Tuscany the journey continues

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DAY FIVE
Today dawned early again with all of us up and off for a walk by 6.30am - Robyn and Pete to Santa Lucia and Jenny and I off to the outskirts of San Gimi. We all met up again at 7.30 about for brekky and then got ready to go off exploring in the car this time. We are saving lots of money by having breakfast at home and a platter for dinner. Robyn and Jenny think we are saving the money to spend in Florence, Pete and I think we should save it for the next holiday!! Wonder who will win - probably the financial controller!! By the way the financial controller has been given another role, she is now the home keeper too - in charge of dish washing and clothes washing, and a great job she has been doing too. Jenny and Pete sit up late into the night (oh at least until 10.00pm) working on the budget for how much we spend each day. Oh by the way the home keeper role is not a demotion, it is a promotion as it is a big responsibility making sure the washing is sorted into the right colour pile!!! (I am not allowed to make fun of her job I’m told, its serious).

Anyway we took off in the car around really winding roads and ended up in Volterra which is another walled city that is perched high up on a hill and overlooks the valleys. It was more expensive that San Gimi but we had a great walk around. Jenny and I went into a great old house that was totally stenciled and set up with antiques and old ceramics. At the end of walking around there was a wine tasting in the cellar below with cheese and bread and it was amazing with lots of hidden tables and chairs in alcoves.

Once we had finished in Volterra we decided to head towards Cecina which is a seaside town on the Mediterraen Sea. After getting lost on the way (yes again!!) we ended up in the carpark of the hospital and then ended up going up the driveway to the morgue. Not everyone gets to go to the morgue on their Tuscan holiday, and come out of it!! We eventually found the seaside and had a great lunch right on the beach. I had the most amazing pasta with octopus and mussels in a pesto sauce, absolutely delicious. Pete had a platter with swordfish, salmon and tuna with salad (cappacio style). Jenny and Robyn went all out - Jenny a salami and tomato pannini and Robyn had a hamburger!! (PS Jenny ate an octopus and lived to tell the story!!)Still it was wonderful sitting by the sea in the sunny weather! We then wandered down the road, bought gelato and thoroughly enjoyed our day by the sea. We wandered back to the car and then managed to find our way back to Volterra and then San Gimi.

The weather had changed on the way home, from sunny at the beach to raining in Tuscany. Made the drive home a bit scary as not only was I coping with the roads and the sharp corners,now I had the rain as well. Still we made it home safely and then Pete and I went into town to try and buy tickets to Florence on the bus tomorrow but the shop was shut, so we bought some pizza slices and bits and pieces and came home for our platter and glass of red and early night! Hoping the weather fines up for the morning as we would like to be off to Florence!

DAY SIX
Up early and the weather was magnificent, and we were all ready for our adventure in Florence. Up to the café to buy our bus tickets which turned out to be an easy thing to do. After our usual breakfast of cafée and pastry it was off on the bus. First stop at Poggibonsi where we changed bus and then onto Florence. We thought the drive was going really well and we would be there in no time, until we hit the outskirts of Florence where the traffic slowed down to a trickle. Finally made it into town and it was only 10.00am.

After much map turning the navigator with help from Peter managed to find where we were and where we needed to go. Off we set to find the Statue of David, we wanted to see the original so we found the Gallerie del’Accademie and found where to buy tickets so we did not have to line up to get in. We are really finding our way around now. David really is amazing, the photos you see don’t actually give you any idea of the real size of the statue, and Hayden there is no fig leaf on the original, so stop trying to cover up our copy in the garden!! After wandering around and being cultural we walked through the town of Florence seeing the wonderful Duomo and cathedral and exploring streets along the way.

We stopped and worked out how to use the Bancomat and got some much needed cash before we found the markets. We walked across the Ponte De Vecchio and imagined ourselves buying lots of gold, but of course we didn’t though there were many photo opportunities for us to enjoy. We found a small café where we had lunch and recouperated from the busy morning, then off to find the markets. Found one small one where Jenny was tempted by a leather coat, but she managed to hold off which was just as well as at one of the other markets we found later we bought the same coat for her plus a coat for me at less than the first man tried to sell her just one. I found a doctor who spoke English and managed to get some antibiotics to try and get rid of this chest infection that I must have picked up on the plane.

We kept walking stopping for a drink to watch life go by and then back to the market for more shopping. We realized we were going to miss the bus so we picked up speed and found our way back to the bus stop. We arrived a bit hot and unfortunately the bus was not airconditioned so it was an uncomfortable ride home and due to a combination of heat, being in the back of the bus and the antibiotics I managed to be sick all the way from Florence to San Gimignano. Not a great way to finish the day!

Still we had an amazing day and all arrived home feeling absolutely amazed with the history and culture of Italy and still pinching ourselves that we are here. Lucky Robyn and Peter got to have a romantic quiet dinner together in San Gimi as I was asleep (yet again) and Jenny was watching Pot Black and having a salami sandwich! Tomorrow is going to be a day of rest before we set off exploring on Friday.

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Photos

Robyn and Jenny drinking water
Something you wont see very often!

My lunch at Cecina
Absolutely wonderful

See Hayden no fig leaf
When Hayden was little he always wanted me to cover up David in our garden as it was out the front and he was embarrassed!

Comments

[Jackie]

Yummy food
Food looks delicious and sights very impressive. Lost again - lucky I have Adam to navigate?

[sandrasophie]

Navigator
Oh dear Jackie not if he takes after his mother!!!