Italy

Colosseum, Rome, Italy. This pic needs no explanation !

Ditto with The Grand Canal in Venice.

Rome, Italy. The most famous naked man in the world. Michelangelo's David is an impressive sight. I always thought this statue was life-sized but no, he's about 15 ft tall. The weenie's about life-sized though.

Pisa, Italy. The famous Tower. Man, I had no idea how touristy this place would be, even after being forewarned about the hordes of cruise ship passengers that come here on day-trips. That's kinda entertaining in itself though, with all the masses of people doing the same "prop-up-the-tower" selfies and other dorky stuff. If I only had a Euro for every selfie taken here in a day...

Right: The slant-y view from the top. Worth the climb!

In the foothills of the Alps, the Lake District in northern Italy is a great place to escape the summer heat. One of the more idyllic towns I've found anywhere is beautiful little Varenna, on the shores of Lake Como.

Tuscany, Italy. The beautiful Tuscan countryside : great views from medieval hilltop villages, and plenty of world-class food and wine. Lots of wine. I'd recommend the Brunello. Cheap here; $$$ in the US.

Montalcino, Italy. Even in the middle of a scorching summer drought, the Tuscan countryside is amazing.

Saturnia, Italy. This was a pleasant little surprise that we found on Youtube. It's a little off the beaten path but well worth the detour. The mineral-rich water flowing down this hill in the Tuscan countryside has formed these stair-stepped waterfall pools made of travertine. It's set in beautiful surroundings and is a big hit with locals and tourists alike. The water was about 95 degrees or so; on this hot and sunny Tuscan day something cooler might have been better!

Cervinia, Italy. This is a great little ski town in the Italian Alps, only about 100 miles north of Milan. It's hard to tell from this angle but that's the Matterhorn behind the church spire. It marks the border with Switzerland and looks way different from the "usual" view on the Swiss side. Directly across the Swiss border is Zermatt, another great ski town. It's ridiculously expensive so a good trick is to stay over here and ski back and forth: the ski lifts connect Zermatt and Cervinia and lift tickets are good at both places. Where else can you ski from one country into another?

Vatican City. Climb up to the top of St Peters Basilica for a Pope's-eye view of St Peter's Square and Rome. OK, technically this is not "Italy"; Vatican City is the world's smallest country.

The Vatican. A vertigo-inducing view from the inside of the main dome of St Peter's Basilica.

The Vatican. The impressive Vatican museum : 8 miles of aisles, countless works of art, priceless masterpieces by some of the best artists that ever lived. Even the ceilings are covered in art. If you're a hard-core art lover you could spend an eternity in here. Go early - it gets PACKED!