"Guided tours in Engrish!" Vatican City today. Got there on the shuttle bus from the campsite, and after being dropped off around the back of the City, we walked around to find a massive queue snaking around St Peter's Square. We decided this was for the museum, so we went to the Basilica instead and practically walked through the queue. We found we could go up the dome for 5€, so we did. There were more steps than the Florence dome, but they weren't as diffi...

Travelled to Rome today. Got in around lunch time and missed the stop on the bus, ending up in Badlands. Got it right going the other way, and the campsite, which is run by the same company, is paradise compared to Florence. There are pools and jacuzzis, the showers are infinitely cleaner and the whole place looks so much more inviting. We're having a lazy day here today and will be hitting Rome proper tomorrow. There are computers and plugs here, so no more suff...

Because we didn't get to do it yesterday, we went back to Florence from Pisa and went up Il Duomo. This is the building that utterly dominates Florence, and climbing the dome is gruelling. About 470 steps to the top, you feel very aware that the staircases get narrower and steeper as you climb higher inside the dome. On the way up and down, you emerge inside on one of 2 gallery levels that overlook the inside of the cathedral. Not for vertigo sufferers. A final...

Pisa today, after an awful nights sleep. There's a club near the campsite that blasts music out until 3 in the morning and you can hear everything from the tents. That might have just been for the festival yesterday...fingers crossed. Hour train journey to Pisa from Florence. Free train - hurrah! To be honest, Pisa isn't very exciting apart from the cathedral area where the Leaning Tower is. We bought a ticket that got us into everything but the tower, which was...

Fireworks were incredible. Whatever this festival was must have been a big deal, because this was New Year's Eve in London size. The end was Earth-shattering, with about 20-30 of the biggest, loudest fireworks going off at the same time. It was incredible to be so close to where they were going off, and this made it louder for us. The sound echoed around the valley for ages afterwards.