Day 5 Florence The fireworks were spectacular, standing on the roof of our hotel overlooking the roofs of Florence. Our guide for today , Lior from Israel studying art history picked us up at 9:00 at our hotel. We walked to the Uffizi first and Lior was, hands down the best guide I have ever had. The girls absorbed what he said and learned much .We ended our tour at L'Academie where David is on display. On to the market..... Had dinner at a trattoria just acr...

Day 4 leaving Venice arriving Florence An easy departure and a lovely ride through Tuscany on the train to Florence. The super moon was spectacular last night - what a place to see it. Arrived in Florence,checked into our hotel and after a quick lunch headed to the purse market. The weather is cooler and it does not seem as crowded and more young people here so cba's everywhere. The girls are all good bargainers- it is fun to watch them in action. It start...

Day 3 Venice This morning we took the vaporetto to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. It is the house she lived in and the collection has a piece every major contemporary artist . We spent a long time sitting on the front terrace watching the boat traffic. Next we took the vaporetto to Ca d'Ora, a neighborhood away from the tourist center. Still crowded and hot. Europeans don't seem to care. I can report that we have been to EVERY souvenir shop in Venice. A break th...

Day 2 Venice, Italy (FYI- photo at glass factory) We began our day in the lobby of our hotel where we met Francisco, our guide. We toured the Doges Palace and the Basilica and the girls were engaged and curious and no eyeball rolling. I am impressed. We took a break for lunch and then boarded a boat for Morano to tour the glass blowing factory. It was a treat. Did I mention how hot and crowded it is here so it was nice to escape for an hour. We then shopped the...

Venice Day 1 The trip was effortless but no one slept so we are dragging today . We were picked up at the airport and delivered to the Metropole Hotel in a water taxi . The girls loved that. Josie loves the architecture, katherine everything and Lilly the pigeons. We spent a lot of time with the pigeons , took a nap ,early dinner and to bed early for a big day tomorrow.. I had a lot of fun today even though I was really tired, I can't wait to go in a boat arou...