Bye Italy

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I fly to London tomorrow and Amanda heads home to her bambini, and her Sam too of course.
Stayed in Florence as a base and went to Cinque Terra for the day and the next day to Venice. Very tiring but worth it.
The way the people fortified Cinque Terra against invaders and grew vines etc is amazing and they are preserving the old ways which is great.
The scenery in the Tuscan countryside was beautiful. The green hillsides dotted with colourful houses and blossom trees, then the coast and the beaches. Well the beaches were a little less than what you expect when you come from my place.
The locals love Cinque Terra as the best swimming spot ever. The blue metal like rocks spread over the approximately 80 metres of public beach had families and groups of young people with their towels spread out almost touching each others, on a spring day. I can only imagine what it must be like on a hot day. Our miles of soft white sand, and depending on which car park you go to, either swimming or surfing beach, would be hard for them to believe. But we dont have the lovely green hills. Nature's swings and roundabouts.
And Venice, well i enjoyed walking the tourist trail and seeing things i had read about and the amazing, if hugely expensive shopping. Definitely for the super rich, no such thing as crude price tags. And crude is the best description of the advertising all over the Bridge of Sighs. The lovely church near the train station was about the only thing of interest that was not covered in advertising. You could see approximately 2 metres of the bridge under the bright blue signs. Please Italy get a balance between the tourist euro and your amazing history. I have, like most tourists, enjoyed Italy's scenery, museums, food and most of your people, but the way the historical icons are covered in advertising has been a shock and a disappointment. Oh well only me and now am off to UK so am sure the Italian people will not lose any sleep over my opinion. ciao ciao

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