Going North

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Handy travel tip: Don t contemplate a travel blog unless you have a laptop ... or a nice French lady in the local town hall that lets you use their computer!!

From Praiano, we headed north to Pompeii, then Sienna, Pisa, Cinque Terre and Florence.....

This was our next excitng italian Driving Experience: Going up the Autostrada-

This is where you dare not overtake doing less than 140 km/hour, or else they start banking up behind you; flashing lights, honking horns (I mean _ what are you thinking, holding them up like that?). It took us about 4 hours (and a mere $40.00 in tolls) to get from Pompeii to Sienna.

After our Sienna visit we had the bright idea that we would take the State roads to Pisa and..."see a bit of the countryside..."

Well, it took us about 4 hours to go approximately 40 km (no toll costs, 'tho), so we rolled into Pisa just on dark. This turned out to be a good thing, because getting up early like all good aussie tradies, we were at the Leaning Tower very early with just a couple of backpackers sleeping rough for company.

Next on the agenda was Vernazza (village of Cinque Terre) and a Limoncello in any cafe we could find that sold them for less than two mortgages.

After that we bumbled into Florence, and picked the hotel right next to the American Embassy- which meant that there were soldiers with machine guns patrolling around outside all night (Good for security), BUT, unbeknownst to us - or anyone who bumbled along the same path, they had taken our rego as we came up the street, and were going to send us a nice expensive ticket as a memento of our stay (Luckily the Hotel Receptionist fixed this for us).

The next example of our meticulous research came next morning - Staff Meeting Day in Florence - which is also kept a big secret. How lucky can you be? After getting up early to beat the heat and the crowds to see the Real David in the Academie, we discover we just have to queue up an extra hour and a half because the Staff had decided to have a meeting ....... possibly on How To Communicate Better with The Public.

Then, we thought we would go to the Uffizi late in the afternoon to beat the heat and the crowds ...yes.... their staff meeting was in the afternoon which meant they were going to shut two hours early and...well... that was just bad luck for anyone leaving town the next morning.

This left us with a nasty choice - the (free) tour in Bologna of the Ducati Factory; us being such big bikers, OR get up early, and get in that Uffizi before they could think of another reason to chuck us out. Anyway, the Uffizi won, because as Dean said - and he's not a man to give compliments lightly.......... The buggers could paint.

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Photos

Pompeii
Who would want to be a Roof Tiler in Pompeii? Have a look at the size of these!

Pompeii
Some poor old abandoned Pompeiian....

Pompeii
Dean with statue of Apollo and old Vesuvius sitting quietly in the background

Pompeii
Even though the whole place is sadly neglected, some things still amazingly clear

more Pompeii
A fresco in some rich merchants house... not that being rich did him much good in the end

Pompeii Hotel
After we circumnavigated Pompeii approx 10 times..;NOT lost as you know, we were ecstatic to see our Hotel sign.

Sienna
Il Campo del Duomo this week

Sienna
Il Campo del Duomo LAST week...;

Sienna
The good thing about Sienna being perched so high on the hilltops is that they have escalators up from the car park. The bad thing about the escalators is that they don't turn on unless you walk on them - something we didn't realise until we were more than halfway up!

Sienna
Finally at the top!

Pisa
Here's Dean with all the crowd

Vernazza
Four out of Five terraces

Vernazza
This is the view....

Vernazza
After you have climbed up here....

Florence
We must really be in Italy - dinner with an accordion player

Florence
...and [almost] the Statue of David

Florence
and a nice walk home beside the river after dinner

Florence
I know this is not Pisa, but that tower looks a little crooked to me.

Florence
What a bonus. Dean has found a new work truck for Lav He will be able to drive all his tools right into the house in this!

Florence
Locked out of the Uffuzi !!!!§§1?!

Comments

[joseph mcgeever]

staff meetings
What's the story with all the staff meetings. Cant help wondering is this really an excuse to sit around a table and eat biscuits. I like the escalators that only turn on when you walk on them. Good idea. Do you think Dean's workmates would give him a hard time if he arrived to work in that blue van from Florence. I'd say its got a really lame horn as well.