Maureen's Travel Blog

Goodbye Cinque Terre, it’s been wonderful… maybe come back one day….

First things first, an early morning swim.  Not a cloud in the sky today and I can feel the heat in the sun already at around 7.30.  However the sea was still very rough and more for jacuzzi than swimming, which is what I love!  Actually the gritty sand acted as an excellent all over exfoliator.  Next breakfast overlooking the sea.

Just arrived at our 5-bed mixed dorm in Genoa…. phew!  The journey here was a bit of a trial.  We had to queue for about half an hour to get a ticket from the machine (well Dot did while I looked after the bags and grabbed a convenient table for us overlooking the sea in the railway station for a coffee thinking we had time yet to wait for the train.  Eventually Dot came rushing up “we have one minute!” Still got to validate…. yikes.  It was like climbing Everest to get our bags and ourselves up on the train.  We got in the first carriage which happened to be first class so needed to find second class only to come across the ticket inspector, who crossly said your number on the ticket is in carriage number 6.  So we had to wheel our bags all the way down the length of 5 carriages going through adjoining double doors en route and clambering over other passengers’ baggage left in the gangway.  Eventually we found our seats and relaxed for the remainder of the 1hr and ten minute journey.

This route took us through the Italian Riviera where you could see much affluence.  There were some very grand looking chalets and apartments among mature palm trees stretching up the hillside and overlooking the cobalt blue sea.  The sea was actually shimmering today.  Eventually we arrived in Genoa and hauled the bags back down off the train only to be confronted with a staircase down and under the track and back up again.  There was an escalator but, as ever, it was closed off and not working… c’est la vie!  A guy smiled at us and said “this is why I have a backpack”… I replied ” You have two free hands spare then!”

Out into the bustling city we quickly found ourselves a spot of lunch, a toasted ham sandwich and a beer, before finding our Hostel Manena supposedly 15 minutes walk.  We eventually found it but I would say it was more like half an hour.  We had been dreading the 5-bed shared mixed dorm after our luxury twin guest room, but actually it was fine and very central, and even had aircon.  We took a couple of hours siesta before setting off exploring.

We took ourselves on a mini walking tour of Genoa, first heading towards the nearby quayside to get our bearings.  Immediately we were confronted with the towering bows of an ancient galleon ship, the Neptune.  The Neptune is in fact a ship replica of a 17th-century Spanish galleon. The ship was built in 1985 for Roman Polanski‘s film Pirates, where she portrayed the Spanish ship of the same name. An accurate replica above the waterline, but sporting a steel hull and a 400 HP auxiliary engine,

The harbour was full of sailing craft and a raised motorway  ran all the way round it over the road between the city buildings and harbour.  The Cathedral was nearby so we wandered up to look at it and passed one or two other large and highly decorated buildings on the way. 

The old city is divided up into very narrow pedestrianized streets full of delightful stores and workshops selling and making products of all kinds.  We put our heads into an upholsterer, a sweet maker, a picture framer, and any number of delicatessen makers their products all beautifully displayed in the window.  We did think of buying some of these alternative and rather delicious looking items to take back to the hostel for supper…. Maybe tomorrow, as this evening we were in search of the Tapas restaurant recommended by the hostel.

Eventually, we found it tucked away in a rather an unsavory looking street; avoiding looking into doorways here and there along the way.  Once inside we received a friendly welcome and were shown all the different options of tapas available.  These were mainly in the form of cooked pulses and vegetables and little potato pies with sauces.  We chose a selection and our free glass of Sangria (we could have had beer but thought we’d continue with the Spanish theme) and both agreed what a delicious meal all for a total of just over 3 euros each!

I checked the Wimbledon news on wifi before retiring to bed. Good, Andy and Nadal and most of the top seeds seem to be through comfortably, I’ll be able to watch the closing exciting matches when I get home.  My bed is next to a window on the first floor so plenty of fresh air as temperatures are still in low 20s during the night.  It is a quieter part of town so not too much noise after about 11pm.  Dot is on top of a single and double bunk (like Marie’s in Florence but this one didn’t need an allen key!) We are sharing with the dorm two other girls and someone else who we have not yet met.  I heard him padding around in the morning packing his stuff for an early start so not sure what time he went to bed (if at all).

