In Florence we chose to stay in a bed 'n' breakfast as something different. The SopraArno Suites at via Maggio 35 were a good choice. The building was originally a 14th Century Palazzo. There have been modifications to the building over the centuries but the rooms remain in largely the same layout. The room was very large and had very high ceilings. I have uploaded some photos to give you an idea of the room, we even had our own fresco.

Waking today in Florence we had an early start to commence our visit to the city. After a quick breakfast we then headed out to join our 'Nude & Food' tour run by Foodies for Florence. First stop was the Accademia di Belle Arti to view some sculpture by Michelangelo including the statue of David. Our guide, Natalie was very passionate about the statue and its place in Florence history and she showed us a couple of things about the statue that we would not h...

Day 2 - Venice - visit to Murano, Burano & Torcello and Palazzo Ducale Today we woke up relatively early so we could check out of the hotel and join a boat cruise to the islands of Murano (famous for glass), Burano (famous for lace) and Torcello (very old church). On the way we had a typical Veinician breakfast of pastry and coffee. The cruise was enjoyable a part from a few noisy groups that seem to like the sound of their own voices they speak so loud. On...

Afternoon walking tour and gondola ride. This afternoon we went on an organised walking tour of San Marco and on a short Gondola trip. The walking tour took us through some of the areas of San Marco whilst the tour guide provided us with information on the history of the city, how the people lived and took us past some of the landmarks and unusual buildings in the City. The only down side of the tour was the group size. In the narrow streets of Venice, it was ...

First Impressions of Venice Waking up in the City Of Venice I decided to take an early morning walk before the crowds started appearing. My first impression of the city was that you could see the grandeur that once was but the entire city was looking a bit run down and drab. The other thing that stood out was the amount of rubbish and litter on the streets. There were people cleaning up, but the sheer volume of rubbish made the city look untidy. After breakfast...