A very short day in Rome because we were catching the train at noon. Near the Pantheon was a museum we thought would be interesting and so only had one stop on the itinerary. That stop was the Plazzo Doria Pamphilj dating from 1435 which provided one of the best art collections we saw on the trip. The Pamphilj family has owned the property since the 17th century. They collected art from the 15th to 18th century including a famous portrait of Pope Innocent X Pamphilj by Velazquez. There are also works by Caravaggio and others. The house (mansion) is a beautiful building with two large courtyards.

A small cafe next to the hotel provided sandwiches to go for the train ride to Florence. Be sure to book the train prior to getting to the terminal - best yet book in the US. We went to the American Express office located just around the corner from the hotel. Another tip - only in First Class are seats assigned. It was a very smooth ride lasting only an hour and a half.

We took the train to Florence which was an enjoyable experience - the train was fast and clean. Be sure to book in advance. In Florence we had the only trouble on the trip. We had booked the entire trip over the Internet and while the experience had been rewarding no actual voice commo had taken place. As we stepped up to the counter and announced that the Holman's were ready to check in - all we got were blank looks. They had canceled our reservation based on a phone call - the only thing we could figure out is that the clerk mistook another name for ours - they had one room for two nights (we needed three) and ended up allowing us to stay for three nights. We stayed at the Hotel Helvetia & Bristol which is located very close to the center of Florence and provided a good vantage point for our adventures

Hotel Helvetia & Bristol
Phone: 039 055 28 78 14
E-mail: reservations_hbf@charminghotels.it
Web: http://www.charminghotels.it/helvetia

Our dining experience included a great meal prepared by a female chef in Alle Murate - the menu was very gourmet and the food and service one of the best we had in Italy. The second night we ate at Bibo a little (or so it seems from the outside) cafe which served a Florentine T-bone which was excellent. The last night we went to a 'local' spot called the Cingtllale Bianco (White Boar) where boar meat is the specialty - Cal had pasta with boar sauce and boar filets - they were excellent. The Maître d', Massimo, helped in the menu translation and recommended the best Chianti of the trip.

This is a pretty good site for Florence: http://english.firenze.net/