Since we'd never been on a H.A.T. tour, we really didn't know what to expect from the Northern Italy tour we've now just completed. Would the hotels be as good as suggested by the website? What would the city tours and tour guides be like? How good would the seats at the operas be? Would the inter-city transportation run smoothly? Etc. Well, suffice to say that the tour exceeded our highest expectations!! The hotels, tours, tour guides, seats, and transportation were all terrific and, most important, Grethe and Aspee were there to make sure everything ran smoothly; to iron out the wrinkles that do inevitably occur on a tour, especially in Italy; to act as enthusiastic cheerleaders for our group; and to be charming and interesting travel companions. Keeping the group small also worked very well, maximizing enjoyment of the city tours and creating opportunities for wonderful new friendships. Count us in for future H.A.T. tours! (Northern Italy 2011, Western Europe 2012, Central Europe 2013, East Germany 2014, Northern Italy 2015 and 2016, Munich Opera Festival 2017)