Arrive To: Rome airport next morning, transfer to hotel.

Morning: Leave luggage at hotel while waiting for check-in at 2 p.m. Some activity while waiting for lunch.

Lunch: Lunch at a local eatery. Try your first gelato.

Afternoon: Settle in room, meet at appointed time for Orientation and Welcome Reception. Brief neighborhood walk points out banks, pharmacies and stores.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Lodging: Hotel Tiziano

Meals Included: Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in hotel dining room.

Morning: Expert led visit to the Forum, Rome's ancient downtown--walk along the Via Sacra where triumphal processions passed. In the Colosseum imagine watching gladiatorial games.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Late afternoon Piazza Walk explores the lively Piazza Navona and the famed Trevi Fountain.

Dinner: Dinner on your own.

Lodging: Hotel Tiziano

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Note: Uneven terrain and steps in archaeological sites.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in the hotel dining room.

Morning: Join archaeologists who lead an exclusive excursion to underground ancient Roman buildings. Sites selected to suit walking ability of participants.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Meet in lecture room for an illustrated lecture on the major works of art in the Vatican Museums. The light talk prepares you for the expert-led visit of the Sistine Chapel and Basilica of St. Peter's. Free time until dinner.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: Walk around the area where Julius Caesar was assassinated. See who can spot the most cats.

Lodging: Hotel Tiziano

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Vatican Museums \ Sistine Chapel \ S. Peter's Basilica \ Mosaic Laboratory.

Note: Expect crowds at the Vatican Museums. Walk a few flights of stairs to visit the various galleries and art filled rooms. Steps along the path to the Sistine Chapel.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in hotel dining hall.

Morning: Transfer to the Vatican Museums for reserved entrance time, meet expert who will lead you through this singular museum. After exiting, enter S. Peter's Basilica to see Michelangelo's Pieta' and works by Bernini. With the free time that follows, some may desire to climb the 450 steps of Michelangelo's Dome (with permission from parent.)

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Participate in creating your own mosaic with instructors at a local art school. Return to the hotel.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Lodging: Hotel Tiziano

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Leisurely walk from train station in Florence to hotel

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in the hotel dining room.

Morning: Check out of your room and leave your luggage in the deposit area. Pick it up when you go to the train station.Expert-led visit of the nearby Capitoline Museum where you can examine up close masterpieces of ancient art, including the famous bronze She Wolf, Marcus Aurelius and remains of the Constantine's colossal statue. Continue on to the Circus Maximus and the "Mouth of Truth." Returning to the hotel through the old Jewish Ghetto.

Lunch: Lunch on your own. Group leader will offer suggestions. Meet at the appointed time to transfer to the train station.

Afternoon: Experience travel on a high speed train at speeds reaching 120 mph. Arrive in Florence 95 minutes later. Check into the hotel, meet for lecture on Renaissance Florence to help contextualize your stay.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: Excursion of the historical section of Florence to orient everyone on the layout of the city, locate landmarks, find ATM's and pharmacies.

Lodging: Kraft Hotel Firenze

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in the hotel dining hall.

Morning: Learn from an art teacher the steps required to paint using the fresco technique; from creating the lines with a sack of coal dust, to spreading the fresh plaster and mixing the pigments. After the 6" x 9" tile dries, you may choose to keep it, otherwise it is recycled. Expert led visit of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence's city hall, to see original pieces of art, including Donatello's Judith and Holofernes and sculptures by Michelangelo. See Machiavelli's study when he was Secretary of State for the Republic.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Expert-led visit to the Archaeological museum to see the Chimera from Arezzo. Late afternoon preparatory lecture for Uffizi Gallery visit.

Dinner: Dinner on your own.

Evening: Walk of discovery after dinner, perhaps cross Ponte Vecchio to explore the "Oltrarno" district.

Lodging: Kraft Hotel Firenze

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in hotel dining hall.

