Helen Varri was a joy to work with and the trip was designed around our interests and capabilities. The fact that our traveling companions live thousands of miles away was no problem. Everything was arranged and we had first-class accommodations at every city we visited. We benefitted from Virtuoso upgrades to a junior suite at two different hotels. It may have helped that we were near the end of the summer season in Switzerland. When we checked in at the Ville d' Este on Lake Como, we were met by a woman who knows Helen very well and we were treated very well, as well. The same thing happened on a previous trip when we were met by the manager of the group on hotels in Lyon, France who told us of having lunch with Helen 2 years before. I highly recommend Helen Varri and the services of Lake Forest Travel Bureau.