Day 1 (Sat.) Board your overnight transatlantic flight.
Day 2 Arrival in Rome, Italy. (Sun.) Meet your tour director and
traveling companions at a welcome meeting with drinks and snacks
at 6 p.m.
Day 3 Rome-Sesto Fiorentino. (Mon.) Sightseeing with your local
guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL,
world famous for Michelangelo's ceiling paintings including The
Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER'S SQUARE and BASILICA.
Proceed along the Tiber for a stroll along the Via Sacra at the
ROMAN FORUM, where Roman Legions marched in triumph, and finally
visit the COLOSSEUM and hear about gladiatorial combats. An easy
drive in the afternoon will bring you to Sesto Fiorentino, close
to Florence, where you will stay in your comfortable villa for the
next five nights. (FB)
Day 4 Sesto Fiorentino. Chianti Excursion. (Tue.) A late morning
departure for hilltop San Gimignano, the most picturesque of Italy's
perfectly preserved medieval towns. Along the Chianti Road leading
to Siena, stop at splendid VERRAZZANO CASTLE to hear about the fine
art of blending four types of grapes to obtain the famous Chianti
Classico. Taste the wine as the local connoisseurs do, accompanied
by local specialties. The afternoon is dedicated to Siena, where
you will follow your tour director on a walk through ancient narrow
lanes to beautiful Piazza del Campo, theater of the biannual Palio,
Siena's spectacular medieval-style horse race. In the evening you
will enjoy a lively dinner organized by the Torre Contrada, exclusively
for the community-and you! (FB,D)
Day 5 Sesto Fiorentino. Florence Excursion. (Wed.) A full day to
savor the Renaissance splendor of the Tuscan capital. Guided sightseeing
includes Michelangelo's David in the GALLERY OF FINE ARTS, magnificent
SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE, Giotto's Bell Tower, the Baptistry's heave
bronze "Gate of Paradise," and sculpture-studded Signoria
Square. The afternoon is free for independent sightseeing, or browsing
through the many fine shops. Leather goods and gold jewelry sold
by the ounce are attractive buys. For the art lover an optional
excursion is available with a local expert to the Uffizi Gallery.
(FB,D)
Day 6 Sesto Fiorentino at Leisure. (Thu.) All day at leisure to
enjoy your villa's park or pool, or join an optional excursion with
your tour director to get even more out of your Tuscany vacation.
(FB)
Day 7 Sesto Fiorentino. Pisa Excursion. (Fri.) This morning is dedicated
to Galileo Galilei's Pisa, once a maritime power to rival Genoa
and Venice. You will have ample time on the famous Campo dei Miracoli
to take pictures of the 180-foot-high amazing Leaning Tower, the
cathedral and its baptistry. After lunch, return to your villa resort.
Tonight a special dinner has been prepared. (FB,D)
Day 8 Sesto Fiorentino-Rome. (Sat.) A smooth drive will take you
back to Rome. Why not join an optional Rome by night dinner excursion,
sit on the Spanish Steps and throw your coin in the famous Trevi
Fountain? (FB)
Day 9 (Sun.) Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (FB)
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