We had a living history tour with George, the butler. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it…read more He made life in the house come alive. It seemed as though the family was just out for the day!

Went on the living history living tour…read more It was really cool concept, but I wish there was more unique history, I felt like it would be really good with kids and might be more geared towards that.

One of hundreds of mesmerizing effects based on the works of VanGogh. Take in the entirety of the…read moreexhibition. Pay the additional $5 for the virtual experience. And do NOT leave early when you reach the immersion room. FANTASTIC. congratulations to the artists and animators who took us to a nearly out of mind experience! TIP: You will not be seeing the original art. This is an immersion based on VanGogh's masterpieces. STAY FOR THE ENTIRE cycle.

It was great when it WAS here!…read more This must be very out of date as Van Gogh exhibit closed more than a year ago!

"Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh"…read more Do you know that the original title of the song we know today as Jingle Bells was "The One Horse Open Sleigh?" Yup, it was written in 1857 and it's original purpose was lost to history. Some say it was written for a Sunday School choir, others say it was a drinking song. So, take your pick. You'll see a bunch of beautifully painted one-horse open sleighs along Hopmeadow Street as part of the Simsbury Sleigh Trail. The sleighs all date back to the mid-1800's and are part of a Simsbury Historical Society's winter program to refurbish these aging antiques, and sponsor the painting of decorative murals on the sleds by local artists. The artists worked within the theme of "Winter Scenes" and were to illustrate life in the 1850's. Many of the sleighs were rotting away in old barns and their owners welcomed the opportunity to donate them. There was a lot of rodent and insect and deterioration damage to renovate before they were ready for the artist's palette and paintbrush. The sleds have gorgeous color paintings of landscapes, a bobcat, a fox, bears, horses, an owl, a cardinal, villages, farms, local landmarks, a snowman, and children sledding. The detail is amazing, and the colors are gorgeous. What a nice way to honor the past and add some splashes of color and creativity to our lives! (Word of warning -the exhibit closes at the end of February)

A beautiful combination of art, garden, and urban storm water educational piece. Enter the wrought…read moreiron sculpture entrance on Salem St and take a stroll through the alley for various art works and gardens along with info panels about the storm water project features.

An urban green public art gallery! Love! A collaboration…read morewith the Acre neighborhood group, city, and university with contributions of art by local Public Schools and poetry too! Don't forget to get Cote's famous beans on Salem St (and throw in a whoopie pie)!

The sculpture garden is situated in a small park area that is surrounded by different museums. It's…read morea nice area to spend a couple hours sightseeing with family. There is limited parking in the area.

This sculpture garden is right in the center of Springfield Museum plaza. There were a handful of…read morecopper/metallic sculptures of many famous Dr. Seuss characters. There's also a giant book sculpture that has some famous verses from Dr Seuss engraved in it. The garden has elegant walking pavement covered by trees. It leads to entrances of four museums around the plaza. There's also an outdoor tent for people to sit in front of the garden. Overall it's a nice garden for families and kids.

One of the best places to go in the Hartford area. It has an amazing collection of classic artwork…read moreand rotating collections of modern art. I've been many times and somehow I'm still surprised by some of the pieces on display (Van Gogh, Monet, Dali, etc.). They run various events and community days, and membership costs are very reasonable. Support the Arts!

Went back here after a decade, the employees were incredibly friendly and helpful during the…read moreticketing/admission process and were more than happy to answer questions about where certain pieces were (even if they weren't currently residing within the Wadsworth).

The house is beautiful and full of original furniture. Our guide Elizabeth was very professional,…read moreknowledgeable and friendly. She loves history and answered all our questions. Enjoyed the tour immensely! I would recommend this tour as a DONT MISS!

Last Friday, we had the pleasure of touring the historic Lippitt House in Providence--and it was…read moreabsolutely amazing! What made the experience truly unforgettable was our guide, Elizabeth Gilbert (not the author of Eat, Pray, Love, but THE Elizabeth Gilbert who brings history to life). Her tour was informative, engaging, and full of fascinating details that transported us straight into the elegance of Victorian times. If you're visiting magical Providence, don't miss this gem. It's a beautiful step back in time, guided by someone who clearly loves what she does.

