The love and inspiration of my amazing wife,

Laura Dalzell, made all of this possible.

​

  

This is a brief overview of how I came to love Italy, and how I decided I wanted to share this passion of visiting parts of this beautiful country, thus creating my tour company, Mike Graves Tours. In 1968 my father, who was at the time dean of the college of architecture at the University of Kentucky, took a sabbatical and moved the family to England. During our stay in England, we’d periodically take trips over to the continent of Europe to visit different countries. Each trip was filled with the exploration of various cities, where we would visit museums, churches, villas, gardens and of course restaurants. When we finally made it to Rome, I had my first bowl of simple bean soup, and I was immediately hooked. For years, I dreamed of making my way back to Italy to once again experience those memories, and especially that simple bean soup.

 

My older brother Charles had also been bitten by the bug to travel after our stay in England. He would follow in our father’s footsteps and eventually become a professor of architecture at Kent State University. As luck would have it, he ended up becoming the director of Kent State’s Florence program, and every spring semester for 9 years he’d take a group of students to Italy. His living there ended up becoming my ticket back to Italy, and with each yearly stay I’d visit for two weeks. With each visit I got deeper into the memories I’d carried with me for all those years. Eventually I ended up taking friends and family with me so they too could experience all the wonderful things I had seen, smelled, touched and tasted. 

Fast forward to 2019, and my forty-year career in Lexington radio came to an end. During those four decades, I’d learned how to create, organize and put on lots of different public events. For example, free outdoor concerts: I single-handedly created a monthly summertime concert series in downtown Lexington called Phoenix Fridays. Lots of responsibilities presented themselves, including finding food and lodging for the musicians, coming up with sponsorship money and loads of production elements, and working with the city and downtown merchants. 

 

Once I retired, it dawned on me I could take all those organizing skills and apply them to what I’d loved doing for years, sharing the beauty of Italy. So, my new business was created, “Mike Graves Tours.” A small group tour company that would focus on the history of Italian architecture, city planning, gardens, and of course, wonderful Italian cuisine.

As we all know, starting up any kind of business going into 2020 was almost impossible. Not to mention guided tours through Italy. Things came to a screeching halt. Fortunately, the EU has decided to once again open the doors to American tourists. That was the cue to get the wheels moving again. I've made multiple trips to Venice and Florence to plan and organize your guided trip to Italy. The next trip is set for Fall, 2024, and will include hotels, transportation while in Italy, entry into museums, and more. We'll guide you through new discoveries at each turn. Our expert guides will share their knowledge of both Venice and Florence via walking tours, as you’re taken down the same streets, roads, pathways and canals that Marco Polo, Napoleon, the Medicis, Dante, Michelangelo, and Leonardo once traveled. You'll experience how the centuries-old cathedrals, palaces and gardens were originally imagined and created. And of course, I will have scouted out all the best restaurants and cafes. 

 

I'm all set to share my passion for Italy with you. Mike Graves Tours' doors will soon open for the next trip, November, 2024.

 

I’d love to hear from you. Let me know what you’d like to see and experience in Venice and Florence. You can reach me by email at info@mikegravestours.com Or call me... 859-396-4137.

 

Thank you… Ciao! 

 

Mike Graves