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Harvard HILR Group, Boston, MA
Dear Maribel and Phil, Thank you for providing
us with a wonderful experience of Barcelona,
Bilbao, and Madrid. Everyone on the trip had
a terrific time, and all sang praises of the two of
you. It was really
fabulous.
Our
hotel in Madrid, the El Prado, proved to be much
more than a little hotel: we loved it! Our
breakfast the following morning was quite
elaborate, more like the Carlton than the Avenida
Palace, and we ate it all. We enjoyed the Reina
Sofia and the Prado, and we found great restaurants
for more wine, more food.
Once
again, thank you for your terrific planning, and
please keep me in mind for a summer jazz experience
in northern Spain for next year.
Best
regards,
Judy
Julie & Jason, La Jolla, CA
Hi Philip - We returned safely Friday night
and had an AMAZING trip!! And I guess you may know,
we are engaged! Jason proposed in Granada on the
rooftop terrace of our hotel (we were the only ones
there, aside from the bartender) and had views of
the Alhambra and Cathedral. It was perfect! I might
be biased, but Granada was my favorite city and the
Alhambra our favorite site! Here's a pic of where
he popped the question: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4938269&l=a82f5d91a8&id=763754506
We
made it to many of the tapas restaurants you
recommended and all were fabulous. The hotels were
also all great. Cordoba probably our favorite and
Barcelona our least favorite just because of the no
free wifi and what we felt like was lack of
information with the strike. Roberto (manager I
think) however was extremely helpful and if
we could talk to him every time, we would have been
very happy. We did get some interesting video in
Barcelona during the strike, that's for
sure!
We
definitely could have used the extra day in San
Sebastian and were blown away by the views and the
amazing food there. We'll have to make it back
someday. Your recommendations for sightseeing and
eating were great and overall we were extremely
pleased with everything. Thank you so much for all
your help! I think we have the travel bug now. I
will recommend you to anyone I know going to
Spain.
Glenn & Laura, Park Ridge, IL
Laura and I wish to express our
gratitude for all of your assistance and the great
service that you and your wife supplied in
connection with our trip to Spain in July. As you
predicted- we fell in love with Basque Country and
the Basque people. Abalos and La Rioja were
terrific. Our stay in the Pyrenees was all too
short before we had to head down to Barcelona. Our
favorite town nearby in the wine country was
LaGuardia- Laura is already thinking about an
extended trip to get to know that part of the world
as well as San Sebastian a bit better for an
extended time when work commitments slow down for
me in a few years and we can take a month or two
off at a time.
Of
course, we did not find the time to do all of the
things that you outlined but experienced many of
them while we explored a bit on our own with the
freedom of the car and some good maps. Food and
wine were fantastic too! But plenty of walking and
other exercise to work it off.
I
hope that you had a good summer season with many
adventures and great trips for all of your
customers around the country. At some point we will
discuss another trip with you - this time trying to
make it to see Moorish Spain and places
south.
All
the best
Aaron & Rebecca, TX & Saudi Arabia
Greetings from the Eternal City. Rebecca and
I got in late Tuesday night and made it to our
apartment. There was an hour at the Pamplona
airport when we got pretty nervous about missing
our flight to Madrid - the terminal was crazy,
crazy, crazy. Nonetheless, everything went well and
we arrived safely with our bags.
Rome is beautiful, but we've both let our minds
wander back to Pamplona and sometimes wonder
whether we should have stayed there for the
duration of our trip...
Just wanted to drop you a quick note to let us know
how we're doing. Thank you for an AMAZING
experience. Hope you're still enjoying San Fermin
and we'll talk to you again soon.
Joe, Melissa, Jaclyn & Nicolette, Palm Beach,
FL
We want to thank you so much for all you
have done - we will be back!!
Tony & Ruthann, Cathedral City, CA
We want thank you and your wife for a
marvelous trip. The accommodations and planning
were excellent. I especially enjoyed
Pamplona.
Henry & Family, Chaska, MN
Just a quick note to let you know how much
we enjoyed the Pamplona experience, and that you
came through for us in every respect. Everything
you arranged -- from the trip to and from Madrid,
to the bullfight and the balconies was superb It
was also great to have you there as a resource, and
appreciate your taking the time to walk us through
the running route the day we arrived. Michele
has a few pictures of you and our group that she
will be emailing to you attention. Would you
also pass along David's (the guy who ran with us)
address and/or email if you have it. We have
a couple pictures of him, and I would also like to
thank him for his assistance as a running
veteran. In any event -- our experience has
stirred an interest in many of our friends -- and
you may be hearing from some of them at some point
regarding the 2007 festival. Again, thank you
for helping to make the trip an experience we will
never forget. Best Regards.
Niv (Bronx) and Phil (Miami)
I wanted to drop you a note of thanks for
the wonderful time my brother and I had in
Pamplona. We're very sorry we couldn't find you to
say good-bye. We tried your old haunts, Cafe Luis
and Embrujo, and were sad we couldn't give you a
proper farewell. I hope you received the Cafe Iruna
passes I left you. I thought you could pass them
along to the next lucky Sanfermines.
This trip was a lifelong dream for me and I'm very
happy to have found two people who helped me make
it a reality. I salute you on your travel business
and fiesta knowledge. Our stay was well organized
and thoughtfully scheduled around the many fiesta
activities. The room was superb. I was very
pleasantly surprised and grateful you gave up your
Avenida Hotel room for us. The space was roomy and
much needed for two nutty obsessive-compulsive
brothers.
