We had the most spectacular entry into Venice through the Grand Canal. It reminded me a bit of boating on the Potomac during July 4th celebrations, only better. The city looks just like every magnificent postcard or any other image you might have in mind. Old and stately, the series of bridge connected islands is in danger of sinking away. This has scared away most of the residents and predictions are that in another 10 years the city will be an adult amusement p...

Naples is a huge, fast-paced city and we had been warned repeatedly to hang on tight to our wallets and special possessions. We didn't experience this scary situation because we chose to avoid Naples opting instead to visit the Isle of Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii. We prepared for our earliest departure of the trip and met our tour at 7:05 AM. First stop was the pier where we boarded a jet foil for the 45 minute trip to Capri. After arrival on the beautiful island...

Rome is quite an amazing place and we headed out early from the Port of Civitavecchia to reach the city for a full day of touring. A major unfortunate situation occurred because we arrived on Sunday and so were unable to view the Sistine Chapel or the Vatican Museums. Disappointment aside our colorful tour guide, Joe, gave us our money's worth of information, some of which I can't help sharing here. We went first to the Colosseum and we viewed it from many differ...

From the port of Livorno we headed first to Pisa. Pisa reminded me a bit of seeing the Alamo for the first time. It is such a strange experience to see the old historic buildings right in the midst of all the current day hustle and bustle in San Antonio. One has much the same experience upon walking through the gate into Pisa. On a big field of green across the street from regular city shops you see the church, the baptistry and the tower. They seem a bit out of ...