ROME – VATICAN

ROME - VATICAN CITY

We started off our day with an early visit to the Vatican, taking the fascinating 3 hour Vatican Museum Tour, us and thousands of others. Even though we had a special tour which enabled us to skip the long line to get in, it was still terribly crowded and hot. In spite of that, we all felt it was very impressive.
We had free time after to wander in the Vatican City at our leisure. Some of the ladies chose to remain for longer while others were anxious to get in some last minute 'retail therapy' as our wonderful trip comes to an end.
We had our final dinner together this evening, where has the time gone?
Tomorrow morning we fly back to Canada after a fantastic trip with wonderful new friendships having formed,  looking forward to future adventures together.

ROME

ROME

We started the hot and sunny day with a 3 hour ‘Discovering Rome Walking Tour’ which covered many of the not to be missed highlights, after which we had free time to enjoy the city.
Vino, our beaver mascot, almost fell in the Trevi fountain, which is being restored, as she was so excited to be throwing in a coin to make a wish to travel more!
We had lunch at one of the outdoor cafes which line the streets before some of us  hopped on the 'hop on hop off' bus for a tour of the city while the 3 ladies who had yet to receive their luggage took a cab to the airport to search for them - great excitement as they were finally found - the incompetence of Air Canada astounds us.
As a result we enjoyed a celebratory dinner and everyone is in great spirits.

FLORENCE to ROME

FLORENCE to ROME

Today’s adventure entailed taking the train from Florence to Rome for everyone except Ethel who chose not to take advantage of the Rome extention, she is a part of the group and we all miss her!
We had been forewarned about the fiasco of the system of announcing the track number moments before departure. Getting off the train at our stop was quite the challenge,  but now we are here, we are all excited about being in Rome,  but sad that it is our last stop on the adventure
We are now at Hotel Adriano for the next three nights, which is fantastically located in the heart of Rome. We had free time today to explore at a leisurely pace in small groups before getting together for dinner.
We are all looking forward to the three hour walking tour of the city in the morning.

A FREE DAY TO EXPLORE FLORENCE

A FREE DAY TO EXPLORE FLORENCE

Today we had a great day exploring Florence. After a delicious breakfast, we headed to the Uffizzi gallery to view magnificent works of art by famous masters.
Most of the rest of the day was dedicated to exploring the narrow cobbled streets lined with interesting shops and gilaterrias, enjoying the piazzas and of course shopping. Our favorite place to shop was the San Lorenzo leather market. This year stylish colours seem to be bright blues, pinks and oranges. Scarves, purses and pashminas are always a great buy in Italy. The prices are reasonable and the selection is fantastic. 
Ponto Vechio lined with jewelry stores filled with exquisite gold jewelry was a favorite destination for several of the ladies.
We had a gorgeous warm sunny day today,  the perfect day to eat lunch at a little sidewalk cafe and people watch. After a delicious pizza dinner everyone was ready for bed. 

FLORENCE

FLORENCE

After breakfast we had a short bus ride from Colle di Val d’Elsa to Florence - the beautiful Renaissance city with narrow cobble stone streets, grand palaces and the magnificent Duomo: Santa Maria del Fiore - we headed straight out on our 3 hour private walking tour of the city with our knowledgeable and informative guide, Sara.
We then checked in to our centrally located hotel for the next two nights – Hotel de la Ville.  So many historical sites to see - Giotto's Bell Tower, the Baptistery, Santa Croce Church where Michael Angelo's tomb resides and the Duomo to name a few.  We had the afternoon free to explore, some of the ladies ventured to the leather market for some 'retail therapy' while others the Ponto Vecchio to check out the gold ‘bargains’. In the evening we had our 'farewell' dinner at Osteria del Caffe Italiano. The atmosphere is charming. The menu consisted of the obligatory four courses.  As  usual there is free flowing wine.
We were all very sad to bid farewell to our awesome guide Alessandro, who took such great care of us this past week - I think he had a blast hanging out with 15 crazy Canadian women.