ExperiencePlus! recently had a small tour leader reunion and training at the farm (our headquarters near Forlí, Italy) to kick off the 2009 bicycling season in Europe! Among those present were Yorgos Paraskevopoulos from Greece, Michele Quaresimin from Vicenza and Philipp Schmitt from Spain/Germany, along with Jonathan Hancock from France, Sara Verlicchi, Cristina Taioli, John Giebler, Igor Baccini, Stefania Casadei, Monica Malpezzi Price, Peter Field, Sylva Florence, and Bea Tassinari all from, or currently living, in Italy.

In addition to introducing new and reviewing old policies they also spent time practicing their “interpretation” skills from the National Association of Interpretation, honing their skills on how best to share the culture and history of the areas we cycle through on our tours. Join us on tour to find out: Why shifting a bicycle is like playing a harp, it’s all about harmony; How making home-made pasta will make you a real Italian mamma (regardless of your gender); How large modern style artillery led to the bike paths on Lucca’s Medieval walls; Why Kiwi fruit means there's a little bit of New Zealand in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region... and more!

There were also many toasts to “Baba” Yorgos who will become a proud father in June. Yorgos mentioned that the baby’s room was prepared and painted, but first on the projects was taking care of rescued donkey Giacomo’s new shelter….). Yorgos is now in Turkey leading our spring Turkey tour, pedaling amidst bursts of wildflowers and ancient ruins.

Everybody else starts the season this month and all are excited to reconnect with you, bicycle around Europe, and get to work!

In the end the group agreed they had no fun whatsoever they simply worked, and worked, and worked – none of us in the US office is buying it.