After Vatican City we crossed the Tiber River into ancient Rome and visited the mighty Colosseum. Th

Flight Centre 's Miriam Cloutier travels on a Trafalgar orlando resort hotels Tour of Italy and blogs about her incredible vacation. In this post Miriam travels to Rome, visits Vatican City, explores Pompeii, relaxes on the Isle of Capri, gondola rides through Venice, and takes in Michelangelo's David in Florence before finishing her tour back in Rome. Let's turn this over to Miriam
This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Italy with my mom. We took Trafalgar s 14 day Best of Italy tour and I chose Trafalgar Tours for the itinerary and location of the hotels. The best part of the trip, aside from the country, was how stress-free Trafalgar made our vacation; their motto is dream, pack, and leave the rest to us.
When we arrived at the Rome airport our transfers were waiting and we were off to our hotel which was right in the city centre; a stone's throw from some great sight-seeing. orlando resort hotels Our hotel was in a safe neighborhood and our tour guide was there to greet us as we arrived, took care of our bags, answered any questions we had, and showed us some local sites we could walk to and explore on our own. I chose to go for a quick nap as by this time we had been traveling for 36 hours.
orlando resort hotels On the first arrival day they have a get-together with all your traveling companions where you meet each other and have a few drinks. That night it was off to see Rome by night; orlando resort hotels we tossed orlando resort hotels a coin in the Trevi Fountain, admired the Pantheon, saw Vatican City at dusk, and went to St. Peter in Chains Cathedral where we saw Michelangelo s Moses.
A couple days later we visited St Marks Square and happened to be there when the Pope gave his weekly blessing. I must say I am not a catholic but I was that day. We went into St Peters Basilica (an amazing cathedral) saw Michelangelo s most famous Pieta (now behind glass because of vandalism), and touched the feet of Bernini s St Peter.
After Vatican City we crossed the Tiber River into ancient Rome and visited the mighty Colosseum. The thing about the Colosseum is you know it's big but when you are standing there and looking at it you realize it is massive. When we entered the Colosseum this feeling came over me where all I could think about was all the violence and blood that was shed in this building. There is a big cross at the entrance way in remembrance of those who died on its ground.
Day four took us to Rome, Sorrento and Pompeii. In the morning we went to the Vatican Museums and saw the Sistine Chapel. On our way to the Bay of Naples we visited the Abbey of Monte Cassino and as we drove the sky started to get hazy; the hazy was coming from Mt. Vesuvius which was an eerie thing to see. We went to Pompeii orlando resort hotels to see the town that was frozen in time back in AD 79. This was a very neat place to visit, the ruins are amazing, and to see people still excavating the ruins was really cool. That afternoon we traveled along the Amalfi Coast and went to Positano; a cute town built on the side of a mountain. That evening we arrived in Sorrento and had dinner at a local lemon farm.
The next day found us on the Isle of Capri which is famous for its 100% stress-free lifestyle. We traveled to the top of Capri to another town called Anacapri which had beautiful gardens and views. The following morning we went to an inlaid orlando resort hotels wood factory before starting our way north to Assisi. On our way to Assisi we drove through the province orlando resort hotels of Umbria with its fields of sunflowers. Arriving in Assisi we visited the Basilica of St Francis and spent one night in Assisi overlooking the Umbria landscape.
On day seven we left Assisi and headed to Venice for a two night stay. On our way to Venice we drove through the Apennine Mountains to the town of Ravenna which is known for its ancient mosaics. Upon arriving in Venice we rode gondolas down the Grand Canal to have our first look at St. Marks Square. The next day we explored Venice where we went to the Murano glass blowing factory and took a trip to the island of Burano, known for its lace. After Venice we headed to Verona where we saw Juliet s Balcony and further orlando resort hotels explored the town. We arrived in Milan (the fashion mecca of Italy) and explored the Gothic Duomo of Milan and saw Leonardo Da Vinci s Last Supper. This was an amazing thing.
After Milan we headed towards the lake districts spending two nights at Lake Maggiore before heading to Lake Como and Lake Lugano Switzerland. After the Lakes area we started heading south again and our journeys took us to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and, of course, into Florence. In Florence we went to the Academia, saw Michelangelo s David, visited Santa Croce Basilica, orlando resort hotels and even got some shopping in. After Florence we visited the medieval town of San Giminago before heading to Sienna for lunch.
Looking for more information on Italy or Trafalgar Tours? Contact Miriam Cloutier , an International Travel Consultant with Flight Centre based in Victoria, British Columbia who can be reached at 1 866 552 4050.