Florence 28 Sept

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Siena to Florence - September 28

(Geoff) Today we say farewell to Siena. We have enjoyed the town and its a pity that we are just coming to grips with the bus system and its time to say good-bye. We pack our bags and get a taxi to the station. Its now 10:30 and the train is due to leave at 11:15 (so we thought) when we checked the tickets and realise that it will leave at 12:15 as there are reduced services on Sundays. Oh well that's the thing about travelling - keep on smiling and wait around until it all comes together.

We arrive in Florence just before 2:00 p.m. and get a taxi to our hotel. We are quite amused as the taxi does a few circles and we see the same hotels flash past at least 3 times before we arrive! It really must be a short distance from the station after all! After checking in, its time to do a preliminary explore.

Guess what - she's done it again!! Our hotel is located in the heart of the old town, near the river Arno and about 500 metres from the big Cathedral (the Duomo). All around us are shops and restaurants - I think I am going to like it here and I know Sue will enjoy the shopping! We meander through the town to the Ponte Vecchio, on the way enjoying seeing lots of people out and about. There are all sorts of things going on (I wonder if there is a festival or carnival under way) and its great to be among the hustle and bustle. We come across a piazza that has lots of statues including a copy of Michaelangelo's famous David - the original is in a Galleria that we intend to visit on Tuesday, before heading to France. Pretty impressive really when you look up at it rising 3-4 metres from the pavement.

Now its time for dinner and we get some excellent advice from our host about good restaurants in the vicinity. We have a nice dinner and as the night is balmy and the crowds have thinned a bit go for a leisurely post dinner stroll. The window shopping is pretty good though it might have given Sue some ideas for tomorrow .......

Till tomorrow - Ciao.

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