Jun 24, 2012 - Florence 1 - Scorching Italy

Things have hit breakneck pace. Here we go. Sunday morning I woke up to find out I missed wake up, I had 60 seconds to pack and get up or I was finding my own way to Florence...I made it. We went to Pisa first to see the tower. It was good but i almost feel the bigger sight was endless ridiculous tourists posing for the tower. NOOnE was actually appreciating the tower itself just getting their cheesy picture an leaving. That stuff bothers me. We got to Florence where more of the same awaited. It was absurdly hot there. We got a bypass to...

Jun 22, 2012 - Montepulciano, Italy

Montepulciano was the end of my 5 day tour of North Italy. This was a great way to end the trip. The medieval village was very quiet, no other tour buses there. The day was cooler and the village was very quaint. There were wine tasting shops everywhere, but by the time we finished a very leisurely lunch I only had time to dash into a shop and buy a bottle of their well recommended red wine, Belle Nova of Montepulciano. Sorry, not shipped to the USA.

Jun 20, 2012 - rome and florence

So napels was interesting. It was beautiful don't get me wrong, but the people were just differyo At our hostel, the owner kept being creepy and asking us questions, and apparently to 2 different people we sound like we are aussies. Don't ask me why. I don't think we sound austrailian At all. Anyways after napels we went to Rome. On our first night there, we explored the city, and got some awesome gelato. It was Sooo good. On our second and last day in Rome, we basically did everything in Rome in one day. We did the Trevi fountain, the...

Jun 20, 2012 - Another enjoyable day in Florence

We head into the city again. This time to the post office to send some stuff home – are now thinking about the weight of hand luggage etc. After some time we finally manage to complete all the necessary forms – why did I mention a CD, that means an additional form. All the employees very casually dressed. Did expect them to be in some type of uniform but mostly in jeans and tops/shirts. Megan heads off to do some of her own sightseeing. We board another red bus. Florence is very beautiful – some of the areas on the other side of the river...

Jun 19, 2012 - Florence and Pisa, Italy

It is so very hot everyone on this tour is suffering. This kind of tour lets you see a lot in a short time. But you miss so much worth seeing, too because there isn't enough time. It is a big decision which to do. I hate being herded in and out along with thousands. It is like a 10 cruise ship day in St. Thomas. I'm looking forward to more time, and a chance to see everything at a slower pace once I get to Abruzzo.

Jun 19, 2012 - Florence

Today we have the pleasure of returning the car in Florence. The GPS doesn’t come up with the street shown on our car documentation so we go for the nearest interpretation and hope for the best. Initially we are taken through a really old area – very narrow roads, only one direction of traffic at a time – all courtesy of traffic lights. A little worrying where ‘Ken’ (the Aussie version of the GPS) is taking us but we are quickly in the suburbs of Florence. When we finally get to our destination, much to our delight, we find there is a...

Jun 17, 2012 - Italy - Florence

6th June 2012 (Bed 44) Ok, we have been keeping a secret from you. We actually had more car trouble; the air conditioner in the car didn’t work. It was difficult to be sure when we were in the UK as it was so cold. Anyway, long story short, with the help of the receptionist at the hotel, we found a Ford dealer that would fix it for us. Thank goodness they were within walking distance of our hotel. We left the car with them and crossed our fingers that it would get fixed within the 4 days we had in Florence. It was getting late so we...

Jun 16, 2012 - Florence for a last night

Apologies for the radio silence. No wi Fi in San Gimignano and then quite limited access in Florence has kept this journal a little quiet (ie non existent). We have also been rather busy with our holiday! :-) Our last day in Siena was as quiet as the first copley, with more wandering around and a bit of perusing the shops. We took the bus to San Gimignano and happily were able to get into our bandB room there by about 11am; and fabulous it was too. Overlooking the main thoroughfare with very tall ceilings of solid painted timber, great...

Jun 16, 2012 - Florence Day 2

Hi All, We have had another great day in Florence. This morning we got a new tour guide, Giuseppe (?) for a tour of the Academia Museum to see the original David. The line for people to get in went around the corner fortunately we had reservations. The only way to see the important sites is with a guide. He was excellent, he had to have been an Art History major. By the time I left the museum I was ready to stop at the nearest bookstore and buy a book on the life of Michelangelo. We spent nearly a half hour at the statue of David with him...

Jun 15, 2012 - Michaelanglo, David and Tuscany

Florence and Tuscany in general is a beautiful part of the world. Florence for it's architecure and art, Tuscany for the scenery. After finally making it to Florence, I spent my first day walking the streets and visiting Galleria dell'Accademia to visit Michaelanglo's David (and Pink David ). After 2 hours wait (and some mild sunburn) I finally got to see what everyone had been raving about. And it was worth it. It really is a masterpiece. Luckily the gallery also houses some other beautiful pieces as well. The wait for Uffizi the next...

Jun 15, 2012 - On to Florence

Hi Everyone, Today we left Rome for Florence. In all honesty I was not sorry to leave. Rome is a very noisy and busy city. The traffic if horrendous, I can't believe the chances people take with the motor scooters. We were stopped at a light yesterday morning when a girl squeezed between the bus and a parked car with about an inch on either side to spare. She was dressed in a suit with heels and a pocket book hanging off her shoulder. It is easy to tell the tourists from the locals by their dress. The Italians dress to the hilt while the...

Jun 6, 2012 - Rome Italy and Vatican City

Day 5- Rome Bonjourno! Today was our biggest adventure and excursion of the cruise, visiting Rome. We had a 10.5 hour excursion booked to visit some exciting spots around the city, and we started very early, around 7:15 or so. Well, that's what time we were supposed to get going. There was some confusion involving a family that thought they should have been on our tour, but they weren't, and that cause a big hold up. We didn't get off the pier until around 8:30, so it was a bit of a slow start. Not overly awful. We had an hour or so drive...