Here's a quick update from Venice.... We arrived in a driving rainstorm! Check out the video section to see some video from our arrival at Marco Polo airport in Venice. After arrival, there was a one-hour boatride to Venice, where we got soaked running to our apartment. Our very cool apartment is right on the canal, with a view out to the waterfront. It's a short 10-minute walk to St Mark's square, and there are great food options all around us. The first night w...

Here's an update from Rome. We hopped on a train early Thursday morning for La Spezia, then changed to a nicer, faster train bound for Rome. We arrived in Rome around 2pm, and after lots of searching we finally found our apartment around 3:30. Rome is a challenge! Our neighborhood is wonderful, though. It's a trendy spot called Trastevere, just across the river from the ancient center of the City. We have good bus connections to other parts of the city, and we've...

Here's a quick note from Riomaggiore (part of the Cinque Terre along the Northwest coast of Italy). We got up at 5am Tuesday to catch an 8:10am flight to Pisa. With the Underground, the Gatwick Express train, and the strangeness of the British airport, we made the flight with just about 20 minutes to spare. After landing in Pisa, things got crazier. We missed a train, then spent 20 minutes looking for the next train, and struggled again at the central train stati...