Wow, what a day…. just got back and washed the sand from my feet!

We set off early today to beat the heat!  Arrived in pretty Vernazza for breakfast of coffee and twirly pastry with raisins. Lovely sunny morning with a slight breeze which kept the temperature down.  I found a nice spot on a bench facing the harbour to sit and paint or draw or just people watch, while Dot went off exploring further afield.

The time just melted away…. I couldn’t believe I had sat there for 3 hours just enjoying my surroundings and sketching…..  It was much nicer earlier on before all the tourists arrived.  Then I started getting people watching me and commenting which was a little unnerving.  Finally when a Japanese asked to take my photo with my drawing… that was it, I’d had enough! These Japanese just snap away at anything.  Dot meanwhile found herself a lovely outfit…. just the sort of thing she’d been looking for.

We then got the train to Corniglio, the little village perched high on the cliff top.  Very small, we took the shuttle bus up to the top where the views of the village and its terraces were stunning.  This seems a slightly poorer place with less visitors.  We walked back down to the station via a steep zig-zag brick stairway.  There were some colourful florals on the way down.  Half way down we saw what we thought was our train pull out of the station but when we got there, found out ours was delayed.  This was fortunate as they only run once an hour on Sundays.

Our next Cinqueterre village was Manola.  As we arrived at the station the heavens opened.  We took shelter in the covered area of the nearest cafe…. and somehow spent several hours there. First a cup of tea and a cake…. my first cuppa since I left home!  Soon there was lightning and claps of thunder and the rain was pelting down.  Out came all the umbrellas and waterproof ponchos, as well as a few makeshift waterproof accessories.  The tunnel to the station was just opposite where we were sitting and everyone ran there for cover…. a tunnel stuffed with Japanese and Americans!

We lengthened the stay at our cosy spot by ordering ice creams and then found ourselves playing dice which Dot by chance had in her backpack for a rainy day.  It continued to rain very heavily for an hour or so before we were finally able to venture out and explore the little village of Manola.  The harbour was very pretty but quite rocky and we watched crazy young people jumping off rocks into a very rough sea.  We continued along the path a little way round the headland where there was a wonderful view back of Manola.

Finally as we climbed back up the steep main street we stopped to look at one or two restaurant menus. Spaghetti with seafood whetted our appetite and a huge plateful for two arrived along with a carafe of house blanco.  This was sooo tasty but oh so filling.  We took the train back to Montoroso in rather a giggly mood.  Dot had her usual argument with the ticket machine but happily validated!!

We took a route back to our guest house via the beach.

By now the sea was extremely rough and we walked through the surf as it crashed on to the beach, threatening to soak us.
It was so exciting to see the waves pummeling against the rocks at the far end of the beach before we finally left it to retire to our room.  Packing had to be done for our departure tomorrow for Genoa, but what a great day!

An early morning swim followed by breakfast at a seafront cafe, then off to the station to buy a day’s Cinqueterre ticket.  The ticket machines are as bad as the m&m machines!  It won’t give you the option of where you want to go and many people appear to have the same problem.  Eventually we have our tickets which we must validate. This is something we keep forgetting to do so are forever jumping off trains as they are about the leave to validate.  Dot has already been threatened with a fine for not validating her ticket.  Now we had planned to take the train to each of the five villages and walk about a bit in each.  (It was way too hot to walk the whole cinque terre).  However, despite repetitive consultation of our timetable, somehow we managed to catch a straight through fast train to La Spezia…. doh!  So we caught the next one back to Riomaggiore.

This is probably the prettiest of the villages.  We had to walk through a tunnel, which was beautifully decorated with mosaics, in order to get to the town. Here we were presented with a steep main street with the pretty coloured shuttered buildings on either side.  Half way up we stopped for a rest and sat and listened to some children, a boy and a girl aged about 8 and 10 busking together with violins.  They were very good and were raking in a small fortune!

Further on we found a good place to settle under a tree for a spot of lunch.  I also wanted to do a bit of painting today and this was an ideal spot.  As my painting materialised I received many positive comments from passers by.

