Farewelled the Cinque Terra today. Location was great, accommodation good, breakfast very basic - we were spoilt in Rome and Siena! Headed up the coast and saw patches of snow. Surprising to see snow so close to the coast. The road along the Cinque Terra was very narrow but very picturesque. Finally joined the autostrade and then off we went. The road was very good but still narrow - so not ready for 130 kph yet. Passed some really interesting places but we decided to reach our destination ASAP - the daylight is short. Using the tom-tom has been great. Long drives for the kids but they coped well, and we have been listening to Roald Dahl stories on a CD set - that has been great. There is only so much Italian/French radio one can ... read more

Woke to the bells of the local church - right next door. Was expecting seven rings (for 7 o'clock) but it just kept on going and slowly faded. Oh well - that will ensure we don't waste the day. We are staying in two separate rooms - only ones on the same floor, so me and one if the kids in one room, and Eileen and the other two in the other. Breakfast was in another building close by - very basic but did the job. Met a lovely couple during breakfast from Puerto Rico - Henry and Mari. They are in Italy for a conference (I think) and added a few days to sight-see. Henry is an accomplished violinist, plays in an orchestra and teaches, and Mari does promotional work in the same area (there's ... read more

Today we drove to Florence (Firenze). It was raining when we arrived and the Tom Tom led us to an car park through very narrow streets and kids heard more 'language' from dad. Managed to find a cheaper spot not too far out of the centre and walked in. Came across some open markets - it was interesting seeing the various foods available. We actually bought some umbrellas - believe it or not. By the time we reached the main cathedral Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore the rain had stopped. We climbed the top of cathedral dome which required climbing up about 450 steps through narrow passage ways. The views were spectacular and I hope the photos give a hint of that. After travelling back down the same passages (and having some rather intimate moments ... read more

Gabrielle, our host at Fonte dei Tufi BnB, has been wonderful. She speaks English well and has given us good local advice. It was raining in the morning so I drove Eileen and the girls up to village and then Daniel and I drove back down to the BnB to catch the bus. The rain had stopped so we had a good walk up. Walking the streets of Siena was magical. Most of the buildings are at least three stories high and the streets narrow and paved in stone. At the Piazza del Campo we climbed the bell tower of the Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) and had excellent views of the township and outer areas. Had a look around the museum next door and then had lunch (paninis all round). Kids had fun chasing and feeding ... read more

The day started with a laugh. Maria had set-up an iron for us to use. She must of assumed Eileen was going to use it because when she walked in and found me using it, she laughed with surprise. "Italian men never do this!" So there's 1 for the Aussies. Arrived at St Peters to find a huge queue for the church, so walked around to the the museum where there was no queue at all - excellent. A lot of interested stuff but again a bit of information overload. I think we have have seen enough human statues, fig leaves, papal scenes and frescoes. It was actually interesting to see statues of animals! Of course, seeing the famous paintings was impressive, particularly the Sistine chapel. It really was so well done. Did get a sore ... read more