Have to drop them to 3. Had been on a few trips with them that went well, but after this past…read moreFriday they lost me. The 'Friday Funday' Mystic trip was cancelled. Ok. I get it trips get cancelled when there aren't enough people signed up for it. But in this case, they didn't even bother to tell me/us. Even got the confirmation/reminder email the day before. So being at the pickup point and its 5 minutes after we're supposed to leave, I call them to see what's going on and then they tell me it got cancelled and I should've been told Tuesday, but obviously wasn't and again, even got the confirmation/reminder email the day before. As someone that doesn't get a lot of time out work to burn a day off with nothing to show for it is extremely frustrating, and honestly, I just can't risk getting burned again. The owner Ted called later that day offering to make it right and I was refunded the money for the trip and the other trip I cancelled but I can't risk burning another day off with nothing to show for it. The people have always been nice, so I won't completely knock them, but beware even getting a confirmation email the day doesn't mean the trip is happening.

I joined Experience Rhode Island Tours on their A Day on Martha's Vineyard tour. There were three…read moredeparture locations: Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI, Visitor information Center at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, RI, and the main entrance of Hampton Inn New Bedford in Fairhaven, MA. Ted picked us up from the Visitor information Center two minutes prior to 7:00am. The mini coach bus was pretty full from the first pickup location. We then went on our way to the third pickup location. After our mini coach bus was full, we crossed Bourne Bridge to Woods Hole Terminal in Cape Cod to take a 45 minute Steamship Authority's ferry ride to Oak Bluffs. The ferry ride was smooth. When we got to Oak Bluffs, Ted told us about the history of Martha's Vineyard and gave us a map. First, we went to the fishing village of Menemsha for lunch and I walked to Menemsha Public Beach. Stanley Larsen, owner of Menemsha Fish Market, came on board the bus and showed us the jaws of a great white shark he caught in 1983 while swordfishing. Next, we went to the Aquinnah Cliffs Overlook to admire the beautiful cliffs of Aquinnah and Gay Head Light. This was my favorite part of the whole trip. Then, we explored the lovely harbor of shops and homes in Edgartown. I walked to the Edgartown Harbor Lighthouse, which is very close to Harbor View Hotel. Ted talked to us about the Chappaquiddick incident that occurred sometime around midnight, between July 18 and 19, 1969, while standing in front of the Harbor View Hotel looking out at the Poucha Pond. On the way to Oak Bluffs, we stopped at the "Jaws Bridge," a popular spot for jumping into the water despite signs prohibiting it. Lastly, we saw the gingerbread cottages and the tabernacle of Oak Bluffs. We then took the Steamship Authority's ferry ride from Vineyard Haven back to Woods Hole Terminal. We returned to Visitor information Center at the Rhode Island Convention Center about 7:30pm. Everyone on the trip were very respectful of the time Ted told us to return to the bus and were very friendly. This was a wonderful, fun, informational day trip to New England's most popular island and I am so glad I got to explore Martha's Vineyard for the first time with Experience Rhode Island Tours. Ted took us on a tour of the entire island, exploring its six towns. The tour included admission to Martha's Vineyard ferry, narrated tour, and round-trip transportation to and from the ferry, and transportation throughout the day on the Vineyard. Experience Rhode Island Tours always does a great job with their tours and I am looking forward to what other tours they plan in the future!

