Last day before flying back to Australia. We negotiated a late check-out (2pm) from the hotel.As our flight departed from Rome at 10pm saturday night, a transfer was arranged for 7pm.During the day we lazed around the hotel and went to a village near the hotel for lunch and a look around.Our flight from Rome to Dubai departed a little late. However, time was made up and we arriveded into Dubai close to schedule.We had close to 5 hours lay-over in Dubai. By the t...

The Best of Italy Tour has sadly come to an end, however we were up early for breakfast and to farewell our friends as they begin their journeys home or to other destinations. It was sad as we have made friends with 2 very lovely couples, from Ontario, Canada and Arizona, US. After breakfast we jumped on board the hotel's shuttle bus to the city for more sight seeing. Arriving in the city we found the 'hop-on-hop off bus' and jumped on for a tour of all the key...

We departed Florence early so that we could arrive at the Colosseum in Rome to take the guided tour which was postponed due to heavy rain on Day 1. First stop was the ancient town of Siena. The historic centre of Siena has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008. Siena is famous for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio di Si...

Still in Florence and a full day planned for sight-seeing and shopping. On the bus for a quick trip to the other side of the main shopping centre. Then off to the Accademia Gallery where Michelangelo's David Statue is housed. When we entered the Gallery we saw large paintings from many of the Masters including Raphael and Michelangelo. Following the excellent paintings we moved into another room with sculptures and at the end was the huge statue of Michelangelo...

Today we left the Lakes district and set off for Pisa and Florence in Tuscany, in the south-west of the country. The morning was foggy and cool at only 12 degrees centigrade. We arrived into Pisa (now clear skies and considerably warmer) and were driven directly to the Piazza dei Miracoli (the Square of Miracles), home to the Leaning Tower. The Square of Miracles was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO 25 years ago. The Square is not located in the cente...