Dot returned from doing a little recky with cones of seafood and a small bottle of chilled local wine.  Just the thing for a wilting artist.  We  sat and enjoyed these fruits of the sea before continuing with the steep climb to the top where we were rewarded with a beautiful seaview.

We returned to Monterosso for a cool off swim before our siesta, an essential part of our day!  Later in the cool of the evening we stopped at a little cafe for a Sangria and nibbles before strolling on into the old town of Montorosso.

The evening light across the ocean was absolutely stunning this evening and the swifts were screaming about our heads.  There were so many, I even managed to capture them on camera!

This was where we had found ourselves when we arrived on the boat on the other side of the tunnel.  It was a very lively little place with many restaurants and little shops.  There were two very large churches side by side and a number of bijou houses on either side of the street divided by archways or narrow shallow stone steps.

The Brazil versus Chili penalty shoot out was going on in one of the bars and a terrific roar went up with each goal kick….. I’m not sure which side they were supporting but the Italians certainly love their football.

We left La Spezia around 11am on the boat to Montorosso.  It is a beautiful sunny, hot and cloudless day, in fact we nearly frazzled sitting on the deck waiting to leave the port.  No sooner had we set sail than the boat turned around and returned to the quayside to pick up two further passengers.  ‘Was that the owner?’  I said to one of the deckhands as he coiled the rope.  He smiled….

We sailed first to Porto Venere where we had been the day before and got some wonderful photo opportunities from the boat. We had to change boats here which was a bit of a pain with our wheelies and backpacks.  Next we sailed out into the open sea towards Cinque Terres.  The water around the rocks near the coast was a wonderful turquoise colour.  Soon the first of the five villages came into view: Riomaggiore, so pretty with its little coloured buildings set into the rockface all the way down to the sea.  I didn’t quite see how the boat was going to let people on and off here as it appeared to be a very rocky coast.  It went right in among the rocks and sent down a ladder on wheels from the bow onto a small concrete platform.  Passengers got on and off while the boat rocked up and down on the waves.

The second village was Manarola a small rocky place with one visible street.

The third village was perched high on the cliff Corniglia, so was not accessible by boat only the railway which ran along the coast between each village.  The fourth is Vernazza which has suffered some serious landslides and some of the terraces are in need of repair for farming to continue there.

Finally Montorosso, the bigget of the five villages with two sandy beaches and a tunnel through a mountain between the two.  Unbeknown to us the boat took us to the wrong side of the mountain.  My maps app showed that we were on the opposite side from our guest house so we sat down in a street cafe for a spot of lunch and a beer to decide what to do.  There is no transport here and no railway station!  mañana

Turns out it was a 15 minute walk through the tunnel…. all these villages seem quite close to each other.  Oh what a wonderful sight when we emerged from the tunnel with our wheelies… clear turquoise sea, yellow sand and pretty Montorosso buildings…. quite a few tourists too!  Our guest house is close to the front with a sea view.  Very comfortable and I just couldn’t wait to get into the sea…. the first opportunity since I set off on my trip!

After a swim, or rather a float as the water was so salty and buoyant, we took a siestia back at the guest house rather than pay 18 euros for a sunbed and shade at 4 in the afternoon.  Then dinner this evening was taken overlooking the bay.  Fresh Dorado, well it has to be, this close to the sea!  We also ordered a very nice bottle of Cinque Terre Wine…. so smooth and easy to drink.  In the cool of the evening we walked along the beach and then explored a little further afield before rounding off our evening wih a Limoncello.

We had a very lazy start this morning and finally set out for our croissant and coffee breakfast to be taken at a cafe across the square.  We were saddened to see five young girls round a table, who were clearly on holiday together, all intently studying their mobile devices for virtually the whole time we were there.

Anyway, breakfasted, water supplied, cash supplied, we headed down to the quayside to get a boat to one of the islands. Unfortunately the next one wasn’t for a couple of hours so we decided to take a bus to Porto Venere.  Wow, what a bus ride, so scenic as it twisted its way along the coast in and out of little bays and ports, sometimes going high up and then dropping down until we finally reached the prettiest little Porto Venere.