Morning: Expert-led visit to see Michelangelo's David at the Accademia delle Belle Arti.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Reserved entrance to the Uffizi Gallery for self-directed visit, stay as long as you want. Free time until dinner. At the end of the second corridor is a refreshment bar for snacks. The balcony has a wonderful view of Brunelleschi's Dome and the watch tower of Palazzo Vecchio.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: Enjoy walking in the squares closed to vehicular traffic. Be entertained by street performers as you savor a refreshing gelato.

Lodging: Kraft Hotel Firenze

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Leisure walk to S. Maria Novella, to admire the frescoes. The exclusive visit to the upper gallery of the Baptistery is reached by a narrow staircase, about 20 steep steps. One may remain below but miss the up-close view of the mosaics.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in the hotel dining hall.

Morning: Walk through Florence's central food and soft goods market toward S. Maria Novella. With your new found knowledge of fresco painting, an expert expounds on the frescoes by Masaccio and Ghirlandaio found in the church. Informative video presentation of Florence's Baptistery followed by special access to the upper level to get a close-up view of the mosaics.

Lunch: Select your eatery. Group leader will have suggestions for places to eat around the Baptistery.

Afternoon: Free time for walk of discovery. Group leader can offer suggested activities.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: Gelato tasting walk.

Lodging: Kraft Hotel Firenze

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in hotel dining hall.

Morning: Check out of the hotel. Your bags will be sent by van and delivered to the hotel in Venice. Board a high speed train to Venice; the trip is 2 hours.

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel restaurant and check-in to the rooms.

Afternoon: Lecture on Venetian history and neighborhood walk.

Dinner: At a local restaurant to savor Venetian cuisine.

Evening: At leisure to explore the area near the hotel.

Lodging: Hotel Principe

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Vaporetto vessels are often crowded. Doge's Palace requires ascending two flights of stairs.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in hotel dining hall.

Morning: Receive Vaporetto pass and ride the boat to the island of Murano. Learn about glass making and create your own glass tile decoration under the supervision of an instructor at a glass working school. The tile you create will be fused in the kiln and delivered to your hotel.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Expert led visit S. Mark's Basilica and marvel at the mosaics decorating the walls and ceilings, over 60,000 square feet. Expert continues visit of the Doge's Palace, Venice's government headquarters, decorated by Titian, Canaletto and Giorgione, just to mention a few.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Lodging: Hotel Principe

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Row, row, row your boat hard if you want to win; otherwise sit at the stern and enjoy the ride.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in the hotel dining hall.

Morning: Team up with the Venetian Crew Club for a dragon boat race along the canal.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant or hotel.

Afternoon: Having been surrounded by ancient and Renaissance masterpieces and structures, enjoy the modern art collection at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Relax in the courtyard of the palazzo on the Grand Canal while the docent introduces the life and times of the wealthy American collector. The group splits in two as a docent leads the students on a discovery of form and expression in modern art.

Dinner: Opportunity to try other restaurants you may have heard about.

Evening: At leisure for a walk of discovery.

Lodging: Hotel Principe

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Note: Leisurely walk around the market area, and to an artisan's workshop. Up and over numerous bridges in the market area.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in hotel dining hall.

Morning: Learn the Venetian manner of shopping at the market around the Rialto Bridge. Excursion to an artisan's workshop to learn about the carving techniques of making gondola oars and oar locks.

Lunch: Choose your lunch from the many offerings around the market area of the Rialto. Group leader will have suggestions.

Afternoon: Free Afternoon. Use your vaporetto pass to explore another part of Venice or an island in the lagoon.

Dinner: Farewell dinner at the hotel restaurant. Your glass mementos will be available for you to gingerly pack them.

Evening: Ride the Vaporetto to take some artistic evening photographs.

Lodging: Hotel Principe

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Depart From: Transfer from the hotel to the Venice Marco Polo airport for departure.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet in hotel dining hall. Sack breakfast for those with early departure times.

Meals Included: Breakfast