One of the most interesting parts of running a small-group tour company is watching people who don’t know each other develop deep bonds over the course of their stays with us.
I wrote about this years ago, and it still continues to amaze me. When we first started, I used to worry about relations between the guests each week. But after something like 4000 guests and zero serious problems, I don’t worry anymore.
We never set out to create this dynamic. It just happened.
The best description of this phenomenon came from a former guest. I forget the name of the person who said it, but I will always remember the words. They said, “It’s like the summer camp affect.”
This is astute.
The groups are small enough for each person to learn each other’s names and history and personality. So, even if they have disparate opinions on things, they invariably find they have more in common than uncommon. They share meals together. They have new experiences together. They discuss serious things together. They help each other literally, like when getting into and out of our tour vans, and emotionally through sharing stories of life experiences.
They arrive as strangers, have meaningful relationships at least for a few days, and often leave as lasting friends who reunite for visits at home or even return to Amazing Abruzzo as a group.
It’s really cool and it has led me to believe that despite all the sharpness in the world today, or maybe because of the crappy state of affairs these days, people are generally good and caring and just want a peaceful enjoyable life.
Occasionally, as a result of the bonds created during their stays with us, something truly inspiring happens amongst our guests.
This is one of those stories. I hope you like it.
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The Picture and the Painting
The week of September 21 to 28, 2024 at our Villa location was special to begin with.
There was a group of five wonderful sisters, another group consisting of an aunt and her three nieces who had family roots in Abruzzo, Susan McTavish of Montreal, Quebec and her friend Jennifer Cusack, and Moira and Godfrey D’Aoust of Westmeath Ontario. None of the groups knew each other before arriving.
Susan McTavish on sitting on the terrace of Villa d’Abruzzo at the start of her week with us. Later in the trip, she would snap a photo that led to the creation of a cherished memory for two other guests - Moira and Godfrey D’Aoust, whom Susan didn’t know at the start of the week.
“Oh, such fond memories of my trip to Abruzzo,” Susan said. “The group of strangers that came together and got along so well. I liked the way people made an effort to rotate where they sat at mealtimes, everyone being engaged with the other guests. There were lively discussions at mealtimes while we enjoyed good food.”
By Friday Sept. 27, after seven days together, the group set out for their last tour. They went up the spectacular Sagittarius Gorge to the towns of Villalago and Scanno and had a giant picnic beside Lago San Domenico put on by our colleagues Angela Iasenzaniro and Orazio Grossi.
Profound things can happen at any moment. Susan, whose vision is blurry, was taking a picture of this street in the village of Scanno high in the mountains of Abruzzo so she could look more closely at it later when Godfrey and Moira walked into the frame unplanned. She later emailed the picture to Moira. Fun fact: The composer Henry Mancini, who wrote the Pink Pather song, was born in a house on this street just up ahead of Moira and Godfrey to the right.
The magic started when the group was walking down a street in the town of Scanno as they headed towards its jewellery quarter where 400-year-old shops sell creations made by ninth, 10th, and even 12th generations of jewellers.
“I have macular degeneration and I’m legally blind,” said Susan. “It’s kind of a can see but can’t see situation. I took a lot of pictures because beyond 20 feet in front of me, my vision is pretty fuzzy. I loved taking photos of the things that I could see up close: the big heavy doors set into stone arches, the texture of the stone and the patterns that they made, little stairways leading to hidden corners.
“The picture of Godfrey and Moira happened by chance. I could see the perspective of the street that we were heading down but I could not see it quite in focus. But I could take a picture and get the details later if I looked at it on my iPad. Just as I took the picture Godfrey and Moira stepped into the frame. When I was able to look at it later, I was really pleased at what I saw - the street really was so picturesque, and I had caught Godfrey and Moira adventuring down the narrow street in perfect step with each other. That photo captured the feel of my Abruzzo experience - such enjoyable tours of those picturesque villages!”
Amazing Abruzzo’s staff put together a great party on Moira and Godfrey’s 50th Anniversary complete with a cake and music played by our friends and co-workers Riccardo and Federico who are standing in the background with their two-button accordians.
Later that night, the Amazing Abruzzo staff did its magic and surprised Godfrey and Moira with a cake and music in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary and Susan caught the moment again.
When she looked at the photos later, she sent them to Moira’s email that she found on a contact card Moira had given her so they could stay in touch.
“They were such a charming couple,” Susan said. “I thought they might like a couple of candid pictures from their trip, so I sent them along to Moira.”
Susan was right. They did like the photos.
