September 17 - September 24, 2011

DAY 1

Crowne Plaza Rome St. Peter's Hotel & Spa

Via Aurelia Antica 415,

00165 Rome, Italy 

Rome, Italy - Vatican

Tour of the museums and the Sistine Chapel, housing Michelangelo's famous ceiling

Wonderful Italian meal at our hotel

DAY 2

Rome, Italy

Walking tour of "Baroque" Rome

The Barcaccia Fountain located at the foot of the famous Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

Piazza Novona, one of the finest Baroque masterpieces in papal Rome, home to The Fountain of the Four Rivers and The Fountain of Naptune

Tivoli

Villa d'Este

Dinner at a traditional restaurant -

 'La Taverna degil Arnici'

DAY 3

Rome, Italy

Forum

Circus Maximua

Colosseum

DAY 4

Assisi

My One Hotel - Radda in Chianti

Strada Statale 429

Loe.La Calvana 53017

Radda in Chianti, Italy

Dinner at our hotel restaurant, which specializes in traditional Tuscan food

DAY 5

Florence

Walking tour to see the principal monuments such as the Cathedral - Santa Maria del Flore, the Baptistry, the oldest building in the city, and the Ponte Vecchio - the oldest of Florence's six bridges and one of the city's best known images.

Galleria deil'Accademia - Michalangelo's famous statue of David

DAY 6

Siena

Surrounded by olive groves and the vineyards of Chianti, Siena is one of the most beautiful cities of Tuscany. Set on three hills, the city is drawn together by winding alleyways and steep steps, while the Piazza del Campo stants at its heart, and the Duomo and St. Maria della Scala serve as additional cultural landmarks. Famed for the "Palic", the annual historic horse-races that take place on 2 July and 16 August, it is also home to one of the oldest Universities in Europe. During the 12th and 13th centuries, Siena was one of the largest and richest cities in the world, in fact at the time a similar size to Paris!   

DAY 7 

Castello de Verrazzano - one of the most scenic wineries in Italy

San Gimignano - famous for its stunning skyline of thirteen towers, built by rival nobles during the 12th Century.

DAY 8

Train from Florence to Venice

St. Mark's Square with its famous Basilica, the Campanile - orginally a lighthouse but now a bell tower, and the splendid Doge's Palace, the seat of government of the former Venetian Republic.

Vaporetto - local water taxi

Plaza Venice-Mestre Hotel

Viale Stazione 36,

3017 Venice Mestre, Italy

DAY 9

Venice

Trip in a Gondola

DAY 10

Verona

Shakespeare make Verona famous as the romantic setting for the moving tale of Romeo and Juliet.

Lake Como

Como was used as a location for the recent James Bond film, Casino Royale, and a number of celebrities choose to make Como their second home.

Grand Hotel Imperiale

Via Regina Vecchia 24-26,

22010 Moltrasio (Como), Italy

DAY 11

Bellagio

DAY 12

Milan

The tour ended, but the Coon's stayed in Milan for a few days to take in more sights and rest up before returning to Houston.

See index for Highlights