The next morning, we caught a bus to a nearby town, Castagnole Monferrato, where we visited a winery by the name of Luca Ferraris (which was also the name of the owner). Here, we were taken on a tour of the winery and they explained the process they use to make their wine, before we were taken to a small loungeroom and partook in some wine tasting.
After the wine tasting, we walked around the corner to what appears to be a house, but is actually a restaurant called La Miraja. We had a 4 course meal here, washed down with some of the local wine. It was an excellent meal, we had some thinly sliced cured beef with basil and cheese, pasta with a sausage and tomato sauce, beef in a gravy-type sauce with eggplant, and for dessert we had pears poached in a red-wine syrup.
We caught the local bus back to Asti after lunch, which took us on a scenic drive past beautiful trees with their leaves changing colour for autumn, past vineyards and through some small villages. The road was quite windy in some places, and at one stage Bruno piped up with what I think may have been the quote of the trip " Is this where they sometimes ride in the Tour de France?...- No, because we're in Italy!"
The next morning we caught an early train to Milan, and then another to Lake Como. Originally on the tour, we were supposed to spend a few hours in Milan before catching the train to Como. However, we took a vote several days beforehand and decided that we would skip the stop-over in Milan in order to spend a few extra hours around Lake Como. So we arrived in Como early in the afternoon and then had to catch a bus to the town that we would be staying at which was located in the middle section of the lake, called Cadenabbia.
At our hotel in Cadenabbia, we were greeted by a charming little girl who was ten going on twenty! She greeted us in English, saying "Hello, it's cold outside, no?" Before going to get her Uncle who checked us in. It was another wet day, of course, so we stayed in the hotel and had lunch. I had a lovely pasta dish with a Vodka sauce. After lunch, we decided to brave the weather, so walked to a nearby town, Lenno, where we caught a ferry to a town called Tremezzo. Here, we were going to visit a villa which was supposed to be quite nice and was where a few movies have been filmed including Ocean's Twelve (or Thirteen), and Star Wars. When we got to the gate, however, we discovered that we could only catch a taxi-boat there. A few of us decided that we didn't really want to go that badly, so started walking back. Bruno, Tracey and Carole decided to go on to the Villa.
That afternoon, after catching a ferry back to Cadenabbia, Matt, Kate, Elise and I, decided to settle in for a few drinks and play some cards back at the hotel. Elise and I taught Kate and Matt the Australian version of a game called "A***hole" and Kate and Matt taught Elise and I the US version of a game by the same name. We decided to continue playing the US version for most of the afternoon, as it was a lot simpler and was a dedicated drinking game. Mandy joined in after a few rounds and we played up until dinner time and again ate at the restaurant at the hotel. Andrea, the hotel manager, gave us some free Grappa after our dinner. It was very strong, and most of us tried to hide the fact that we hadn't drunk it by tipping in into our water glasses (I believe David may have been the only one to drink a whole glass, and he ended up drinking Elsie's too!).
The next morning we awoke to find that it was a beautiful, sunny day. We were all very relieved and excited as it would be our only whole day on Lake Como, and we were going to spend it catching the ferry from one town to the next in the middle section of the lake. We all caught the ferry to Belaggio at ten o'clock, where Mandy took us on an orientation walk of the town and gave us some ideas of where we might like to go and what we might like to do for the rest of the day.
As it was such a lovely, clear morning, Elise, Matt, Kate and I decided to catch the ferry straight back to Cadenabbia and climb up to San Martino, a little church which sits high above the town and from where there were some great views over the lake. At the top, we had a short rest, and could hear in the distance the clanking of cow bells! 
We caught a ferry back to Belaggio in the early afternoon, and had an appertif at a local wine bar (which also gave us some free local meats and cheeses to try) then had lunch at a cafe there, before having a little wander around the narrow, steep streets and poking about the little boutiques. Belaggio is a very pretty town, and it has been claimed that it is the most beautiful town in Italy!
Elise and I caught a ferry over to Varenna and had some delicious home-made icecream, before taking a short walk around the town, and another ferry back to Cadenabbia, where we had dinner again at the Hotel that night. This time after dinner, Andrea gave us some Limoncello. This one actually went down a lot better than the one we had in Lucca. I think the trick is to drink it REALLY cold, and not at room temperature! The best way I can think of to describe limoncello is that it is like a little liquid lemon lolly. I have acquired a taste for it. 
The next day was a Sunday, and was a little overcast, which we didn't mind too much about as it was another travel day. Disappointed though we were that we hadn't run into George (Clooney)on the street, it was time to leave Lake Como and head to Venice!
We arrived in Venice on a Sunday afternoon (the 28th of October), and after we had an hour or so to unwind, Mandy took us on an orientation of Venice. We all (well, all of us except Tracey, who was going to meet up with Phil again) caught a vaporetto (a water bus) along the Grand Canal where Mandy pointed out famous sights such as the Rialto Bridge, the Penny Guggenheim Museum, etc along the way, and we got off at Saint Mark's Cathedral and Square. At that point, it started raining, so we walked back to the hotel, under the cover of the shops, down lots of narrow streets and over many small bridges over small canals. 