This was the first time we traveled with Collette. The 7 day/6 night tour, "Spotlight on South…read moreDakota," featured Mt. Rushmore, Devils Tower (in Wyoming), Badlands National Park, and much more. The itinerary was appealing because, in contrast to tours with multiple destinations linked by long, tedious motor coach rides between 1- or 2-night hotel stays, we would be headquartered in one centrally located spot with no more than a 2-hour drive to the various sites. The poor communication from Collette's main office prior to the tour was unsettling. An invoice stating, "Please remit full payment no later than 17 Feb, 2025" was not received until March 7. An accompanying document included an alert that the names we had scribbled on our registration forms during a travel talk 5 months earlier had to exactly match the names on our Real ID cards. Unfortunately, Collette sent out this "reminder" AFTER they had purchased our airline tickets. I promptly submitted a minor correction. Well, imagine my outrage when they passed along an airline "name change fee" of $100.00. I disputed this ridiculous charge (and won). Many of our fellow tour participants were not experienced fliers. But beyond making our airline reservations, Collette offered not one iota of guidance - not even a useful web link - towards navigating online check-in, baggage, self-service kiosks, TSA, etc. Granted, every airport and airline has its own arcane modus operandi, but still ... Nor was the Collette Compass app I installed on my smartphone useful. The itinerary was a mere copy of the printed documents previously mailed to tour participants. An accompanying list of restaurants and retail stores was woefully outdated; several had closed and others were inaccessible except by rideshare. Search engines (e.g. Google) provided far more concise and up-to-date info. Apart from the above 'plaints, we truly enjoyed the tour. Our hotel, Hyatt Place, was centrally located in downtown Rapid City. Brand new and luxurious, it was within easy walking distance of multiple stores, restaurants, and other attractions. The activities and attractions included in the tour itinerary were generally well curated. At times, though, we felt rushed, especially at lunch stops. We surely could have stayed longer at Wall Drugs, Hill City and Custer ... I'm certain most of our traveling companions would have been OK with returning to the hotel at 5:00 instead of 4:00. Also, after 3 days, multiple museums, displays and talks featuring the history and lore of South Dakota were becoming repetitive. Our tour included three dinners. A "welcome" dinner in a banquet room at a Best Western motel was catered by the adjoining Minervas Restaurant. A presentation by a native Lakota family was delightful but less so our meals, which arrived tepid and daintily portioned. In contrast, the food portions at the "farewell" dinner at Sabatino's were hearty (but their kitchen was not so accommodating in meeting dietary restrictions). The chuckwagon supper and show at Ft. Hays - not included in the tour price - was better overall than the included chuckwagon supper and show at the High Plains Heritage Center located in Spearfish. Collette really ought to consider switching to Ft. Hays for future SD tours. We traveled between sites in a brand new motor coach, enjoying a wonderful driver who was not only punctual and friendly but also knew Rapid City backwards & forwards and shared some great suggestions (including the enjoyable evening at Ft. Hays). But I've saved the best for last, namely our tour manager Barry. He is the reason I gave Collette 4 stars instead of 3. Never appearing stressed or impatient, Barry was unswervingly cheerful, polite, helpful, and an inspiring fountain of knowledge about the various sites we visited. When the weather turned sour, he got us to smile and laugh. In short, he was a great traveling companion and friend to every tour participant. We hope to travel with Barry again (and we hope Collette's HQ office gets their act together on communication and documents).

Booked a trip to the UK with an extension to Paris in spring of 2022. We traveled from Scotland to…read moreLondon and then took the train to Paris. This was our first international trip since the beginning of the pandemic. As we neared the end of our journey, my husband and I tested positive for Covid and had to quarantine in Paris (we needed a negative Covid test to re-enter the U.S.) Collette was wonderful. They extended our stay in our hotel, assigned a lovely woman who spoke French and English, to call us every day and make sure we didn't need medical attention. After 5 days, we received a negative test and Collette got us home the next day. Fortunately, I had purchased trip insurance through Tripmate and, once home, Collette help me fill out the paperwork to submit to the insurance company. I was reimbursed for my hotel, food, Covid test, flight adjustment, and one day of our stay in Paris. I can't say enough good things about Collette. They were so nice and extremely helpful. We will be going back to Europe this upcoming autumn with Collette. AND I want to give a shout-out to our UK guide, Gail. Best tour guide ever!