Just got back to hotel after a long day around Rome. Bloody rioters shut everything down even the colosseum! We were at Rome termini when the marches started then the smoke when they started setting fires which were coming out of the storm drain grates. Police everywhere blockading streets but we were able to navigate around. Metro was useless they kept skipping stops and crowds in the subways were intense. Notwithstanding all of this we stuck to our guns and sa...

On the road again, catching the fast two hour train from Venice to Florence. Woke up late, had another five course breakfast, and wandered back to the watery bus stop for vaporetto number 42 to ferrovia stop to buy tickets to Florence. Just missed the 1227 by a gnats whisker so bought for the 1327 and wandered back out for a beer and a gelato on a Venice canalside cafe. The hardship! On the train now - even second class is very nice - as it speeds through the r...

Beautiful Venice! Watery, chaotic, crowded, noisy Venice! Had a fantastic time here wandering the narrow alleys, crossing canal after canal on the hundreds of bridges connecting all of the islands on which Venice has been built. I think we crossed most of the bridges especially on the first day when we thought it would be a good idea to experience the backstreets of Venice. But Venice has been excellent. Took to the water on the second day in vaporettos up and d...

Lost in Venice": On the plus side my UNguided tour of the front, back and middle streets of Venice got us to see far more if Venice than we otherwise would have, sometimes repeatedly. After getting off the train at Santa Lucia station we caught the vaporetto to our great hotel the sant'elena a former convent converted to a really nice hotel (fantastic room). We were early though so I suggested we walk 20 minutes into the St marks square. More like an hour but a ...