

Sincerely yours,

Don Stanley - Chandler, AZ – [email protected] – C: 480-440-4666

https://www.edelweissbike.com/UserFiles/edelweissbike/Testimonials/2TU1202-ThorntonSteve.pdf Here's an Outstanding Tuscany Tour Report by Canadian Steve Thornton, published in Cycle Canada!

 

[beemerdons]

PLEASE NOTE: Change of EBT Tuscany by Scooter Tour Dates to September 28 - October 4, 2014!

=========================================================================

Dear Don,

I hope my e-mail finds you well. We just finished planning on the upcoming season and due to some new tours and travels we had to reschedule our whole operations. I am very sorry for this but all this rescheduling have made it essential to move your Tuscany by Scooter tour date for a couple of days.

Your new tour date is September 28 – October 4, 2014 and will of course not change a second time. I hope this does not mean too much inconvenience for you and that you can re-arrange your personal dates accordingly.

Please let me know if this does work for you and that you are fine with the new tour date.

Thank you and have a great day,

Karin
__________________________

EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL
KARIN GRITSCH
Marketing & Communications
Sportplatzweg 14
6414 Mieming / Austria

[email protected]
https://www.edelweissbike.com
Tel: +43.5264.5690.10
Fax: +43.5264.5690.3

Follow us on Facebook Facebook.com/edelweissbike

Follow all tours on our world tourer blog Worldtourer.com

 

[Top_Speed1]

DOUBLE POST!

Ooops, sorry. The latency got me.

Must Practice Patience KJ! (saying this 200 times over so I won't forget!)

 

[Top_Speed1]

Mr. Stanley... you're back! (on fjrforum).

Plus I think I know this woman, by any chance, does she drive a car to Bike-Rally's?

 

[MEM]

Mr. Stanley... you're back! (on fjrforum).

Plus I think I know this woman, by any chance, does she drive a car to Bike-Rally's?

Yeah, you know her. But not well enough, obviously

If you did (know her), you'd know she's earned her street road creds with this crew and, therefore, may be permitted the odd transgression at a bike rally

Especially when it coincides with fetching me home a puppy

 

[Top_Speed1]

Mr. Stanley... you're back! (on fjrforum).

Plus I think I know this woman, by any chance, does she drive a car to Bike-Rally's?

Yeah, you know her. But not well enough, obviously
If you did (know her), you'd know she's earned her street road creds with this crew and, therefore, may be permitted the odd transgression at a bike rally

Especially when it coincides with fetching me home a puppy

Your Dawgie is very cute ME (I tink I toldya dis b4), and yes, I knew of your after plans to go get her (I'd say you're a lucky dawg to have her but that might be just a bit over the edge and corn-knee).

And YES!, I know you have mulligans lined up and I'm just the young "pup" in the group

SO.... I will always respect my elders!

:-Q

Hey!, I'm buying dwinks in Stowe... oh wait, you're not going

Goona really miss ya honey (I'm now being serious!) you're quite 'the package of fun' and our social hours will certainly not be the same without you

...Like whom am I goona pickup (literally) in the bar and carry around in my arms? No not STAN-lee, he's all yours!

 

[beemerdons]

BOOK YOUR 2014 EDELWEISS TOUR IN EUROPE UNTIL AUG 31st, 2013 AND GET 2013 PRICING GUARANTEED!

You are very welcome!

I will keep looking for the additional bookings of Sue and John and am pleased that more people will join the tour! Please keep spreading the word – you won’t be disappointed with this amazing scooter travel!

All the best,
Karin
__________________________

EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL
KARIN GRITSCH

Marketing & Communications
Sportplatzweg 14
6414 Mieming / Austria

[email protected]
www.edelweissbike.com
Tel: +43.5264.5690.10
Fax: +43.5264.5690.3

Follow us on facebook
Facebook.com/edelweissbike
Follow all tours on our worldtourer blog
Worldtourer.com

Von: Don Stanley [mailto:[email protected]]
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 08. August 2013 13:59
An: Karin Gritsch
Betreff: [spamverdacht] We all thank you so very much for ensuring that our AZ Beemers and FJR Forum Groups will receive the 2013 pricing for the 2014 Tour of Tuscany. Re: 2013 Price guarantee

We all thank you so very much for ensuring that our AZ Beemers and FJR Forum Groups will receive the 2013 pricing for the 2014 Tour of Tuscany. I'll immediately post this up to both Forums and to Facebook. Please tell Werner und Rainer, THANK YOU! PS: You'll probably see a booking from Sue Ramsey and John Smith in the next few days, very good friends of mine!

Don Stanley
Chandler, AZ 85225
Cell: 480-440-4666

-----Original Message-----
From: Karin Gritsch <[email protected]>
To: Don Stanley <[email protected]>
Sent: Thu, Aug 8, 2013 4:50 am
Subject: 2013 Price guarantee

Thank you Don,

For getting back to me so quickly. It’s good to know you are receiving our weekly newsletters and that you are interested in this offer. YES, all people already booked on the Tuscany by Scooter tour for 2014 will get the 2013 prices guaranteed. This is already agreed with my boss and your invoices will be issued accordingly (for Richard & Susan Christensen, Carolyn Merritt & Patrick Rourke and you and Donna Monkhouse).

