History

In 1979, Claudia Reynolds Harris took her first “big trip” outside her native North Carolina – to Stockholm, Sweden for a summer as a high school exchange student. It was one of those turning points in her life, the kind you can count on one hand.

Claudia returned, reluctantly, to continue her studies of French and Italian in earnest. During graduate school and her early days as a lawyer, vacations were spent leading luxury biking and walking tours in France, Italy and the Pacific Northwest. She just couldn’t get it out of her system.

In 1997, Claudia moved to a village in the edge of the Alps north of Venice, Italy. She spent five glorious years venturing into the corners of this beautiful, strange and fascinating land. She had the best meals of her life there, sipped heavenly wine, stumbled onto unforgettable sites and made friends for life.

Adagio was formed in 1999 to share for a few days and with a few friends the magic that continues to keep Claudia under its spell.

Decades after her first trip to Europe, Claudia remains as enthusiastic as ever about introducing others to her second home.