Tour: LH - 2012 (LH) - 2012

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Itinerary

DAY 1Arrive in Rome, Italy

Time to rest or start exploring the “Eternal City.” At 5 pm, meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of Rome’s lively restaurants. (Dinner)

Enjoy the beautiful architecture in Rome

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DAY 2Rome

Sightseeing with your Local Guide this morning concentrates on religious Rome: visit the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement. Next, visit monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Then, time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. (Breakfast)

The Sistine Chapel is world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings

Vatican Museums

"In the early 1500s, Rome was full of neglected ruins from the days of the ancient Empire, which still contained artworks buried amongst the rubble. The Renaissance had seen a sudden growth of interest in all things classical, and the popes – cultivated men who were in touch with the intellectual currents of the day – were the richest art collectors in Italy. They began offering substantial cash rewards for any sculptures, until Rome was scoured by freelance treasure hunters on the hunt for pagan masterpieces. The most dramatic discovery occurred in 1506, when a Roman father-and-son team of excavators reported a promising find near the ruined Baths of Titus. The artist Michelangelo himself excitedly hurried over to help with the work, followed by the pope’s official agent, Guiliano da Sangallo. When the excavators brushed away the dirt of 1,000 years, they found an enormous marble sculpture, perfectly intact, of a muscular Trojan hero being attacked by giant snakes. Guilano cried out in amazement, “This is the very Laocoön described by (the ancient Roman author) Pliny!” The sculpture was carted off to the Vatican Museum."

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DAY 3Rome–Florence

Start with a guided visit to the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. In the early afternoon, drive along the Highway of the Sun north into Tuscany and its hill-clad vineyards, which house the famous Chianti wine, to Florence, “Cradle of the Renaissance”. You may wish to join an optional dinner outing to a fine Tuscan restaurant and try out the Chianti wines. (Breakfast)

Visit stunning Florence and the Ponte Vecchio

See the vineyard covered hillsides of Tuscany

The Roman Forum

"Visitors can be a little confused by the Roman Forum; at first glance, it is a rather lifeless array of marble fragments. But we must remember that in ancient times, this space was far more than the temples and monuments whose ruins we can explore today. It was filled with bustling, noisy life as the popular crossroads of the city – the predecessor, in fact, of the modern Italian piazza. Every morning at dawn, average Romans would escape their cramped, dark apartment blocks (called insulae, or “islands”) and spent their days outdoors. "

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DAY 4Florence

During your walking tour with a Local Guide, visit the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo’s celebrated David, admire the magnificent cathedral, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE, and visit SANTA CROCE BASILICA with the tomb of Michelangelo. The afternoon is free. Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry sold by the ounce are attractive buys. (Breakfast)

Admire the detailed craftsmanship of Michelangelos David

La Piazza Della Signoria

"What’s the best vantage point to ponder the most illustrious town square in Florence, the Signoria? An outdoor table in the venerable Caffè Rivoire – preferably over a delicious, if not painfully expensive cioccolata con pane, a dark and mud-thick hot chocolate. Late at night, when the crowds have gone, you can search the long shadows and imagine that very little has changed here since the 1400s. The Signoria is the most elegant sculpture garden in Europe. Masterpieces include the splendid Neptune Fountain by Ammannati, Hercules and Cacus by Bandinelli and a precise copy of Michelangelo’s David, all strategically poised in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. This grand public space has been the centerpiece of Florence since the 15th Century, the golden age when the city was established as the most beautiful in Europe. Eminent merchants in their ostentatious finery met here to discuss business in the midst of Florence’s raucous daily life."

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DAY 5Florence–Venice

Through the wooded Apennine Hills and the lush plains of the River Po, the largest river in Italy, to Venice, a powerful magnet for romantics and art lovers from around the globe. Enter in style by PRIVATE BOAT to meet your Local Guide. Highlights of your walking tour are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and the byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Also watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. (Breakfast)

Venice is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world

Bridge of Sighs

"The world’s most poetically-named bridge, Il Ponte dei Sospiri, the Bridge of Sighs, was built in 1614 so that prisoners of the Venetian state could be transferred in secret from the Doge’s Palace to the so-called Nuovi Prigioni, or New Prisons. The wistful name was actually conceived by the English poet Lord Byron in the early 1800s that imagined the horror of prisoners taking their last glimpse of Venice before going underground to captivity. "

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DAY 6At Leisure in Venice

A whole day to explore Venice on your own. Wander through the narrow streets, discover Rialto Bridge, and top it all off with a farewell drink at famous CAFFÉ FLORIAN. Later, why not join an optional cruise to the charming island of Burano followed by a delicious meal of local specialties to celebrate the success of your Italian vacation? (Breakfast)

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DAY 7Venice

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (Breakfast)

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