After three weeks on the saffron farm it was a mad dash through a whole bunch of Italian cities. Rome, Bologna, Verona and back to Venice . Every city in Italy is different. Every city in Italy is memorable. Venice is magical, Verona is quaint. Bologna is full of gusto and flavors. Rome has been described as "beautiful chaos".

Beautiful chaos, I more than agree . It's a sprawling city with more than 2.6 million people, the fourth most populous city in the EU. I asked one of our tour guides how many people and how many "vespas" scooters were in Rome. He said, "about 2.5 million people and 1.5 million scooters". He referred to them as misquotes buzzing around. The London Telegraph has tagged Rome as " most dangerous city in Europe for traffic accidents." The accident rate in Italy has been described as a "national emergency".

Bill Bryson, the noted travel journalist has written that Rome drivers "park their cars the way I would if I had just spilled a beaker of hydrochloric acid in my lap." Cars and mopeds are parked everywhere. When you sit down for a nice drink in one of the many piazzas, the mopeds buzz by within inches of your table. Every time you cross the street you risk life or limb. So much for the chaos.

When you are not trying to cross the street safely or find your way to your next destination, the sights in Rome are spectacular . The Colosseum, built in 70 AD, is truly one of wonders of the world. While visiting, I expect to round a corner and find Charlie Heston or Russell Crowe about to do battle with a evil emperor or two. Even in residential areas, there is a hole in the ground with "Roman Ruins" many feet below street level. We visited a slew of Catholic churches where you could go down in the basement and find the ruins of a Roman temple. The Romans didn't tear down, clear away and build a new building. They just built the new buildings on top of the old ones. In some places the old street level is 35 or 40 feet below the current busy streets. Beautiful chaos, above and below the streets.

After three days in Rome I was more than OK with renting a car and driving 5 hours to Bologna. Beautiful country, modern autostrade (toll road) , lots of curves and very fast. The Italian drivers are a bit on the aggressive side at 85 or 90 miles per hour (130 to 140 kmh). Our tiny Citroen C1 with manual transmission did it best to keep the pace . Alice and I managed to keep our cool. One surprise, I'm convinced that the Italians are trying to pay off their national debt on the back of those of us who use the toll roads. Expensive.

After arrival in Bologna I needed a break from the hectic city-to-city rush. I took the next day off while Alice did the sightseeing on her own. After three months together, every day, the break did both of us some good. On our way out of town two day later we stopped at a "traditional" balsamic vinegar location. Private tour of the family run operation where they take either 12 or 26 years to produce some very fine vinegar.

We then moved on to Verona, famous for it connection with William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette. Great Roman Arena in Verona. We also visited the Juliette Balcony and took a side trip to Lake Garda.

Then we headed to wonderful Venice. Three days in Venice before the cruise. What a magical city. Great seafood, gritty weather, beautiful apartment. I could live in Venice, if I could afford it. On the days it rains or there is a strong wind, they put out the raised walking platforms. I thinks I read that Venice is less than 2 meters above sea level, and sinking every year.