Recap of Rome/Florence/Modena and Venice – July 9-15, 2009

What a fantastic journey to Italy. Thanks to Larry and Sean for joinig us and guiding us on this leg of our journey. Rome was extraordinary with our tours of the Vatican , the Sistine Chapel, the catacombs,  St. Peter’s Basilica, the coliseum and the forum. We had really beautiful accomodations in Florence and enjoyed the beauty of the city and the tour of the museum to see the David.  Ice cream on the rooftop of our hotel is how we celebrated Meg’s 24th birthday. We had a beautiful tour of Modena and Larry’s family hosted us so nicely for lunch in their home and then the tour of the farm where they made balsamic vinegar.  Onto Ferrara for a day to visit with friends from the Italian rugby team who were billeted in the hood in Indy several years ago.  Then the closer – our trip to Venice to see the city that lives on canals.  A very artistic city  with orchestras playing throughout the day in the main square . While crowded with tourists, it was beautiful to tour.  Thanks to Matteo , another rugby team player, for coming into the city and giving us a couple of hours in leading our touring. Imagine taking a motorboat taxi to the airport for our flight home – in how many cities would you do that ? Enjoy the pics !!