Don't you love feeling as though you're being naughty, even when you're not? I crept out of our hotel room just after 5am this morning with the family still asleep, and hopped on the nearest vaporetto to Piazza San Marco, camera in hand, hoping for a glimpse of the square sans thousands. The Grand Canal was beautiful again in the morning light, and I couldn't stop snapping the gorgeous canal-side buildings with gondolas or motorboats moored in front. No-one else on the vaporetto seemed interested in standing outside, so I had the bow of the boat to myself and I enjoyed the peace. It only took 20 minutes to walk home from Piazza san Marco, but the vaporetto wound it's way there along the grand canal over about 40 minutes. A small army of men was ... read more

I don't think we even drove an hour today before the scenery changed dramatically. As we headed towards the mountains, the trees turned to firs, and the fields were green rather than the golden, Van Gogh-like ploughed fields we'd been used to in Tuscany. We drove over the alps and onward towards Venice, happy that we didn't have to rely on road signs to get us where we needed to go. We didn't see a sign for Cervia until we were in it! Silvia had suggested that we stop off at a few towns on the way, but we were actually keen to spend as much time as possible with her family, so we just drove non-stop to Cervia - a pretty easy drive along freeways, especially compared with the roads we'd negotiated in Tuscany. As ... read more

Hugo has discovered the pleasures of an i-pod. This morning on the drive to Florence he sang along to the Beatles, Eric Clapton and his random favourite: "Summer of 69". We were determined to be early today, as we had seen the queue to the Duomo snaking around the block on Tuesday and weren't keen for that experience. We set an alarm (!), got up and flew out the door, with the intention of stopping for pastries, juice and coffee in Asciano town on our way. I am always a little shocked to see men sitting at tables outside the cafes, drinking wine, at all times of the day. I must say I imagine their wives at home, juggling cooking, washing and children while the men sit relaxing. Anyway, apparently wine with breakfast isn't all that ... read more

Heading to Florence can be a bit daunting. There is so much to see, and stories of 3 hour waits to enter the Uffizi gallery are a bit scary, especially with lots of children in tow! Last night Steve and I searched the Internet for reservations at the gallery, but found it all quite confusing. After he had gone to bed, I stumbled on a site called "Friends of Uffizi", an association set up after the terrorist bombing some years ago. One of the benefits of joining appeared to be free multiple entry to a huge number of galleries and museums in Florence, WITHOUT RESERVATION OR BOOKING! Could it be true? They even had a family membership! Well, it was. I paid on Paypal, turned up this morning with the family and was ushered past the ... read more

It is cooler in the mornings and evenings here in the hills. It doesn't stay cool for long though! We opened the heavy wooden shutters and doors this morning to brilliant sunshine. I like the design of the shutters - no light at all makes its way through them and we are free to sleep until we are ready to wake up. The plan to drive to San Gimignano for the day got us all moving again, and we set off for the hilltop village, which is about 30 minutes from Asciano if you drive like an Italian. We didn't, and arrived alive 45 minutes after setting off. Whatever the i-pad lacks in photo uploading ability, it is great when it comes to maps. Astrid and Steve met us in Asciano about an hour after we ... read more