Babes on the Bus Do it Italian Style

by Heather Resnick

The Babes on the Bus (dubbed by ourselves) descend from their minivan onto the lush, Tuscan soil. The sun beams on the surrounding hills, swathed with velvety vibrant greens and brilliant golden grasses. After the 'oohs' and 'ahs', five of the ten women are tittering. They harbour a secret.

Each of the five women hands the unsuspecting five an apron for their eagerly anticipated cooking class with Laura and Susan. The presenters don their own aprons. The laughter peels out through the fertile valley. Laura and Susan have seen it before, maybe just not as many women, but it never fails to bring out the hilarity. Ten women stood in front of their blue bus and their very cute but embarrassed Italian driver, wearing no ordinary aprons. They are replicas (minus the head which is replaced by the wearers of the apron) of the famous statue that stands inside the Tribune of the Accademia, Florence- David by Michelangelo in all his manly glory. With some adjustments, aprons flapping in the warm breeze, we aligned for the photograph that represented the epitome of a fabulous, fun-filled nine days in spectacular Italy.

We were ten women who had never traveled together and barely knew each other, if at all. Who drew us together for this trip of a lifetime - the competent founder of the Women's Travel Network, Debbie Ross. With twenty-five years working in the travel industry, she "realized the need for women to have an opportunity to travel without the single supplements or hassle of finding a travel partner" She understands women's travel needs. In our hectic world of family and work life, it is not always possible to coordinate travel with a companion. Out of a need of her own to find a group or organization catering to women with the same travel desires, Women's Travel Network was created. In doing so, she hopes this network of women travelers and women tour companies will fulfill that need."

I celebrated my fiftieth birthday. I am a two-time cancer warrior. I wanted to do something special. My husband and I were not able to travel together. I was determined that I was waiting for no one and that time was of the essence. I heard of Debbie through a women's networking group. I had wanted to go to glorious Greece, but she was not offering that trip. Large groups do not appeal to me. Debbie told me about her Tuscan Dreams Tour she was organizing. The itinerary was jam-packed with cooking classes, wine tastings and cultural experiences. It was the answer to my dreams.

When I told other women I was going on a women's only trip to Italy, the response from them was "That is fabulous. It will be such a hoot because you can relax and have fun doing what women like to do best - shopping, gabbing and enjoying each other's company without male influences." Our interests were captured by the history, nature, culture, food and wine and of course the allure of shopping in Italy's exquisite shops. I knew that I would be with sisters of the same ilk.

"Are you going with friends?" everyone wanted to know.

"No. I haven't even met the other women except for Debbie". (I had not even met my roommate, who was from Ottawa, until the night we were flying out of Pearson Airport).

"Aren't you worried that you won't get along with them and they will ruin your trip?"

"No. I trust that Debbie has done a good job in making sure our personalities will meld. Besides, I am quite able to compromise on a trip. It's silly for me to spend extra for a single supplement, when we are only going to be sleeping in the room. Even if my partner snores, I don't sleep much anyway. Every couple of hours I wake up in a puddle. It's this menopause thing."

My conviction of Debbie's ability proved true to my belief. I have never had so much fun with a group of women in my whole life. We all settled into a comfort zone with each other instantaneously. The fact that ten women of varying ages, backgrounds and personalities could get along so well, seemed astounding.

In retrospect though, we were all able to follow basic tenets in being amicable:

• Humour - we made fun of ourselves and viewed our experiences with the eyes of comedians
• Compromise
• Compassion
• Sharing
• Flexibility - altering activities because of circumstances
• Child-like wonder at the sites we encountered and the knowledge we gleaned
• Latitude - mutual respect for each other's space

The memories will forever be etched in my mind of the myriad of humourous and exultant moments of that trip. Friendships were made to last a lifetime. As a writer, it has become fodder for a series of humourous women's fictional travel books that are a work in process.

We had a reunion before the winter holidays. The wonderful reminisces flowed like the Chianti wine of the Tuscan Hills. We reminded each other how we celebrated Canada's birthday proudly singing (off key and having a lapse in memory of some of the words) "Oh Canada" at the top of our longs, overlooking a moon swept, sweet-smelling valley. We shared our pictures of us riding the carousal in Florence.

We eagerly anticipate our next biennial trip. Vive La France! The Babes on the Bus are on their way!

For the thrill of a lifetime, be a participant of Debbie Ross's exciting women's only trips by going to her website at WomensTravelNetwork.ca or contact her at info@womentravelnetwork.ca. Phone 905-771-8338 or toll free 1-888-419-0118.

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