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Hello from Katy this time with an update from our next stop.
Not inspired by my gushing review of the cradle of the Renaissance, Josh let me drag him on to Florence to continue the Grand Tour.
We surprised ourselves by yet again managing to squeeze Bertha into the most unlikely of places - this time practically in to the very centre of Florence, where she camouflaged well with the Renaissance statues and architecture.
I'd been to Florence a couple of times before when my friend Lizzie was a local. But my memories were sketchy to say the least, so we started in the obvious places.
Finding space to move on the crowded - but beautiful - Ponte Vecchio turned out to be no mean feat. So we headed off to the Uffizi Gallery. If paintings of mother and child are up your street, the Uffizi is definitely for you. And if not, Botticelli's Primavera alone makes it worth the visit and the epic queue that goes with it (as well as the odd Da Vinci or two lurking around the place).
At €6 for a caffe latte near the Uffizi, we skipped on past and found a more camper van budget cafe near the Duomo. Safely within our budget, we stayed for lunch. I had a seemingly harmless tuna panini - a detail that will become relevant later - before we made our way inside the Duomo we'd been admiring.
We thought we'd just have to enjoy Michaelangelo's ceiling from far below. Not the case. We were totally unprepared for the immediate, near vertical climb that seemed to last for a good ten minutes. (Sorry Lizzie, how could I have forgotten?!) We were rewarded with stunning views first of the ceiling and then of the city below, which literally took our breath away after those stairs.
Pleased with our sightseeing efforts, we made our way back to Bertha via streets full of tempting leather shops. How I've so far managed to avoid acquiring a beautiful new leather bag I'm not sure. And I'm also not sure how much longer that will last... (Christmas is coming soon though, Josh?)
Any hopes we had of soaking up off-the-beaten-track Florence were then dashed since - you guessed it - the tuna panini played a starring role in the next day's events, coming back to haunt me several times. Let's just say camper vans are not made for food poisoning, but at least you're never too far from the bathroom.
Safely recovered a few days later, we've an appointment back in Lucca for much-needed Italian lessons. So beyond-the-tourist-trail Florence will have to wait.
So on to Lucca, where we hope to get to grips with the lingo a little more. We're pretty good now at muddling our way through Italy's dental and medical services, but what we're going to need next are some general conversation pointers. Here's hoping anyway...
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