Italy Review, San Gimignano, Pompeii, Rome, Lake Como, Tuscany, Siena, Sorrento, Mt. Vesuvius, Vespa Tour

~~Overall, we had a wonderful trip and covered several regions of Italy.  Having the private guides and drivers relieved us from the stress of having to stand in line for tickets to certain sites and ease of navigating from one place to another in busy traffic.  We loved the beautiful views of the mountains and the sea.
Most of the trip went exactly as planned and we were very pleased with our time in Italy.  Before leaving for the trip, I felt I had to remind our travel agent of a few things that I had inquired about (updated/revised trip plan, Rome restaurant suggestions, self-service laundry places).   Once we landed in Italy, the Italian team always checked in with us whenever we arrived at a new hotel.  There was a slight medical emergency we had to deal with for my husband early in the trip.  Once I reached out to the hotel staff and the Italian team about the situation, I highly commend and thank them for the expedient way they helped us by getting a doctor to see my husband in our hotel room. The doctor prescribed the needed medication for my husband back problems and we were able to complete our trip.
There were two incidents about the trip that I was not happy with.  Our June 9th guide for the Vatican arrived at our hotel promptly and requested the hotel staff to call a taxi for six persons.  When we arrived at our destination, she told me the amount for the fare on the meter, exited the taxi and walked away.  At the time, I was not aware that I would be paying for the fare.  Because she walked away, the driver told me a different amount.  I motioned for the guide to return to the car for an explanation of the difference in the fare.  I ended up paying the higher amount and felt taken advantage of by the taxi driver because we were “tourists.”  I believed that since the guide was a part of our group and she was a local, should have taken care of the fare directly and I would have reimbursed her.  I was also annoyed because the itinerary stated the tour would be for four hours but she completed the tour including transportation time within three hours.  In hindsight, I tipped her 20euros but regret I gave her that much.

Secondly, I was not happy with our Pompeii and Vesuvius guide.  He was constantly on his phone most of the time conducting other business with other clients.  We paid for his time for the private tour but he spent a majority of his time on the telephone in the car as well as our actual time at these sites.