I woke to threatening skies then rain, not the best way to start my day on the cinque terre track - the famous walk that links the 5 coastal towns. Breakfast is a communal affair at my hotel, so over homemade croissants filled with orange jam and cheeses I met my fellow guests - almost all were from Brisbane! I went to the train station to see big signs everywhere saying the trains are on strike on Friday, the day I am travelling to Milan. I rushed back to the...

Farewell to Florence - today's photo is of David in all his glory for your viewing pleasure. I followed a group of policemen to their usual morning breakfast place and was rewarded with great pastry and mini panini and coffee for €4! Then it was time to say goodbye to my nice florentine family at the pensionne and start catching trains, first to Pisa and then to monterosso. My bag is too big to put in the overhead storage compartments so I left it in the entra...

After a sleep in and luggage repack (how did the bag fill up so quickly?), it was time for a breakfast cappuchino and sacher torte (they had run out of breakfast dolci). The strozzi palace is taking on the big gun art galleries by doing modern informative exhibitions. The one I saw today was the formative years of Picasso, miro and Dali, along with stories of how they came to discover their individual style, rebellion against the established art styles and also ...

I was up early, one of the first in line to enter the uffizi art gallery, home to Botticelli's Venus de milo and other gorgeous art, mostly religious in theme and Renaissance in style. There were a few caravaggios thrown in the mix, but the most stunning art was by Botticelli, he paints women so beautifully. His artist model was a woman named simonetta, and he was so taken with her she was the model for almost all of his women, she tragically died young of consum...

Goodbye Siena, Tuscan countryside, villa and girls, hello solo adventure and Florence!!! It was love at first sight for Florence, it is Renaissance old, small, full of iconic buildings and the people here look amazing! Must be due to the amazing shops - I am staying on "can't afford anything" street, my pensionne is opposite tiffanys in a small lane. The pensionne is in an old convent, and is run by a gorgeous proud florentine man and his too cute for words Jap...