After check out from the hotel in Trieste, we travel to Venice for a 2-day stayover. On arrival, transfer to your hotel by private water taxi. Check in for 2 nights. The remainder of the day is on your own. Welcome to Venice!

This morning we take you on a walking tour of Venice. Meet your Guide at the hotel. For lunch, we go to a Venetian restaurant with the Guide and then, after lunch, we go on a canal cruise through Venice. The rest of the day is on your own.

Cheek out today and take the water taxi back to the bus. We travel from Venice to Florence. After check in for 2 nights, the rest of the day is yours to explore. Head for the city center to the Piazza del Duomo to see the famous cathedral and its surroundings, stop for a "gelato" and stroll along the Via Roma to the famous Ponte Vecchio, passing the Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi gallery. Enjoy the ambiance! just   

This morning we meet our art history expert who will guide us through the highlights of Florence and one of the best art collections in the world. Along with a museum visit, we'll also enjoy a guided walking tour of the city center.

After breakfast we check out and board the bus for the trip to Fiuggi, situated in the hills southeast of Rome. Known as the Ciociaria region, it's a part of Lazio that offers an unforgettable insight into the very ancient roots of the region, with many early cultures predating the Roman Empire, each independent and living harmoniously with each other in the shadow of the Dukedom of Rome and eventually being taken over by the Papal State before Italy was a country. This evening, after settling into your hotel, we visit the ancient hilltop town of Fiuggi, much as it once was. 

This morning, we take a much closer look, way off the beaten tourist path, at the region as we visit one of the earliest established monasteries in all of Italy, a fortified hilltop town that still shows signs of Templar occupation, a fortress on a hilltop town used by the Vatican to both provide early warning of oncoming invaders and a prison for Popes. We'll see ancient historical sites that are difficult to comprehend today, as we drive around the beautiful hilly region that was once the "playground" of the Popes (several Popes came from Ciociaria. Fascinating stuff that will literally make your head spin. This evening we enjoy a dinner at the hotel where we get to sample the local cuisine and wines.

We check out late this morning and travel into Rome. You'll have some time to walk the streets of modern day Fiuggi situated at the foot of the old town. For this interested in visiting the Fiuggi spa that was frequented by Pope Boniface VIII to cure his kidney stones, there will be time for a short tour before we leave Ciociaria. After checking into our hotel in Rome, there will be a welcome drink and an orientation presentation to help you get your bearings, After that, you're on your own for the rest of the day. Rest up for tomorrow! 

This morning, we meet our Guide for the better part of the day. She will take us deep into the history of the Roman Forum, Colosseum and Vatican. You'll learn more in one day than most tourists ever get to know. What you see today will tie into the experience of yesterday as you now see the remains of what once was the Papal State. After a full day of sightseeing, you're on your own for the rest of the day. You may want to be let off at the Piazza Navona for al fresco dining tonight surrounded by Bernini statues.

For those of you flying home by way of Frankfurt or London tomorrow, you will be flying from Rome today to your transfer destination for one more overnight before flying home tomorrow. When you arrive in Frankfurt or London, you'll be assisted to your hotel for one more overnight.  

This morning, after breakfast, transfer to the airport after breakfast where we check in for our direct trans-Atlantic flight home.