Paris, Day 1 (Kelly's Birthday!)

Kelly turned the BIG 3-0 today! It was a really sunny day so we walked along the Seine river all the way from our hotel to the gardens around the Eiffel Tower. The whole city is designed so well for walking everywhere: tons of beautiful parks with benches, pedestrian bridges, everything manicured so well. Didn't go up in the Eiffel Tower since the lines were obscenely long, so we walked down the other side of the river to the Arc d'Triomphe, then down the Champs d'Elysées. We ate dinner at an awesome Italian place called Pizza Pino (apparently we didn't get enough Italian food in Italy) and tried some REALLY good carpacchio (according to John at least -- Kelly's not a big fan of raw meat). Finished off the day with a nice walk through the park on the way back to the hotel.

Rome/Paris

Today we spent most of our day traveling from Rome to Paris. It was raining all morning in Rome and on the way to the airport. There was some sort of transit labor strike in Rome today so the tour bus took us along with 4 other couples to the airport. We left at 9:45 in the morning from the hotel in Rome and arrived in Paris around 6:30PM. Our driver was waiting for us when we arrived at the airport. It took over an hour and a half to get to the hotel from the airport because of the traffic. We got settled in the our room (which was suprisingly spacious) and headed for dinner around 9:30. The concierge gave a recommendation for a restaurant named Imperial. I was very good although I am really spoiled with non-smoking restaurants at home.

Rome

Busy day in Rome today. We had a tour of Vatican City: St Peter's Basilica and St Peter's Square (including the hysterical Swiss Guard uniforms - Michelangelo must have been on LSD that day). Also saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps. Tonight we had a very good last dinner with our tour group at the Mangrovia Restaurant.

Siena/Rome

Today we travelled from Montecatini to Rome. Along the way we stopped in Siena, where we walked around town for a while and checked out another church the name of which I don't recollect (they all blend together after a while). We stopped at a little café for a cappuccino and John cleverly left the camera in the café; luckily it was still there when we returned after a few minutes. Once we got to Rome we elected to try the local McDonald's cuisine - apparently "Chicken Mystic" is the local favorite. Can't recommend McDonald's in Italy - not that different from the states, but three times the mayo.

Florence

Today is Labor Day in Italy, so some of the museums and shops are closed. We were able to go into one with a local tour guide. It was right across the street from the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. What is a museum now was once the area where the artist and architects worked when the cathedral was being constructed. One of the rooms was where Michelangelo sculpted David.

Later in the day we hiked 463 stairs to the top of the Duomo which is part of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. The view from the top was incredible. It was like a sea of fiery tile roofs. The rest of the day we walked around, sat on the steps of the cathedral eating a sandwich, and visited a few leather shops.

Pisa/Montecatini

We spent most of our day on the road today. We stopped in Pisa to see the leaning tower. It is realllly leaning, in fact it is amazing that is it still standing since it is 8% out from being straight.

Tonight went a vineyard in Monte Carlo for a Tuscan dinner. We were able to see the grapes growing in the vineyard and the olive trees. We had a great 6 course dinner including 3 white wines and 3 red wines from the vineyard. There was also music and dancing. What a great evening.

Venice

We met our local tour guide for the morning tour and started in the Doge Palace. The frescos and wood work in the Doge Palace is very elaborate. We also walked across the Bridge of Sighs to the Prison area. Next we went to a glass blowing demonstration and walked through the gallery. The Murano glass is amazing and also very expensive. The guided tour ended just before noon and we had the remainder of the day on our own to walk the streets of Venice.

Since it was Sunday we decided we would try to go the noon mass to be able to see St.Mark's Basilica. The mass lasted about an hour and was entirely in Italian so needless to say we didn't understand anything. It did give us lots of time to sit in amazement at all the mosaics that decorate the ceiling and walls in the basilica. The floor is done in mosaics tiles as well and is extremely uneven due to the sinking of Venice.

The rest of the day we walked around Venice, sat on some bridges watching people go by in the gondolas, and visited the Italian Army Museum. Venice is a very unique place and fun to visit but not sure I could ever live here.