Very interesting replies from all of you. I can see good arguments for all. I think a combination of all may work the best for us. We fly into Rome and thought we'd stay there 2 or 3 days and then on to Florence and Venice. It sounds like the train may ve the way to go on this leg of the trip. Anyone have any experience with B and B's in any of these 3 cities? I've found a few web sites with B and B's but I just thought someone may have personal experience with one or more.