Today it was my birthday! It was a long travelling day where we drove from Nice to Florence with a short stop in Pisa. Pisa was good, but after travelling for over 7 hours to get there, spirits among the group were way down. On top of this, the sun was becoming unbearably hot and one tour member actually collapsed from heat exhaustion (after freezing in Switzerland, the tuscan sun is a bit of a shock to your system). While it was initially a scary scene, it then became a very profound moment for me, as it was the first time that I began to notice the bond that our group was forming. It was so nice to see everyone genuinely worried for each others safety and welfare and people from completely different backgrounds, ages and genders intermingling as equals. The majority of our group are single travellers like me and knew no-one before the 23rd of July so it was awesome. Once we arrived in Florence we all were keen to hit the bar and very conveniently it was happy hour when we finally did. 1.5 litre cocktail buckets were on the menu for 15 euro and to say that europeans are generous with their alcohol is a major understatement. I remember standing at the bar and watching as the bartender simultaneously poured about 300mls of vodka and 300mls of peach schnapps into my bucket, only to top the rest off with lemonade and cranberry juice. Absolutely crazy - and everyone had one. I must admit it was awesome to see everyone sitting at dinner eating a classy roast dinner and sipping on a bucket of alcohol each haha! And then there was birthday cake and candles and then came the shots...Best. Birthday Ever!