Our readers’ vacation destinations have taken them all over the map in recent months. They’ve visited the Sydney Opera House, seen Iceland’s Northern Lights and gone biking in Bali. And when they returned home, they shared their travel stories and practical tips with us.

Walnut Creek residents Diane and Neil Kelly met up in Rome with their son Patrick Kelly, who lives in Marrekech. (Courtesy of the Kelly Family) 

Read on for a Walnut Creek family’s visit to Rome and a group of Fremont and Danville friends whose fall foliage trek took them to Maine. Then find more reader travel inspiration at www.mercurynews.com/tag/wish-you-were-here/.

Wish You Were Here

ITALY: Walnut Creek residents Diane and Neil Kelly met up in Rome with their son Patrick Kelly, who lives in Marrekech, for a trip that included plenty of sightseeing and walking — nine to 10 miles per day.

TRAVEL TIPS: “Three of our favorite restaurants were La Matriciana dal 1870, Osteria la Quercia and Rocco Ristorante,” Diane says. Expect massive crowds in 2025, she adds, “It will be their Jubilee.They were getting every monument and statue ready for the celebration.”

Standing atop Cadillac Mountain in Maine’s Acadia National Park are, top row, Fremont residents Kelly Mendoza, Bill Dugoni and John Mendoza and South Lake Tahoe’s John Barton. The bottom row includes Arlene Dugoni, Sue Barton and Danville residents Steve and Eileen Block. (Courtesy of the Block Family) 

MAINE: You know a friend group is tight when they have their own nickname. “The KASE travel group — Kelly, Arlene, Sue and Eileen — was started 15 years ago in Fremont by four moms who met through their kids at St. Joseph School,” says Eileen’s husband, Steve. “The idea was to explore, starting with New York City in 2009, a different city each year with a group of great friends.”

The KASE group includes Fremont residents Kelly and John Mendoza and Arlene and Bill Dugoni, South Lake Tahoe’s Sue and John Barton and Danville residents Steve and Eileen Block. And their most recent trip was a fall foliage trek through New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine, where they climbed to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.

TRAVEL TIPS: “Fall foliage season lasts multiple weeks depending on where you are in New England. We recommend hiring a guide for your tour through Acadia National Park. Local knowledge is the best! Enjoy the beauty that a road trip offers — we traveled over 700 miles by car! — and eat at all the restaurants that locals recommend.”

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Join the fun! Send a photo of yourself on your latest adventures — local, domestic or international — to [email protected]. Tell us where you are, who everyone is and where they’re from, and share a travel tip or two to help fellow readers go there, too.

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