Florence's Renaissance tour

Checked into our room and headed out to see some sights
The Statue of David

We got to see Michelangelo's David. Wow! At dinner we all celebrated Kim's birthday and Al and Sissy's anniversary (both on the 13th, but we weren't going to eat together then.)
Florence - day 2

We had a free morning and early afternoon. We enjoyed rising slowly, eating a leisurely breakfast, then wandering the streets of the Mercato Centrale. They sell mostly leather and scarfs. I found aBaca lagi
Florence, Uffizi

We met up with our guides at 3 and went to the Uffizi. The tour was was way too long for my tastes, bit there were some amazing works.
Later we had dinner on our own at the Mercato again. This timeBaca lagi
Roma - We have arrived!

One if our many beautiful hotels
Christian Rome, part 1

The Sistine chapel was smaller than John had imagined. I had no expectations. I enjoyed the contrast between Michaelangelo's work on the cieling which took 4 years, and his work on the walls a fewBaca lagi
Christian Rome, part 2 - The Vatican

Christian Rome, part 3, The Vatican

The end of day 1 in Rome

Dinner was great. We walked by the Pantheon and I stopped to watch a fabulous musician playing Hallelujah. The Trevi Fountain was absolutely gorgeous.
We finished the evening with a group gelato andBaca lagi
Ancient Rome (day 2) The Coloseum

Such an impressive sight. It was interesting to try and imagine all the marble and colorful decorations on this massive structure that's nearly 2,000 years old.
Rome, day 2 continued

We saw the Pantheon, which, since it was a church, was better preserved than most of the other ancient buildings. Most of the other buildings we're basically ransacked for materials to build otherBaca lagi
Anniversary day, heading to Cinque Terre

Met up with the bus after breakfast. We stopped in the hillside town Arezzo. The bus driver, Derrek suggested it. First time there for both Andy and Colleen. I was grumpy because we found ourselvesBaca lagi
Cinque Terre anniversary dinner

Great evening. Arrived early evening, took the train headed to our super cute hotel. Had a great group dinner where they sang Happy anniversary to us and gave us pieces of chocolate mousse cake. TheBaca lagi
Cinque Terre, Vacation from our Vacation

Today I stayed in till early afternoon. Did some laundry, refilled pills and rested. John explored Monterosso, where we are staying, finding the cemetery and church he was looking for. In theBaca lagi
Leaving Cinque Terre

Some last minute doors of the pretty hotel bathroom. All the bathrooms in Italy had a bidet in them. In about 36 hours my clothes still we're not sure dry, so finally took than down in the morningBaca lagi
On our way to the Swiss Alps

A long and beautiful ride into the Alps.
Swiss Francs

Some Swiss money. Very pretty
Stechelburg

This morning we had several options, most of which included going way up into the hills via a gondola moving on cables... No, thank you!! Neither of us were inclined to torture ourselves. We made ourBaca lagi
Along the trail

Loved our walk. Probably about 2.5 hours. Sunny and pleasant with a slight breeze. I didn't take that many pics of the scenery because it's too beautiful to really capture in a photo. We saw someBaca lagi
Nice evening in Stechelberg

Had some fun in the evening with an Alpenhorn demonstration. We all got to try it, and I did better than I thought I would.
We had dinner all together after. The dining room had lots of flies. OneBaca lagi
Beaune, France!

We've entered the 7th and final country of our whirlwind tour! We only spent part of a day and one night in Beaune, in the Burgundy region of France.
The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune isBaca lagi
Last day on the bus, headed to Paris!

Last bus ride of the trip. Our bus driver was quite skilled and made us feel very comfortable. There was plenty of room to spread out. I got some down time here and there, although our tour guides,Baca lagi
Touring Paris

Our last full day of the Rick Steve's tour started with a fabulous private bus tour around the city. Then we were introduced to The Louvre where we wandered for a while. We stopped and had lunch thereBaca lagi
Eiffel Tower and museums

Highlight of the day was going up in the Eiffel Tower. The sky's were clear and I could see for miles from the top. An added bonus was that my MdDS stopped as soon as I stepped onto the firstBaca lagi
Relaxing last day wandering in Paris

We got the opportunity to visit the American Church. It's the expats church in the area. Beautiful building and nice people. We spent the rat of the day casually wandering through some of the ParisBaca lagi