I will just add a few pics here taken as we wandered along by the sea and then up towards the little church which had the tiniest set of organ pipes I’ve ever seen.  I just loved the sea views through openings in the church wall and gateways.

We then climbed many steps as the little town was just built on a cliff. It felt as if we were intruding on private pathways and steps leading to little homes in back streets.  Beautiful Jacoranda and flowering cacti, as well as the plant from which capers come (Dot informed me).  There was even a laid back Italian cat sleeping on the wall.

Eventually we sat down in a street cafe for a pesto bruishetto and a cold beer before taking the boat back to La Spezia.

An hour or so’s siesta, as you do, then we dressed up for dinner.  We had seen an interesting restaurant which seemed more alternative than the others and thought we’d give it a go.  When we arrived there were no customers sitting at the tables.  I said perhaps everyone thinks the same as we do, can’t be very good because there are no customers’.  So, despite the rather dubious menu, we thought we would take the lead and be the first customers and perhaps others would follow.  
I have never yet heard of donkey on the menu in a restaurant, and was not about to try it now!  We ordered a starter of mixed seafood followed by steak with rocket and parmesan.  I checked to make sure it was beef! We wanted to try some Prosecco so ordered a bottle…. this was all very reasonably priced so were still a little concernd about our choice of restaurant. However, it was all very nice and we left the restaurant quite happy wondering if the Donkey on the menu was meant to be a lure or a turn off??

All packed up ready for La Spezia.  Marie and I said our goodbyes and I grabbed a cappuccino and a croissant before getting back on the bus.

Neil from Scotland is our driver and Ben from Oz is our guide.  Apparently he was an accountant and becoming Busabout guide has changed his life.  He has very dry humour and should be fun on the bus.  A brief bit of spiel about where we are going today…. many are going all the way back to Nice.  This was where I started my journey.  I can’t believe that I am on my last sector with Busabout today.  However, I have added an extra bit on as I shall be meeting Dot in La Spezia and we plan to spend in week in Cinque Terres and Genoa before flying home.  We are unlikely to see Pisa which we pass en route.  They used to stop there but the prices for parking the bus became restrictive – £180 euros, so now they just stop at a service station.  I wonder if I can get a trip out there from La Spezia?

Massive black black clouds up ahead and lightning flashing already…. This could be serious but definitely forecast for us today.  I’m not surprised as it has been incredibly hot.  The rain has started and the thunder is crashing outside…. ooh errrr scarey or what!  This could be even more exciting than the fireworks last night.

Storms all around and we get off the bus for service station break in pouring rain… so make a dash for it!  Espresso and a ciambella (or doughnut to you!) We have now left Tuscany and are not far from Genoa which is where pesto comes from.  This region is called Liguria.

The rain has stopped but still very black with lightning flashes in the distance.

I am making notes here as Ben tells us about La Spezia and Cinque Terres….. five little villages accessed by train foot or boat between each.  La Spezia is the closest train station.  Seafood very good in the villages, especially calamari.  All have beaches and a little church.  Vernazza prettiest but suffered landslide and is looking for funding to rebuild terraces.  Montorosso is the last and biggest but has a sandy beach where the others are pebble beaches.  Plenty of trains, footpaths and boats.  Can get a card for hikes and a train card.  One direction off and on for up to 6 hrs – 4 euros.   If it’s a long train it may be too long for the platform and might stop partway inside a tunnel and you have to get off in tunnel and walk along….. ooh, they don’t let us off in Charlbury unless we’re in the front carriages.  Anyway, more of all that later…

Ben didn’t seem to know much about the Busabout recommended hostel in La Spezia but the coach stopped outside the railway station as stated on the website and Ben very kindly carried my bag up the metal staircase to the station and pointed me in the right direction.  It wasn’t difficult just a hundred metres or so down towards the town on the left.  Goodbye Busabout!

Pleasantly surprised by the hostel Gappa Zorba, which is in a central position between the railway station and the seafront, just at the top of the pedestrian way down to the port which contains many trattorias.