We got back to our hotel in time for our meeting with our second tour group leader, Stefan. I should explain at this point, that the tour which Elise and I had booked, the "Essence of Italy" tour, was actually two trips joined together "La Dolci Vita" and "Umbrian Escapade". Venice was the end point for the first part of the trip and the starting point of the second part of the trip.
Elsie, David and Bruno were also continuing on with the second part of the tour, which meant that we were losing Carole, Tracey, Kate and Matt, who were all headed back home, and Mandy, who was headed to Malasia where she will be leading tours during the European winter. Stefan was a leader who was originally from Germany, and had been taking tours just this year. He admitted right from the start that this would be a "blind" tour for him, as he'd never before been to any of the places which he was going to be taking us! I felt a little sorry for him, as Mandy was going to be a really tough act to follow!
That night there were 12 of us at dinner: Mandy and the original tour group, Stefan, and Tracey's friend Phil (who we'd all met before in Rome). We went to a small restaurant which Mandy had booked. Here, I had THE BEST DISH I have had in Italy! I decided that I really should try risotto whilst in Venice as it is a Venician speciality. The only risotto on the menu was pumpkin and prawn and I really can't describe it with enough justice to let you fully appreciate how delicious it was! It was so buttery and melt-in-your- mouth and one of those dishes that you really never want to end. I savoured every mouthful.
After dinner we went to a bar for a drink. As we were leaving, we had to say goodbye to Mandy, as she was leaving Venice very early in the morning. It was very sad to say goodbye to Mandy as we'd had so much fun with her. I actually felt pretty flat the next day, and I think everyone else did too, because she had gone.
The Monday was essentially a free day, so Carole, Tracey, Matt, Kate (who were all staying in Venice for another day or so) Bruno, Elise and I, took a vaporetto early in the morning over to the island of Murano, which is famous for it's glass. Unfortunately, Monday seemed to be a public holiday of sorts, so there were some places that weren't open. We did manage to go into a few workshops though where they were holding demonstrations of their glass-making techniques.
Bruno, Elise and I caught a vaporetto back to Saint Mark's Cathedral together. At the second stop along the way, we stopped at an island which seemed to just be a cemetary, where lots of people got on and the boat became very crowded. They all got off at the next stop though, and an old Italian Lady seemed to want to take me with her, as she was talking to me in an angry tone, and started pushing me towards the exit! I managed to get out of her way before she'd pushed me off the boat. We got off at a stop just before St Mark's Cathedral, so that we could walk along the canal a little, and while we were there a huge cruise ship went past down Canal Della Guidecca. This was an amazing sight, but also a little sad, as the cruiseships are contributing to the degradation of the city.
The three of us walked past the Bridge of Sighs and then climbed up the top of the 99 metre Campanile. It was a great view over the rooftops of Venice, unfortunately, the buildings are just tall enough that most of the canals weren't visible. Elise and I then went inside the Basilica San Marco which is absolutely amazing. Inside, it is elaborately decorated with beautiful gold mosaics and marble which cover the cathedral from floor to ceiling. We then spent the afternoon wandering around the shops. At one point we went our separate ways, as Elise wanted to do some paper shopping, while I was looking at boots, but we met up again at the hotel in the evening.
That night we had our first dinner together with our "New Group". Well, actually, it was the old group minus Mandy, plus Stefan, as Tracey, Carole, Matt and Kate also came along. Stefan took us on a tour of the Jewish quarter of Venice, which is where the word "Getto" originated. Apparently, all the Jewish people of Venice were segregated into a small part of the city and their job was to cast iron cannon balls. "Getto" is the Italian word for casting. We saw the Spanish and Italian Synagogs, then headed to "Gam-Gam" for dinner, which is a kosha restaurant.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel where we had to help Matt and Kate drink a bottle of Moscato, as they had bought one bottle of wine too many in Italy, and then said our goodbyes to Kate and Matt, Carole and Tracey, as we were continuing on our own journeys the next day.
When we got back down to the waterfront of the town, we poked our noses in the gates of one of the four houses in Levanto owned by the family which owns Fiat (the car company). There was a beautiful garden inside the gate but, alas, the gate was locked and we couldn't go in, so I put my camera through the bars to take a photo! 
As we were turning back around to head back to the hotel, we were approached by an older Italian man who said something to us in Italian which we didn't understand. He said something about the gates being closed and we said "Yes". He asked us where we were from and where were we staying? He took rather a liking to Elise and started walking with us with his arm draped over her shoulder and pinching her cheek (on her face, not her bottom). Elise got a bit concerned when he tried to hold her hand. I was racking my brains as we were walking along, trying to think of a way to rescue her, but short of telling him straight out to rack-off, I couldn't think of anything. To our relief, he left us of his own accord (to go into a bar, I think).
