Hi Everyone

Im, looking into a 4 week trip to Italy/Greece/Turkey with a view to see as much history related stuff as I can.

A bit about me – Im a 30 year old male travelling solo from Melbourne, Australia. Ive been an avid reader of history with a focus on Ancient Rome all of my life – Ive always dreamed of visiting Rome and seeing the Forum, Parthenon, Coliseum, walking the Via Apia. You get the idea.
Ive never had the opportunity to travel overseas before – My family didnt have any money (I know everyone says that but really – I used to be jealous of kids with families who had an indoor toilet) and Ive only just reached a point in my life where I have money put aside and am not living week-to-week so Im sorry if this post seems a bit daft. I really havent had any international travel background prior.

The trip Ive sketched out so far looks something like this:
Im planning on flying in to Rome from Melbourne and spending a week to see things like:
Vatican Museum
Forum, Colliseum, Parthenon
Ostia
Hadrians Villa at Tivoli
Via Appia
Pompeii and Capri (maybe climb Vesuvius if its worth it?)

Travel to Florence and spend a couple of days there – Mainly because Ive been told Florence is a beautiful city and a must see – Id love any feedback/advice or ideas on things to see there.

Then make my way (by air) to Athens to see the Acropolis – what else would you recommend for somebody with a history interest?

I stumbled across this tour by Variety Cruises which looks like a lot of fun – They seem to have good reviews online.

That takes me around Greece for 8 days – Im open to hearing of any other options, Im just not keen on spending hours on a bus. The cruise sounds much more fun!

The cruise finishes at Athens, Im planning to jump on a plane and make my way to Istanbul to see:
Hagia Sofia
Grand Bazaar
Walls of Constantinople
Catching a bus to tour Gallipoli and the site of Ancient Troy.

Then flying home from Istanbul to Melbourne.

Hopefully that all makes sense – thanks for taking the time to read through – Im more than open to ideas, ideas or advice from anyone.

Im also open to looking at tour packages that you can recommend provided it fits in with my overall theme – i.e. no Contiki – Ive already been offered Contiki tours by the travel agents Ive spoken too which arent my thing and is why Ive started this planning.

Id ideally like to budget around $10k AUD (just under $6.5k EUR) does that sound realistic for one person travelling modestly?