As I had arrived much earlier than expected 10.30 instead of 12.30, I was determined to make good use of my time here.  Dot was not due to arrive from her farmhouse cookery course until around 7.30.  First I made my way down the pedestrian way to the port to investigate going over to one or two of the islands.  Sadly all sailings had been cancelled for the day owing to rough seas.  It all seemed perfectly calm and hot to me although the occasional light gust of wind nearly took my new Italian sunhat, which I’d just purchased on the way down.  I’d better hang on to this one.

Disappointed that my plan was thwarted, I walked over to the tourist information point through some very beautiful gardens. Agapanthus flowering in abundance and I just can’t seem to grow these in my garden. I found out about transport to Pisa.  It seems that it would be an hour and ten minutes by train.  I figured I could get there and back with a couple of hours to look around in time for Dot’s arrival this evening.

The train journey was relaxing and cool in an air conditioned carriage.  We passed through many stations with huge slabs of granite piled up ready for transit.  I could see areas of granite cut out of the mountainside in the distance.  There was a Canadian family sitting near me who were also going to Pisa and we agreed that we had indeed arrived at Pisa and found our way to the leaning tower together. However we went our separate ways once there.  The Tower itself can be found in the  Piazza Dei Miracoli, ‘the field of Miracles’, along with a few other famous structures, such as the Duomo, the Camposanto, and the Baptistery.  I got a ticket to go into the Monastery and the Cathedral (Duomo), not really interested to climb the 294 steps up the leaning tower.  These were really most impressive, again with so much art history.  As I walked around the upper level of the Monastery, I heard a wonderful sound…. one of the officials was demonstrating how the sound of his voice reverberated around the dome, creating the most beautiful echo.

I returned in time for Dot arriving.  She actually got a train which changed at Pisa an hour later.  We wandered down the pedestrian area and found a suitable place to eat under awning.  No sooner had we sat down and ordered our fried calamari and salad with antipasti to start, than the heavens opened.  Lucky we were under the awning, although I had to pull my chair in a bit as I felt a light spray on my back. It was quite cosy there eating outside in a rainstorm but keeping dry.

We set off aiming to get to the Cathedral (The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) in time for the festival mass that was taking place at 10.30.  We arrived just in time to see the procession disappear into the darkness of the main door and went round the side where visitors were allowed in.  I have to say the music was beautiful.  There was a full choir and robed clergy, although after some singing, the bishop  spoke at some length in Italian.  We stood for the Italian Catholic version of the creed before slipping out quietly for our timed slot in the Uffizzi.   The inside of the cathedral was surprisingly plain in comparison to the highly decorated exterior.  But the ceiling inside the Dome was beautifully decorated. It is hotter than ever today…. temperatures reaching around 33 degrees or more.  We duly collected our tickets which Marie had booked on line and joined the group to enter the Uffizzi at our allotted time.  I was already wilting as I climbed several flights of stairs up to the main art gallery but was relieved to find that each room was beautifully cool with air conditioning maintaining a constant temperature for the ancient works of art. The works of art took me back to my days at school when I did GCE O-level in History of Art and many of the familiar names came back to me…. Giotto, Botticelli, Durer, Rembrandt and of course Michaelangelo.  It was good to see the paintings in real life that I had only seen in books.  Some of them were much larger than I had imagined.  We spent a good couple of hours in the gallery and eventually made our way back out into the hot sunshine, to see The Basilica di Santa Croce, which is the burial place of Michelangelo.     Exausted but thrilled that we had not only seen some incredible works of art going back to the fifteenth century and more but had also enjoyed the main sights of Florence in just two days, we now planned to relax and maybe watch the Italians in their World Cup match later this afternoon.  But of course a well deserved gelato at the next possible opportunity! Enjoying a lovely long cool spritz in the gardens of the hostel under the relative cool of the trees and overhanging wisteria.  There are two big screens there and the Italian/Uruguay match had already begun.  By half time still nil nil and not a very exciting game so we headed out to find our last Trattoria for dinner.  We didn’t really want to do much more walking and were lucky to find a suitable little restaurant only a few blocks away.  Air conditioned, match on the big screen (of course) and a young Italian waiter we both agreed we could just eat up.  Our final meal antipasto was Octopus salad followed by a fish dish for primo, well main really, and a carafe of Tuscan blanco between us. Sadly the Italians were knocked out of the World Cup and we saw dejected fans making their way home with rolled flags under their arms.  We returned to the hostel to watch the fireworks from the roof…. a great place for a view of the cathedral dome and the hill where the fireworks were to be let off at 10.  This was part of the feast day of San Giovanni which takes place on 24 June every year in Florence.  It was an amazing spectacle lasting about 45 minutes non stop…. a great send off for us.  Thank you Firenze and chiao!