Your restaurant knowledge and Basque culinary
expertise came in handy to someone, such as myself,
who shares a discriminating taste in food. I agree
with you that one couldn't have a bad meal in
Pamplona even if one tried! Felipe particularly
enjoyed the evening meal we had in Embrujo. Thank
you for making that happen. We enjoyed the bull
stew dish so much we had it again at the Hotel
Avenida for lunch the next day.
Our only regret is that we didn't stay longer. Our
Madrid to London flight was canceled due to the
Iberia pilot's strike so we were stuck there for 5
hours. If I had known they were switching us to a
later flight we would have left Pamplona later and
gotten another run notched on our sashes!
We are very happy we met such warm souls who truly
love the fiesta and have found a way to share that
with others. I wish you continued success in your
travel business and future endeavors. San Fermin
not only blessed our run in the encierro but also
blessed us with the many new friends we shared our
experience with through your organization.
Many thanks again and take care.
Stacy, De Pere, WI
I wanted to drop you a short note to thank
you for an experience of a lifetime. I have dreamed
of going to Spain to watch the Running of the Bulls
for over twenty years. The experience I had has
been difficult to put into words as I describe the
trip to friends and family. I'm already planning
the next visit.
Kelli and Frank, Oakland CA
Just wanted to drop you a line and thank you
very much for your services during San
Fermin. Frank and I had a wonderful time and
it was a great way to experience SF for us "first
timers". FYI...Frank made it in and out of
the bullring - Alive and "untrampled".
Harold and Clare, Chicago, IL
It was great to see you again. Thanks for
helping to make the Fiesta the best ever. We
really enjoyed the Avenida and enjoyed the time we
spent together. It's nice to know people who
feel and understand what it's all about.
That's worth more than anything.
Hope to see you in the near future. Our best
to both of you.
Mike, Philadelphia PA
Just wanted to drop you a line, as I am about to
leave for stateside from Madrid. I had a great time
during the San Fermin festival. The hotel was
great, easy access via the #12 bus, and very clean
and modern with high speed Internet, which I
appreciated.
The view from the balcony of the running was great,
and so was the seat for the bullfight, which was a
little like a car wreck. You didn't really want to
watch but you couldn't look away. I found myself
watching Saturday bullfight in my hotel room in
Madrid as I relaxed from a day of seeing the
sights.
Sunit, Washington, DC
Before I settle back into my daily routine here,
I wanted to thank you on behalf of Joe and myself
for facilitating a safe and enjoyable vacation in
Pamplona. I am confident that we'll meet
again in Spain; I only hope that it is sooner than
later.
Charlie and L. Maria, Des Moines, IA
2007 will be a year to remember for us.
Seeing the beauty of Spain, the running of the
bulls and meeting wonderful, interesting
people.
Ron, Troy, MI
I just got your "final review" and was glad to
see that your trip this year was a success for you
and your guests. As I mentioned in the early
going, my daughter and I had to find a way to cut
some costs, so we were not able to "officially"
join your group. To your credit, however, you
generously included us in your pre-trip newsletters
and otherwise shared your thoughts and knowledge
with us. That was a huge help to us and very
kind of you, and I really mean that. With
your help, we felt that we were pretty well
prepared for the trip and we were totally
comfortable with things when we got there.
The result was an awesome and memorable experience
for both of us! Andrea had a great time
watching the run on the 9th from a balcony in
Ayuntamiento Square. Thanks again for making
that opportunity available to her.
Margie and Jay, Montebello, CA
We both thoroughly enjoyed Pamplona -
especially, the encierros and of course the
bullfights. The only downside was making the
decision not to attend the last night's closing,
since we had to get up at 4:45 a.m. July 15 to get
to the airport. It was good that we did,
since a lot of people were already in line when we
arrived to check in.
Like coming over, our flights home were excellent -
thanks to the seating Sara at Travel House arranged
for us.
We look forward to another trip to Pamplona in the
future. Just watching the news clips on TV
will never be the same again now that we know what
it is to be on a balcony in person. Truly an
incredible experience!
Michael and Barbara, Tampa, FL
Our trip was VERY substantially enhanced through
your help. Your excursions are a very substantial
addition to the Festival. I truly wish we would
have found you first instead of after finding a
hotel and trying to pull things together on our
own. But we had no idea until we happened upon your
website while attempting to pull off San Fermines
and France in the same time frame.
I can appreciate the trouble it represents trying
to coordinate, assist and corral so many people in
the midst of one of the largest fiestas we've ever
seen. And you and Rogene appeared to handle
everything so seamlessly without upset. Making so
many people pleased. Helping with so many problems.
And introducing so many people to the intricacies
of the Festival and its customs. Very
impressive.
By the last night at the bull fights, we had it ALL
down. Bocadillas. Good wine we shared. Deserts for
everyone (we often didn't have time to procure
such). After the 3rd or 4th time in the same seats
we knew all the neighboring folks. Following your
instructions and having time to gather things
worked very well.
We are talking about repeating the trip for San
Fermines 2006. And encouraging friends. Several
have said they are in. I am forwarding them your
newsletters & web site as the best starting
point.
Thanks
again for all of your help and making San Fermines
2005 GREAT for us.
We would love to come again to the festival, but
this year we are vacationing in the US. I
hope to be back overseas summer of 2007.
Please keep me on your email list.
Ed B. & Family, Stow, Ohio
We were traveling nearly 8 weeks
last summer and the country meal we
had with you and the festival itself, especially
being on the street with the bulls, were some of
the highlights of the entire trip.
One of the few things my son took to
college this year were his scarf/necktie and
sash from the festival. Myself, and
my wife and sister especially enjoyed the meal and
the company. The balcony was perfect as it
was right above the spot I picked as the
best chance of being on the street during the run
and surviving unharmed. We will certainly
recommend your services to others.
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