March 01--As if packing for a six-week vacation isn't difficult enough. Jetta Bates Vasilatos packed one suitcase for a trip around the world, without knowing her destinations.
"My creativity was really challenged," Bates Vasilatos, of the West Side, told the Tribune.
Bates Vasilatos and her husband, Jeff Vasilatos, both 49, are two of 11 travelers on the new Bravo series "Tour Group," set to premiere 9 p.m. Tuesday.
The tourists visit Rwanda, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Japan, among other spots. The couple went on their first safari together in Kenya. After riding an elephant in Thailand, Bates Vasilatos proclaimed, "I want to travel like this in Chicago."
Though the couple didn't reveal the drama they endured on the show, Bates Vasilatos is shown crying in a preview. She said it was difficult relinquishing control of their trip to strangers but the couple found the experience to be worth it, despite the bumps.
"We're coming up on 16 years of marriage but we've had a hard couple of years. This trip just gives us the opportunity to really just live," said Bates Vasilatos, a travel/lifestyle media contributor.
Vasilatos, a construction engineer, said he was hit by a car while riding his moped on the West Side a few years ago. He suffered a broken clavicle and broken ribs.
"Since the accident I've found that I closed myself out from the rest of the world. I'm sort of trying to bring that back out again. The accident itself didn't make me realize how short life was but how quickly the life you have could be ended," he said.
Between the sightseeing excursions, the couple also renewed their vows.
"This (trip) is romantic. It caters to new love, rekindling love, continuing love," Vasilatos said.
"Water love," Bates Vasilatos piped in.
