Hot on the heels of the Madrid trip the previous weekend it was time for a 'Cheeky Boys' trip to Italy after just four days at work. The outline plan would see us flying from East Midlands Airport into Bergamo on the Thursday, where we would spend one night, and we would then head to Florence (or Firenze, in Italian) by train for a couple of nights before flying back from Pisa to the UK on the Sunday afternoon.

According to Roy (from Tamworth, not from Reading . . . it's an in-joke, sorry), the official record keeper, this was the thirtieth trip in the Cheeky Boys series, and also the third in recent years to Italy. We had better look at somewhere else next time, but as the format is fairly standard; a cheap flight from an easily accessible airport, good value and clean hotels, a bit of rail travel, plenty of food accompanied by a drink or two and some late nights/early mornings. We can normally make something of just about anywhere!

Our Thursday evening Ryanair flight, FR1702 to Bergamo, north of Milan, had us in our hotel just after 22.00, so we made our way to the Citta Alta (the old town) by funicular and popped into the Fly Bar. This was somewhere we had been to before, as it serves up artisanal beer and live music so ticks a number of boxes. It was an interesting night mixing with Italians, Polish and Norwegians . . . .

Friday morning saw us head from Bergamo to Milano Centrale (a 50 minute journey by local train) to then catch the Frecciarossa (Trenitalia's Red Arrow) high speed train to Florence covering the 150 miles in around 90 minutes at speeds of up to 186 miles per hour. It's a great way to travel and also good value too costing just over £35 each in Premium Class.

Our hotel in Florence was just next to the railway station (Florence S.M.N, or Santa Maria Novella, which is named after the church that faces it) and was really handy for us, and there were plenty of restaurants to choose from in the area too.

After a leisurely lunch we had a good wander around the city, saw the stunning Cathedral/Duomo, before heading back to the hotel to change our shirts for dinner. The pizza restaurant we ended up in (Neromo), on the far side of the river Arno, was a great find and seemed to be frequented by local people. They served great pizza too!

We decided that we would head to the coast on the Saturday and caught the train to Viareggio, a seaside resort about 90 minutes by train from Florence. It was a glorious day to soak up the sun and enjoy a beer whilst watching the world go by before finding a local restaurant for some stunning food and rather pleasant wine . . . . and a free bottle of limoncello too!

Once back in Florence - the train journey allowed for a power nap - there was a chance to take in the Westin Excelsior hotel's sixth floor skybar. Not too high as far as skybars go, but a great view over the river and old town area.

Sunday morning saw us catching the 09.28 train to Pisa, from where our flight was scheduled to depart the airport at 15.05. There was enough time for us to visit the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, have lunch, and get to the airport before boarding FR1707, Ryanair's flight back to East Midlands Airport.

So that is another quiet, peaceful and relaxing trip away with the Cheeky Boys completed . . . until the next one of course. It's back to work for a rest!