Christine

Thanks so much for asking, I have been dying to share our joy. Italy was lovely and the weather sort of cooperated with a Rainy cold day in Rome (1 out of 4)and an overcast cold night in Venice (1 out of 3). Yes, we saw all the must see sights in Rome: Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, Castle St Angelo, Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's basilica, lots of other lesser known churches lesser specific statutes and pictures my artist wife just had to see; the Forum, Palatine Hill, Coliseum. The best part was validation of a last minute decision to cancel the hotel reservations I had made way back in June at the Kennedy Hotel which is near Rome's train station (Termini) and take a chance on a travel forum's (Trip Advisor) poster's recommendation of a 16th century reconverted building that had a bed and breakfast. It was on a cobblestone street in a picturesque labyrinth of narrow twisting streets of the historic city centre, embroidered with antique shops while the artistic centre and the most famous and fashionable shopping streets plus the social hub of Rome, Piazza Navona just round the corner. This is the Rome of your dreams. Both Medieval & Modern. We LOVED just opening the windows and shutters overlooking the street, leaning out the windowsill and watch the strolling people below at night. During the morning, little children were being led to a nearby school or day care amidst a stream of tourists with maps. The biggest surprise was a private bathroom that was bigger than our hotel room in Venice !!! Seriously, there was a huge Roman soaking tub that was SIX foot THREE inches long and THREE foot NINE inches wide with a platter sized showerhead.
Venice was equally magical albeit the hotel room was a tiny jewel. Our room overlooked the delightful courtyard pictured on their web site and it was so quiet at night. The room smelled great and the furnishings were elegantly done. The shower stall was small and while fine for us, we wondered how some guests we saw did not get stuck in it.
This time we sprinted through the sights: St. Mark's square, the Basilica, Doge's Palace, Rialto Bridge, Grand Canal, and glass blowing factories on Murano Island in favor of sitting in gorgeous canalside restaurants or in a delightful 17th century plaza people watching with a cold beer. We did not do any gelato as neither of us is or were big on Sugar plus I have not been able to taste ice cream anyway.
The only hassle the entire trip was when Austrian Airlines confiscated my water bottle for dry mouth at one of their own internal security checks before their departure gate waiting room but it had no water for sale or available for the next two hours. Thank god I had taken a hint from the posters here and poured some Biotene mouthwash into a little spray bottle that met the 3.5 oz limit in the ziplock bag. Ah , the joys of the new normal.