Rome - Venice - Florence

Venetia! 

They say that the best thing to do is to get lost in Venice. I will always agree with that saying. You find beautiful little boutiques that sell Venetian masks (clearly a given) but they are unique. I don’t suggest that you buy the cheaper ones in the Piazza mainly because they don’t look as beautiful. The price of these are not cheap – averaging around 40 Euros per mask, but they are great quality and have an immense amount of colour. The red and green one below was about 40 euros where as the gold and black one was about 90-100 Euros. 

 

It all depends on the budget – they also have a cheaper range but are not as extravagant. The architecture of Venice is just breathtaking (sort of like the Austrian Alps) and is best seen during a "romantic" gondola ride – if that rocks your boat. Depending on the ‘rower’ it can be romantic as they do sing – but in my experience, he just tried to get us girls to sing for him, whilst chatting on the mobile and ordering a vitamin water from a shop nearby. Regardless, not only is the jewellery shopping intense (and expensive!) but so is the view. The Novotel is actually located in Venice right on the water and is probably the best price you will find for a decent hotel seeing as all the hotels in Venice like to charge a large amount. Other than that, you can stay in Rome and get a boat in the morning to reach Venice and then again in the evening to return to your hotel. (Just in case you aren't the "getting lost" type - Streetwise Venice Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Venice, Italy)

Florence 

Well make sure you have a lot of time on your hands if you actually want to see Florence. The abundance of museums and art galleries make it hard to just choose one of each, so plan to spend 2 full days in Florence otherwise the closest you will get to the David is a post card...Like me! Ben and Jerry’s is always a nice, refreshing feed when spending hours in the sun waiting for entry to the galleries as is a beautiful crepe with Nutela and cookies! Warning – If you like Nutela you will get addicted to this in Europe!

Roma.. 

A culturally diverse environment where the rich and poor live together in order to create a fabulous (but not so helpful) city. If you are a food buff my advice is to go to the restaurants about a 5-10 minute walk away from the main tourist sites because it is cheaper and better quality. I feel as though I am pretty experienced in writing about Rome as I have been there a few times and is one of my top 3 cities! Although the people are not friendly at all, the history of the city is beautiful and is seen everywhere. The fashion labels in Via Condotti– well need I say more. Prada. Louis Vuitton. Chanel. It’s just a dream. I stayed at the hotel Regno on Via Del Corso – great location and great hotel as well. It’s not really a budget hotel – just an average one but pretty good location. I suggest you splurge some money on this one! Obviously the main sites are the Colosseum and Forum- including the Palentine Hill, Circus Maximus, The Vatican, The Spanish steps (don't expect anything beautiful - they are JUST steps!), Capuchin Monks, San Giovani Basilica, Mouth of Truth and the Aventine Hill which has the best view of St Peter's Dome.