When we were in Venice, there was a transit strike, and we ended up staying an extra day. We say a lovely church with the most amazing marble I've ever seen. The church was very plain on the outside and inside it was draped, literally, with marble. I'll try to look up what it was called. Otherwise, people seem to be getting the highlights in.
Be prepared for the ever present transit strike. They are usually in the summer, but are frequent. They can strand you places, which can be critical if you need to get to a certain airport in a certain city.
The Uffizi, in Florence, is a must, especially if you like Boticelli. It is a nice sized museum, and easier because of it. I agree about the food. In Florence both the steak and the bread soup are wonderful. Don't order the meat unless you like it bloody rare.
Make sure you pay attention to how various saints got to certain churches. I believe it was St. Mark who was brought in a pickle barrel.
As for dressing....all Italian women wear high heel, and even grannies walk everywhere. Therefore even the grannies have great legs. Clothes in general are more formal than in the US. Comfortable, washable, decent looking clothes should be your choice. If you make it to Milan, window shopping is great. It is the fashion capital of Italy and has some wonderful shop windows.
Be prepared for the ever present transit strike. They are usually in the summer, but are frequent. They can strand you places, which can be critical if you need to get to a certain airport in a certain city.
The Uffizi, in Florence, is a must, especially if you like Boticelli. It is a nice sized museum, and easier because of it. I agree about the food. In Florence both the steak and the bread soup are wonderful. Don't order the meat unless you like it bloody rare.
Make sure you pay attention to how various saints got to certain churches. I believe it was St. Mark who was brought in a pickle barrel.
As for dressing....all Italian women wear high heel, and even grannies walk everywhere. Therefore even the grannies have great legs. Clothes in general are more formal than in the US. Comfortable, washable, decent looking clothes should be your choice. If you make it to Milan, window shopping is great. It is the fashion capital of Italy and has some wonderful shop windows.
Oh my goodness... we went to the Santisima..(sp)... it is a holy spot on top of this mountain... While walking down the many many steps to get to the shrine... I needed to find a bathroom... one person ,that spoke English, told me excitedly that they had just built a new toliet facility... I looked at this nice brandnew brick structure.. it had a sign that indicated female and male bathrooms... NICE!!! I went in as did others... opened the stall and there was no toliet!!.... I went back out and checked to see if I had made a mistake... NO.... there was a beautiful constructed marble hole in the tile.. with nice formed place to put your feet... I notice no toilet paper but a convienent brush on the wall... I asked what it was for... stupid me it was to brush any residue in the hole..!!! 
