Florence

Well much has happened since we last wrote. We spent another day or so in Rome where we continued on the Hop On Hop Off bus tour, seeing the St Peters Basilica up close and personal in the Vatican, but being a Sunday we had NO chance of getting in - took some photos though which we will hopefully publish soon! We also saw the Spanish Steps which we had heard all about so we thought we'd better go and climb them!

Then it was onto the Eurostar train to Florence, it was a most pleasant journey, enjoying the delightful Tuscan countryside and before we knew it we arrived at Santa Maria Novella Station. The guesthouse (Il Ghiro, tell your friends!!) was only a 2 minute walk from the station and after we had climbed the 3 flights of stairs we were shown to our room complete with bathroom, towels and TV!

That night we enjoyed an authentic Italian meal at a place nearby as well as a drink at a not-so-authentic Irish pub!!

Yesterday we decided to visit the Duomo which is the main cathedral and is HUGE! Instead of joining the massive queue (which is becoming a recurring theme here) we decided to climb the 463 steps to the top where we got a panoramic view of Florence - photos to follow! In the afternoon it was another scenic Tuscan drive to Pisa where we saw all the sights.

Gypsies everywhere trying to flog off their crusty merchandise. Everytime you say no they keep coming back. Wouldn't mind heading back there with the lads to ruffle a few feathers.

Today we are leaving beautiful Florence and heading to Paris via Rome. Get in very late so wont have time to do anything other than check in and sleep. Hopefully the next internet cafe will have a facility to download photos so we can add them

Ciao for now!!