“It was a lovely surprise to receive the photos from Susan,” Moira said. “For me, it was the thoughtfulness in thinking we would like to receive the photos as well as the connection.
The wooden picture was so menaingful to Moira’s mother that is was amongst the few possessions she chose to take with her when she crossed oceans and continents to be reunited with her husband decades ago. The wooden picture was hanging in Moira and Godfrey’s house. Susan’s photo reminded Moira of the wooden picture and Moira had an idea.
“When we saw the photo I was transported back to the village we were visiting that day. We knew where we were, but not really what to expect. If you look at the photo you will see it was a beautiful September day, the sun was warm and bright. In some ways it captured the trust we had on our trip that each day we would have a new experience and an opportunity to learn things with each new outing.”
The photo reminded Moira of a wooden picture her mother had brought from Scotland to Peru by ship decades ago. Her mother was travelling to be reunited with her husband after three years apart following WWII. The wooden pictjure was, and is, of a man walking down a village street. Moira’s parents travelled many difficult roads together over the years and to Moira the wooden picture symbolized her parent’s journey.
“As a little girl I used to look at the wooden picture and wondered where the old man was going?” Moira said. “The photo that Sue had taken just really reminded me of the various roads (Godfrey and I) have also travelled with all the twists and turns in our 50 years of marriage.”
When Moira and Godfrey returned home, they had an idea. They knew a local artist named Tracy Joyce, who had been to Amazing Abruzzo earlier in 2024.
Tracy had urged Moira and Godfrey to go to Abruzzo, and they decided to ask her if she would turn Susan’s picture into a painting.
Artist Tracy Joyce created a thing of beauty for Moira and Godfrey.
“I knew she would capture the moment on canvas, and I hoped that if she agreed, her painting would hang right beside the wooden picture,” Moira said.
Tracy agreed.
“I was so pleased when Moira and Godfrey decided to experience Amazing Abruzzo for themselves, and I was honoured and thrilled when Moira asked me to do a painting of one of their many memorable moments,” Tracy said.
Having experienced Abruzzo, including walking the same street where the picture was taken herself, allowed Tracy to fully capture the moment.
“As an artist, I am always inspired by the natural beauty I see around me and I attempt to capture both that beauty and the essence of locations,” Tracy said.
For Moria, the painting of her and Godfrey walking side by side on a street in Scanno, Abruzzo symbolizes the journey the two have been on through 50 years of marriage. She hopes future generations will remember that journey when they look at the painting.
“There were endless moments, views, and experiences that I felt I must try to capture when in Abruzzo. When I was painting the piece for Moira and Godfrey, it felt less like recreating a place and more like returning to a very special memory that we shared.”
The painting was exactly what Moira and Godfrey had hoped for and today it hangs in their house right next to the wooden picture her mother brought by ship across the ocean from Scotland to Peru decades ago.
“Every time, I look at the painting it brings back treasured memories. The incredible surprise your staff gave us in celebrating our 50th Anniversary brought me to tears,” Moira said.
“Godfrey and I were young when we met but believed in each other and together, we charted our own course. The painting and photo captured a moment in time when we were together moving forward and trusting what was waiting for us to experience.
Godfrey and Moira at Lago San Domenico indulging in Angela and Orazio’s famous “picnic,” which is more like a feast.
“It is about being in the moment, being open to new experiences, making connections, experiencing a new culture, their history and being inspired by people, and the next generation of people who are daring to dream and share their lived experience while looking to the future.”
For Susan, being involved in such a great story is one of her fondest memories of her time at Amazing Abruzzo.
“I’m so glad that I managed to inadvertently capture a lasting memory for them,” Susan said.
For Tracy, bringing such joy to Moira and Godfrey is its own reward and she hopes the painting captured the essence of Abruzzo too.
“Our trip to Abruzzo was spectacular and I can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed and appreciated everything about this trip,” Tracy said.
“I can only hope that in my painting I have done some small measure of justice to this unique, beautifully executed experience crafted by the Amazing Abruzzo family.”
Godfrey and Moira in front of the painting and the wooden picture in their house.
She succeeded. The painting captures the beautiful soul of the long, rugged road Abruzzo and its people have travelled over the millennia. The painting captures the moment of two wonderful people in the middle of their own journey experiencing Abruzzo. A memory frozen in its own time to be passed down to future generations, just like the wooden picture her mother lugged across the ocean.
“It made me smile, when our little grandson, age 2 at the time, looked up at the painting and he said, "Grandpa and Granny!" Moira said. “He will know the story of the painting and the wooden picture.”