New participants will need to book until August 31, 2013 in order to benefit from this special offer. If anybody interested can’t confirm until this deadline I can let you know that the price increase for the Tuscany tour will be between US$ 60 and US$ 90 – depending on scooter choice and room allocation.

If you already know people who definitely will join the trip please let them know that they will need to confirm in time in order to benefit from the new price.

Thank you so much Don,
Karin

Von: Don Stanley [mailto:[email protected]]
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 08. August 2013 13:32
An: Karin Gritsch
Betreff: [spamverdacht] Karin, Please tell us that this can special offer can be applied to our AZ Beemers and FJR Forum Group Booking! I can totally book out this tour for EBT if I can use this incentive! Fwd: BOOK NOW and get 2013 PRICING!

Dear Karin, Please tell us that this special offer can be applied to our AZ Beemers and FJR Forum Group Booking! I can totally book out this tour for EBT, if I can use this new incentive!

Sincerely yours,

Don Stanley
Chandler, AZ 85225
Cell: 480-440-4666

-----Original Message-----
From: Edelweiss Bike Travel <[email protected]>
To: Don Stanley <[email protected]>
Sent: Thu, Aug 8, 2013 3:25 am
Subject: BOOK NOW and get 2013 PRICING!

Newsletter
No. 93, August 2013

Dear Edelweiss friends,

Printing just started for our new Edelweiss Bike Travel touring program 2014 and we are proud to say - the new brochure rocks! Still, it will take a couple of weeks before you can hold our new catalogue in hands, so we thought about something very special to shorten that long waiting time! This special offer is striclty limited - so you better hurry up in order to get your seat reserved!

BOOK YOUR 2014 EDELWEISS TOUR IN EUROPE UNTIL AUG 31st, 2013 AND GET 2013 PRICING GUARANTEED!

You might understand that there are some slight restrictions to this special offer, so please note the following:

Only bookings made for Edelweiss tours in Europe are part of the 2013 price guarantee!
Bookings have to be made through our website www.edelweissbike.com until August 31, 2013 to get 2013 pricing guaranteed.
In order to benefit from this special offer the chosen tour must run in 2014.
Of course you might understand that we need your deposit payment made by credit card (VISA and MASTERCARD only), so please choose that option when booking online.
Furthermore, please remember to choose your Edelweiss Bike Travel booking agent in Step 4 of our online booking form, if you want him/her to take care of your reservation and all your travel needs. Otherwise, all bookings will be handled by Edelweiss Bike Travel headquarters in Austria directly.

This is truly a one-time opportunity and expresses how much we value our loyal Edelweiss clientele and of course future Edelweiss customers. So have a look on our website www.edelweissbike.com - choose your next motorcycle dream vacation and send in your booking before August 31, 2013. It's that easy!

Your Edelweiss Bike Travel Team

Edelweiss Bike Travel

© 2010 EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL | Sportplatzweg 14 | 6414 Mieming, Austria | Phone: +43.5264.5690 | Fax: +43.5264.5690.3
[email protected] | www.edelweissbike.com

 

[beemerdons]

BUMP REMINDER: To book this tour at the 2013 rates you must contact Karin Gritsch of Edelweiss by August 31, we are so close to having 10 participants which will give us an additional 5% discount. The Tour of Tuscany Scooter 2014 is capped at 12 participants, so if you snooze on this one you lose out!

"Donna and I will fly in at least a day before the actual start of the tour in order to tour Florence, on the last day of the tour we will take the high speed train to Rome.

We intend to spend 3 nights in Rome, I am familiar with Rome and can act as your itinerant Tour Guide. My Italian is lousy, but I do speak Spanish and that helps.

So, Donna and I'll fly into Florence and then fly back to Arizona from Rome. NOTE: If you book by August 31, Karin will lock in the 2013 pricing for we AZ Beemers and FJR Riders!

Best regards,"

 

[beemerdons]

PLEASE NOTE: You have only 4 days to book the Tuscany Scooter Tour and save hundreds of dollars. https://www.edelweissbike.com This offer is for ALL of the Edelweiss European motorcycle tours in 2014. By midnight this Saturday 8/31, Austrian time, you must book online and with a credit card. A Really Great Deal!

 

[beemerdons]

The FJR Forum is just one couple short of getting our 5% discount on the Tuscany by Scooter Couple Tour in 2014 with Edelweiss.

We have eight participants, but ten from FJR Forum will get us that nice 5% discount: This is a wonderful Italian ride for Lovebirds!

I'm really surprised that no Canadians have signed up for this, at the very least I thought yamafitter would take RaYzerman19 on this!