We arrived in Rome, the ninth week of our incredible journey that began in January at The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. It has been an amazing, fantastic, wonderful time. This is a magnificent, powerful place, a massive contrast to the quiet of Venice and it's regular, secure rhythms and wild evenings of Venice, or the text-book art, stunning scenes and sun-drenched moments of grassy peace in Florence. Rome is Living History, if it's not the power of The Imperial Forum, the stunning...

Joined in this terrific city by the excellent Ben Street we began our time in Piazza della Signoria on the spot where Savanorola was immolated, and continued to visit all of the great sites; much discussion about real or fake (is Luigi Arrighetti's 'David' more authentic because of its position?) "As I emerged from the porch of Santa Croce I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen. Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime...

No trip to Venice could possibly be complete without a dip at The Lido. As the sun set over the lagoon a bunch of intrepid swimmers headed out to their cooking class early. The sun may have been shining but the sea is still fresh! and as our six weeks in Venice drew to a close the bonds of friendship were tightened. Geoffrey Humphries' last Life Drawing class, Louisa Buck's wonderful express-train talks on Modern and Contemporary art and a visit to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, to be...