Travel Review: Italy Tour, Positano, Capri, Venice, Florence, Wine Tour, Vespa Tour, Cooking Class, Boat Ride, Hiking, 11-Day Trip

We've discussed this several times, and it's an almost impossible question.  It was all wonderful and interesting, and we wouldn't have taken anything out of our itinerary.  Venice is so different from the rest of the world simply because of the canals.  We loved the walking tour there, but we also enjoyed the Grand Canal tour and just wandering for hours on our own.  It is so picturesque with flowers in almost every window box and cobblestone passages.  In Florence, we had a lovely hotel with a view of the river, and an incredible rooftop venue where we could see all of Florence.  The Florence Cooking School market tour and cooking lesson was surprisingly enjoyable...we couldn't believe that we were able to make homemade pasta with zucchini pesto, guinea fowl stuffed with vegetables, eggplant parmesan, and tiramisu ourselves!  Our chef was a wonderful teacher!  The day-long excursion to the winery in the Chianti region, the hike of the countryside, and the fabulous meal and wine-tasting was a highlight.  The vespa tour in Rome was a favorite, as we were able to see virtually all of the main attractions and many other sights, especially from the hills just above the city.  It was so much fun, and something we would never have thought to do on our own!  Pompeii was fascinating and such an incredible piece of history.  Positano was a perfect end to our Italy trip!  Beauty everywhere we looked!  The day trip to Capri was also fun, although I think we all enjoyed the boat ride there and back, swimming, grottos, and the views more than our actual time on Capri.  We also loved the food!  I think we expected more pasta and pizza, but what we had more often was more of a mediterranean flavor...lots of fresh fish and seafood and vegetables.  Delicious!  The Italians do meals right...take your time, savor the food, wine, and the company, and don't be in a hurry!  We had several 3-hour or more meals, and we plan to take that lesson home with us!  So enjoyable!