A few thoughts

We loved Rome. The very cold and rainy weather turned out to be a blessing. Waiting in long lines (which is talked about at great length in every guide book) was non-existant.

Again, we loved Rome, until we got to Florence! We fell in love with int the moment we saw the patches of snow - apparently from a couple days ago. Florence is colder and wetter than Rome and the people so far are fabulous.

We took a self guided walking tour of the artisan area, where leather goods, jewelry, yarn, art are made right in the shops. We spent a few hours talking to some of the artists.

More about this later as we have to get down for our breakfast before it goes away.