Travel Review: Luxury Italy Family Vacation, Rome, Florence, St Peter's Cathedral, Cooking Class, History & Art

Our tour guide in Florence was exceptional. Not only was she an expert in Florentine history and related art, she was also brilliant, entertaining and had insights that were nothing like I had read in the history books. We spent 5 hours with her and it just flew by.

We also enjoyed our visit to St. Peter's Cathedral. We climbed to the top of the dome which provided a wonderful view of Rome. Seeing the Pieta that Michelangelo did as such a young man was also remarkable.

Our family took a cooking class together in Florence. We made pasta from scratch along with Chicken Catchetori and then were served our own diner by the chef's very likable husband. 

We enjoyed taking the train from Rome to Florence. It's a modern train that averaged about 250 kilometers an hour and rode as smooth as glass.

I was raised Roman Catholic and studied Latin and Greek so the knowledge of our guide in Rome on ancient history was especially enjoyable to me.

At the end of the trip my daughter simply said: "It was a trip of a lifetime."