Geo: 45.4345, 12.3384DAY THIRTEEN (8/14) — VeniceWater, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.Venice is delightful.We took a two-hour train ride in a first-class car from Florence to Venice through Bologna and Padua and the Italian countryside. The train itself was fairly new, very clean and comfortable. There was food and beverage service, an electrical outlet for my computer, and even WiFi, although I didn't have the password but it would be handy for commuters.When we exited the train station, much to my delight, we were RIGHT on the water. The taxis we boarded for the hotel were water taxis, which wound their way to the front door of our hotel right on the Grand Canal. What a gorgeous ride. What a wonderful city … so different from any we have ever visited.Our hotel is ... read more

Geo: 43.7687, 11.2569DAY ELEVEN (8/12) — Florence, Tuscany"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." ~~ MichelangeloFlorence is just lovely. It's beautiful; it's dense; it's easy to find your way around. It has art; it has architecture; it has fashion. Because there is so much to see and because I wanted to see it all, I made an elaborate plan to keep my knee from ruining my day. I popped a fistful of Ibuprofen, I wore a knee brace and I even broke out the folding cane. The trio of prophylactic measures helped me make it from 8:30 to 4:30 today. Note: The streets are mostly of cobblestone, so bring comfy shoes to negotiate the back alleys.We started with a lecture by Rocky Ruggerio, ... read more

Geo: 43.4703, 11.0438DAY NINE (8/10) — San Gimignano, TuscanyDrive-By ShootingAlthough our day was devoted to visiting the charming hill town of San Gimignano, I couldn't resist the headline which refers to our two minutes on the outskirts of Pisa. Our itinerary didn't call for a visit to Pisa but when the crowd found out we would be passing through the town, Len agreed to have Marco, our bus driver, slow down so we could take a photo of the Leaning Tower. Wham, Bam, thank you, m'am. If you didn't get what you needed in a few brief seconds, the Leaning Tower was lost to you until some future visit.We drove through the northernmost areas of Umbria and passed into Tuscany about mid-morning. The hillsides changed from farm lands to hill country – both beautiful, but each ... read more

Geo: 42.7165, 12.1116DAY SEVEN (8/8)—Orvieto, Umbria"Italians were eating with a knife and fork when the French were still eating each other."We departed Rome, flying by a few more of Rome's many, many sights. We headed north into Umbria, the heartland of Italy, famous for its wines, olives and produce.First stop: Orvieto, a lovely hill town, famous for the fact that in 1536, a priest from Prague who didn't believe in the transformation (i.e., bread and wine becoming the body and blood of Christ), had a miracle occur. Depending on the version told to you, either the wine he was using for the service turned red and actually became blood or blood came out of the bread used for the hosts. The bishop was notified and eventually a Duomo (cathedral) was built to honor this feast which ... read more

Geo: 41.8955, 12.4823DAY FIVE (8/6)—RomeThe Agony and The EcstasyYou might think that's a novel/movie about Michelangelo's life and you would be right. Just not today. The Agony = the exhaustion and knee pain from spending all morning at St. Peter's Basilica, the afternoon walking to and from the Villa Borghese Museum and spending the afternoon there, the evening (after hours) touring the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel.The Ecstasy = the incredible experience of St. Peter's Basilica, the beauty of the Bernini sculptures at the Borghese, and the amazing collection of art at the Vatican, especially but not surprisingly, the talents of Michelangelo. Wow, what a day.We overslept. We never oversleep. We woke up to find it was 8:25, the exact time we were told to meet in the lobby. We had no way to contact ... read more