Day 1 - 3 in Italy

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Arrived in Rome breakfast time on the 5th. Dropped our bags at the hotel and set off to see some of the sights.
Started at the Vatican - went to see the Sistine Chapel - what an amazing building with all of the sculptures, paintings, tapestries and fresco paintings. Even James was impressed. Although it is winter and the off season, the crowds were still substantial - must be really crowded in the summer. Pizza and pasta for lunch went down well and we went back to check into the hotel.
6th Jan - James' birthday - big day of sight seeing. Set off on the metro train to the Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Colloseum and various Piazzas. Happened to be a big festival day so Piazza Navona was like a day at the Royal Show. The girls found some very good shopping - all the sales are on at the moment so they both bought knitted dresses which will be very useful in our next winter. Went out for an Italian dinner for the birthday boy.
7th saw us travelling to Florence. Again we dropped our bags at the hotel and set off to see Pisa - Leaning tower and Duomo chapel (train trip of about 1.5 hours)- very nice city. Great lunch in a typical Italian cafe. Back to the hotel for a few beers and an early night. The girls have decided to abandon the sight seeing tomorrow in favour of finding their own way around the shops.
Will send some pictures in a couple of days.

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