The usual coffee and croissant before Marie and I did a tour of Florence.  This posting will be mainly images and not necessarily in the right order…..

First stop was to be the Cathedral.   We thought we’d like to go up into the Dome but on arrival you should have seen the queue…. all round the cathedral and half way down a street, all standing in the hot sun! …..I don’t think so.  We looked at the Campanile next to it which had no queue but apparently a spectacular view from the top far higher than the cathedral dome…. but 414 steps in 32 degree temperatures – no way!

Orsanmichel was our next port of call as we walked round Florence…. a quieter city in comparison to Rome and much easier to get around.  Orsanmichel had originally been a market place and was turned into a church.  Upstairs were giant sculptures which has been brought in from outside and put on view in a museum.  The next floor was a viewing floor from which you could see the whole city – possibly a better option for us than the Cathedral Dome as it meant we didn’t have to queue.

We then moved on to the Town Hall and Palace Veccio, where I for one was on overload with art, scrulpture, design and embellishment on walls, ceilings, floors and anywhere else that could be found for artwork. 
This culminated rather weirdly in several exceedingly ornate rooms containing an exhibition by Jackson Pollock of drawings based on Michaelangelo’s sculptures.  I must say I hadn’t seen any of Pollock’s drawings before, only paint splats, which he is famous for, and was most impressed.  Although I do love his splats and colour too!

We then walked alongside the river a bit til we came to a very suitable place for lunch.  Having chosen our pizza (for there were many to choose from) and our ice cold beer, we headed for a table outside as we Brits would.  No, it was way too hot, we turned around and sat in the cool of a fan and had the room pretty much to ourselves as the tourists roasted outside.

Energised by our lunch break we set off across the river via Pont Vecchio which was lined on both sides with mainly little jewellery stores, where you could buy a ring for two and half thousand euros!  We pointed out a very good Diana engagement ring lookalike!

Marie was then taken by the work of an artist Carmine who worked in miniature and sepia colours.  She chatted to him and bought a small painting of a scene depicting the Cathedral.

On the other side of the bridge, we made our way towards the Bobali Gardens.

The heat was so intense we lay down in the shade for a bit once inside.

The gardens were high up and once at the top, we had amazing views of the city and of the Tuscany countryside all around.  We probably spent an hour or so there just relaxing and enjoying the peace away from people and traffic.  Eventually a gelato beckoned.  We had promised ourselves this treat on the way back.  So many flavours to choose from…. Marie had melon and I thought I would try yoghurt flavour which had been recommended to me.  I think I preferred the taste of Marie’s melon.

We crossed back over the river by a different bridge so that we could photograph Pont Vecchio.  The River Arno looked stunning in the evening light but the temperatures were as high as ever and the stone bridge reflected the heat.  We sat for a while in a piazza before returning to our hostel for a cool shower and rest.

We dressed for dinner and decided to splash out a bit.  The restaurant Trattiora da Garibardi fitted the bill and we both ordered the most delicious seafood dishes and a bottle of Toscori Vinocori. 

Wall to wall sunshine!  Quick coffee and croissant with Dot.  She related to me her experiences last night with her Nepalese family.  “They took me to that special mountain – it was amazing!”  I’m so glad she was able to do that and to enjoy an Italian meal with the locals.  It makes all the difference.

Back on the bus with Kerri, the guide, and George, the Portuguese  driver.   I sit with Dom as there are no free seats left.  Good to catch up with her Rome experiences.

We are now heading into the hills of Tuscany.  I imagine Marie is by now heading up the M40 to Birmingham.

