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Jun 11-12: Fly LAX to Rome (via Chicago & Warsaw)
Arrive late afternoon, take 25 min train ride into heart of Rome. Accommodation: Hotel TrastevereJun 13: Explore Rome
Walk for miles, exploring Vatican City, the Forum, and climbing the Spanish Steps. Walk around the Coliseum in moonlight. Eat fabulous bruschetta and real thin-crust pizza!Jun 14: Drive to Tuscan Villa
Meet Susie & David (Ian's sister and her husband) near Siena at a villa rebuilt from a 13th century hamlet in an olive grove. Accommodation: Tenuta della SelvaJun 15-18: Enjoy Tuscany
Visit Siena for shopping and the best-ever people-watching in the fabulous Piazza del Campo. Hang out by the villa pool, graze on olives, pick fresh lavendar to scent our sheets. Take a day-trip to the nearby Montepulciano, a medieval town surrounded by vineyards.Jun 19: Journey to Urbino
Stop for a coffee in the scenic medieval town of San Gimignano. Have lunch and a brief walk in crowded Florence. Arrive in the walled city of Urbino, a flower of the Renaissance.Accommodation: Albergo Italia hotelJun 20: Explore Urbino
Walk the city walls and lunch in the Piazza della Repubblica. Partake in the Italian tradition of passeggiata and indulge in a second serving of gelato.Jun 21: Drive to Venice via San Marino
Stop for lunch in the tiny country of San Marino, which is landlocked inside Italy on the slopes of Mount Titano, and disappointingly overrun by souvenir stands. Drive to and park outside of Venice, take a ferry up the Grand Canal and check into our hotel. Accommodation: Locando FioritaJun 22: Enjoy Venice
Walk the narrow streets, marvelling at the shop window displays -- the blown glass, the shoes! Visit St. Mark's Square.Jun 23-24: Drive to Dijon via Geneva
Pick up Sarah & Andrew (Marcelle's sister and her boyfriend).Jun 25: Board Canal Boat
Drive to Vermenton and buy provisions. Start our cruise.Wild mooring: near VincellesJun 26-Jul 1: Cruise the Nivernais Canal
Boat through countryside, working manual locks, greeting lock keepers and their dogs. Visit wine caves. Bike into local villages for groceries (Cravant, Chatel-Censoir, Tannay) and recreation (Vincelles, Pregilbert, Ste-Pallaye, Dornecy, Breves, Villiers, Lys). No open stores weekends or midday, so stop at a trout farm to fish for Monday dinner. BBQ on boat and play cards most nights. Celebrate Sarah's 21st birthday at a restaurant in Pont-Levis.Wild moorings near: Ste-Pallaye, Chatel-Censoir, Surgy, Chevroches, Pont-LevisJul 2: Drive to Paris
Drop off the boat in Marigny-sur-Yonne, then drive 3 hrs to Paris. Return car. Dine at Bouillon Julien. Take train to Roissy by Charles de Gaulle airport. Accommodation: Courtyard Paris CDGJul 3: Fly home (Via Warsaw & Chicago)
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