The next morning, we were relieved to find that it wasn't too cold (as it had been freezing, Mandy said it was supposed to snow in Florence the day before) and the sun was shining. In other words, it was perfect weather for walking the Cinque Terre! We caught a train to Riomaggiore which is the first town in the Cinque Terre, and the furthest from Levanto. It was an amazing village where the houses appear to be stacked on top of each other and set into the cliff. 
Here, we found the start of the path and walked to the second town, Manarola. This first section of path was very easy as it was sealed and relatively flat. It winds around the cliff, high above the water. We walked through a tunnel named "Lovers Lane" so called for the graffitti on the walls where couples have professed their undying love for one another (or just written so-and-so luvs so-and-so 4 eva), and the padlocks which couples have attached to the railing and thrown the keys into the sea (Mandy was concerned for the longeivity of the couples which had put combination locks on the rail).
From Manarola, we walked to Corniglia, the path this time being a little rocky and there were a couple of small inclines. When we reached the end of the path, we had to climb up 380 steps to reach the actual town and continue to the next town. Mandy left us here as she had work to do, and Carole, Tracey, David and Elsie decided to stay for a while and have a drink, so Matt, Kate, Elise, Bruno and I continued to the next town together.
The path between Corniglia and Vernazza was the longest and was again a little more challenging than the previous two paths, having a few more inclines. We were encouraged by the thought of lunch in Vernazza. 
Vernazza, I think, was the prettiest town of the Cinque Terre. We had lunch at a pizzeria, and were quite suprised to find that the toilet here was a porcelain tray set into the floor, with a hole in the middle, and places for your feet either side! Now, I know that these types of toilets are common in Asia, and in fact there are worse, but we were all a little suprised to see one at a restaurant!
We had a walk around the harbour after lunch, before heading on the path to the last town of the Cinque Terre- Monterosso. 
Our reward at the end was Gelati (and of course, another nice town to look at). 
We met up with Tracey and Carole at the train station in Monterosso, as they had caught the train from Corniglia to Vernazza, and then the boat from Vernazza to Monterosso. There were 2 trains due to come within about 2 minutes of each other, as one had been delayed, so we all got on the first train that came along. When we arrived at the next stop, which was Levanto, Bruno, Elise and I, who had all been sitting in the one carriage got off, however, we couldn't see the others who had got on the carriage before us. We looked around the platform for them, but there was no sign of them, so we began to worry that maybe they had all fallen asleep and were on their way to Milan!
The next day, Elise and I went to the Uffizi gallery, where we saw (amongst other works of art), Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera. We also went to the Academia Gallery where the original Michelangelo's David is housed. This is a very beautiful statue, and very detailed- you can even see the veins in his hands and neck. His right hand is out of proportion to the rest of his body, and is supposed to symbolise the strength that he possessed to defeat Goliath. His pupils are in the shape of love-hearts, which has raised the question of whether Michelangelo modelled him on a lover.
The following day, Elise and I climbed the bell tower of the Cathedral, and had a great view of the Duomo (the dome of the cathedral, and one of the most recognisable buildings in Florence). We also visited Di Santa Croce, the church where the tombs of Gallileo, Michelangelo and Dante lie.
In the afternoon, we caught a train to Lucca, another Tuscan town, it's centre of which is completely enclosed with 16th Century walls. Here, our group stayed inside the walls, in three apartments owned by Intrepid. Elise, Brian, Mandy and I shared one apartment, Tracey, Carol, David and Elsie shared the second, and Kate and Matt (the honeymooners), had one to themselves.
Dear Santa...
Elise and I decided against climbing the tower. Tracey, Carole and Brian climbed it and said that it felt very strange- that you could definitely tell that it was leaning (and that it was freezing and windy at the top). The tower is actually the bell tower of the Cathedral in Pisa (something that I didn't know until that day), and Elise and I did visit the Cathedral and also the Baptistry and Cemetery. It may sound strange that we would visit a cemetery, but actually it is a beautiful cemetery, with some deteriorating frescos on the wall, and a beautifully manicured lawn and garden in the centre. Aparently, sometimes the man who checks the tickets in the Baptistry will start singing, Elise and I were disappointed that he didn't do it whilst we were there!
That night, we had a gourmet feast at Tracey, Carole, David and Elsie's apartment. We all contributed to the meal, with The Honeymooners providing cheese, olives, and a variety of meats, Carole and Tracey provided Tortellini with Bolognaise Sauce and Fetuccini with pesto. David and Elsie provided some beautiful vine-rippened cherry tomatoes and David cooked up some green beans in garlic and butter. Brian (or Bruno, as we now call him), made bruchetta with tomatoes and anchovies on top. Mandy had been to Florence that day with her friend's husband, Anthony, and they brought us back some eggplant bake and spinach from the restaurant that we went to when we stayed there. Elise and I had visited a deli that morning and bought 2 types of tarts, a torta verde, which was a vegetable tart, and a chocolate and pear tart. Of course, there was plenty of wine too! 
I also provided the entertainment, dancing to the music on Elise's ipod.