I am now at Orvietto.  The bus parked up then we took a vernicular to the hilltop city.  This is where I say goodbye to Dom who is staying a couple of nights here.  I was in Orvietto some 8 years ago with my cousin and her family from Ireland.  I remembered the cobbled streets and the unusual striped cathedral so well.  Here they make some of the most delicious wine and I often buy it in Waitrose at home.  While at the cathedral there was a huge religious festival happening with families through the generations represented in different colours as they marched throughout the town and right through the Cathedral.  Mass was even broadcast throughout the town – amazing and so colourful.

While waiting for the bus I got chatting to Mike and Elizabeth from Melbourne, who are basically doing what I am and enjoying their health traveling the world.  We are now back on the road….. next  stop Siena!

Good soppy love story movie based in Tuscany – what could be better!  Kerri  told us all on the bus about a walking tour this evening `ending in a full four course Italian meal with wine.  However, it’s only for Busabout people so I asked her if there was maybe a wine tasting tour tomorrow,  She said she would check it out.

Well the Siena stop was a disappointment.  I was hoping to see a bit of the town but it was just a pit stop at the hostel for changeover and we didn’t get anywhere near the town and the beautiful cathedral and the high walls Kerri described.  Apparently the very first bank in the world was here in Siena and that’s why they were very rich and built a cathedral.  However they ran out of money and the cathedral never got finished.  I certainly hope to come back here perhaps on a wine tasting tour tomorrow and have a good look at the old town.

All signs now point to Firenze!  Journey fairly uneventful, plenty of hilltop towns and Cyprus trees.  We expect to arrive on time, around 3.30.  In fact we arrived about 4 as there was a delay getting the permission for the bus to enter the city.  It also took a good half an hour to check in…. always a delay with so many backpackers.  Marie arrived very soon after and before very long we were walking the cobbled streets of Florence in the warm evening sunshine.  I found a nice brown leather purse to replace the one that was stolen in Rome in a leather street market.  Marie seemed impressed by my haggling but I only got 3 euros off it!  
We stopped in a small cafe nearby for our first spritz in Florence.  That went down so well as we were by now quite parched after a day’s traveling (from Banbury and from Rome!)  We then walked further to the centre of the city and were suddenly in awe of the incredible sight before us which was the Cathedral.  I just loved the colours of jade green and dusky pink on white with ornate embellishments everywhere you looked.  It is just about the biggest cathedral I have ever seen and with so many angles to it.  Unfortunately it was closed this evening but we will be back tomorrow.  We liked the look of the menu outside a small restaurant nearby and we didn’t argue with the waiter as he encouraged us to sit down.  By this time we were very hungry. Although sitting under a gazebo outside, the air-conditioning was puffing out to keep us cool….. crazy!  We enjoyed a delicious meal of lasagna for Marie and pork for me with a large glass each of vino rosso.  Afterwards we gently sauntered back to our hostel with the sound of screaming swifts overhead.

Lazy day….soooo hot, we didn’t feel like braving the crowds, traffic and heat of Rome today.  We enjoyed a nice coffee and croissant on the decking outside our bungalow and just chatted and updated stuff.  Before we knew it hunger pangs told us it was time for some lunch.  Dot popped down to the supermarket and bought ingredients for a picnic, a lovely antipasti style lunch with wine.  This included Emmental cheese, salami, mixed salad, the tastiest Italian tomatoes ever and some bread rolls, followed by grapes and washed down with a nice vino blanca.  We spent the next couple of hours putting the worlds to rights in the warm sunshine until it was just too hot to sit out any more and time for a siesta, true Italian style…. later time for a swim.

The pool was so inviting and not too busy with two small jacuzzis similar to the hostel in Venice.  We wallowed in the jacauzzi and chatted to someone from Cumbria who was very interested in our travels.  After a while Dot left to meet up with one of her Nepal contacts, who had adopted one of the Nepalese children and is raising her in Italy.  I remained by the pool for a while reading in the hot sun, slapping on the sun block. Eventually I returned for a shower and to prepare to leave in the morning, another early start at 8 for Busabout.