Geo: 40.6344, 14.6026DAY THREE (8/4)—Amalfi CoastThe coast is clear!The most appealing part of the Tauck "Classic Italy" itinerary, the one thing that attracted me most to this tour, was the time devoted to the Amalfi Coast. And despite very high expectations about how beautiful this part of the world is, I was not disappointed. The drive was right up there with one of the most beautiful we have ever taken – the 17-mile drive at Pebble Beach.After an elaborate breakfast in the hotel dining room, and some beautiful photos on the terrace overlooking at the Mediterranean, we boarded our bus and headed south along the coast. Not only was it exquisitely beautiful, it was horrifyingly challenging. Our driver deserved every Euro he made (he drives it three times a week!).Don't ever consider making this drive yo ... read more

Geo: 40.84, 14.2529DAY ONE (8/2)—St. Louis > Atlanta > Paris > NaplesBuon Giorno!My husband and I are off on Tauck's "Classic Italy" adventure that will take us to the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Umbria, Tuscany, Florence and Venice over the next two weeks.We are traveling on Delta Airlines from St. Louis to Atlanta and then Air France to Paris, with Naples as our ultimate destination. I have dreamed of visiting the Amalfi Coast and our hotel in Sorrento sure looks to fill the bill. I can't wait.We arrived at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport two hours ahead. It was our first encounter with the airport since it was hit by a tornado in April 2011. Quite a bit of the glass was broken during the storm and many of the windows are still boarded up. Their signs read ... read more

Geo: 41.2906, -95.9178Day 9After a tearful farewell to the WaTiki water park, we headed south and east on I-90 to Wall, SD, where we made the obligatory stop at Wall Drug. From their website: "If Ted & Dorothy can make it in the dustbowl days of the Dirty 30s, then there is no such place as Godforsaken in this great country we live in ... AMERICA. We are still here and gas prices are low. All signs lead to Wall Drug!"The small-town drugstore was purchased in 1931. The owners advertised free ice water to parched travelers heading to the newly-opened Mount Rushmore monument 60 miles to the west. It boasts 75,000 square feet and thousands of incredibly tacky SKUs. Worth a stop for the amusement factor.Wall Drug and The Badlands are at the same exit. So ... read more

Geo: 44.0812, -103.231Day 7After breakfast at the Cody (hot complementary buffet), we checked out and were at the BBC Museum again when it opened at 8. Last night we did the Western Art and Plains Indians. This morning we did the remaining three (Buffalo Bill, Firearms, Natural History). Not quite as interesting, but definitely worth the time. We devoted 4 hours in all, which was plenty if you aren't a gun aficionado. I have heard others who spent 2 days. You decide.We did a little shopping on Sheridan Road on the way out of town, including the Sierra Trading Post outlet.We took the Big Horn Scenic Byway (US14) east thru Greybull and Bighorn National Forest to Ranchester. Once again, AAA marked this route with dots, meaning "scenic", but the road didn't get scenic until we entered ... read more

Geo: 44.4887, -110.012Day 6We got an early start as we knew we had a long day ahead of us. We took the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway (US-14) west from Cody to the east entrance of Yellowstone NP. Lovely drive early on a glorious day.At the gate, we gave the ranger one of our newly acquired (at the Denver Mint) quarters featuring Yellowstone. I wish we had acquired $5-10 worth as almost none of the park employees had seen them yet. They were very popular when we showed them off.Our route took us through Fishing Bridge, Canyon, Tower Junction and out the NE Entrance. In our first stretch, a buffalo was assigned to greet the tourists and walked alongside us on the main road. Great picture taking. There were remnants of winter everywhere … snow piles, snow ... read more