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Drove 11/2 hours on the A1 to Florence (Firenze). We parked on the southern outskirts and then walked to the city centre. Approx 20 min walk. Of course the first stop was then for gelato before we headed off to see the Duomo. You can tell we are here in peak season and on a Saturday. The line for the Duomo is very long and could take over an hour to get in. Since we have been in before and we are not Catholic we decided to just admire its external beauty. We headed off then to see the other buildings such as the Uffizi which still hold us in awe of their architectural brilliance. A day in Florence wouldn't be complete without Kirsten seeing her "nudy man" which was her highlight of her trip to Italy when she was young. We walked the Ponte Vecchio and started to feel exhausted as we walked around in 32 degree heat. We did a little window shopping and then stopped for lunch. Jacki had risotto e fungi, Kirsten ribolata soup and Michael tagliatelle e ragu. Not the best food we have had. We then set off to see Santa Croce and explore the leather shops. Kirsten and Jacki bought a linen and lace top and skirt all handmade but gave the leather a miss. Although we thought we had taken care to know where the car park was we realised we were quite disorientated! Maybe it was the heat. After 15 mins of walking around in circles (or squares) we stopped off for a beer in a local pub. You can tell globalisation is hitting when you are in a Scottish pub, owned by Koreans, enjoying a Guinness, watching Auckland play Super Rugby and the Liverpool Liver Bird symbol is on the wall announcing the year they were European Champions. Reorientated ourselves and eventually found the car. We are all exhausted as we make our way back to Montepulciano. Once back Kirsten slept for 4 hours whilst we put our feet up and read.
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