Arrived in Rome

Today we check out of our hotel in Florence and head to Assisi.  Beautiful countryside as we head from Tuscany south to Umbria.  We meet our local guide at the Basilica and he explains how this church came to be 800 years ago.  St. Francis of Assisi was an amazing man.  The basilica is beautiful but unfortunately we could not take pictures so I have none to show.  The colours in this place are breathtaking.

 

After we leave the Basilica Sue and I find a neat little spot to have some lunch.  A cold beer and a panini.  It was good.  The shop was a bit smoky as there wasn't good ventilation in the back of the shop where they were cooking.  

We then head back to the bus to continue to Rome.

Rome is a huge city.  Our hotel is close to the coliseum which is a great location.  We have a nice dinner at the hotel and then I decide to go with Cathryn and Linda to see the coliseum at night with all the lights.  It's not too lit up so doesn't look garish.

 I head back to the hotel as tomorrow we tour the city.

Day in Florence

This morning we explore Florence.  After breakfast at the hotel we board the bus and drive to meet our local guide Ricardo.  He knows so much about Michelangelo.

He explained more about the artist and why he sculpted the way he did.

We saw several pieces that Michelangelo never finished and how he believed that the object he was sculpting was already in the marble and he was only releasing  or uncovering it.  Made me look at it very differently.

This building is a green marble.  Beautiful.  All the marble used comes from this region.

Wonderful little shops!

Lunch...so fresh and wonderful flavors...the olive oil is magnificent!

So many bikes....parking is a problem...

The River Arno

 

Sorbetto....we picked the most expensive place by the Ponte Vichio...this was 8.5€ which equates to about $15 Canadian.

 

As we drive out of Florence to go for dinner we stop at a lookout.  What a view!  Then we head to a farm outside of Florence for dinner.

Our dinner came complete with music!

Ice cold Prosecco upon arrival.

An assortment of appetizers.  I could have made this dinner!  We also had two types of pasta with meat (beef, pork, chicken or sausage) and unlimited wine.  Everyone took full advantage of that!  The ride home was quite the party bus!

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Leaving Venice

Today we leave Venice and head to Pisa.

We take the car ferry as our bus is on the ferry.

We pass by St. Mark's Square.

Once on the bus Myriam (our Gate 1 guide) gives us a lesson in Italian history.

We arrive at a winery in Tuscany for a wine tasting.  Beautiful day, beautiful country.

We get educated on the production of Extra Virgin olive oil.  It's so good.  They also explain about their wines.

Wine tasting commences.  So much wine!

Luckily they serve lunch which is a homemade pasta.  So good!

We eat outside.  It's wonderful.

We arrive in Pisa and Sue is trying to straighten the tower.

After leaving Pisa we arrive in Florence.  We now have a couple of days to explore this city.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 

 

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Day in Venice

We meet for breakfast and then take the ferry from Lido to Morano.

This is our water taxi.

Off to explore Lido

After we enjoy a wonderful breakfast at the hotel Sue and I head off to explore the island.

This is the Laguna side of Lido.

Beautiful canals.

So many bicycles.  You have to be creative when storing them.

Fresh vegetables.  The tomatoes look amazing.

A little restaurant we went to for lunch.

Over at the beach on the Adriatic side.

Beautiful beach.

Cooling off.

Some beautiful villas.  The flowers are amazing.

A little Vino with lunch.

And the pizza!

Wine on tap!  We need this at home.  Cold Savignon!  Fill your bottle 2.87€.  Yum!

Had to try this....and we picked up olives and enjoyed on the deck of the hotel.
 

Wonderful deli!  So tempting but we have dinner at the hotel and we will be meeting the rest of the group for our tour of Italy.

Flowers everywhere!

And again that lovely jasmine!  This is right outside our hotel.