Vickie was up nice and early this morning and left for work. I decided to spend the day in Dordrecht and was sooooo glad I did after the weather was so horrible. The shops don't open til midday on Mondays so I spent a lazy morning at home watching a DVD. I went for a nice long walk exploring the town area once again and picked up some groceries before heading home. Actually didn't get lost!!!! Got home and couldn't open the door at the bottom of the units so sp...

A lovely lie in this morning and then a lovely brunch with Vickie. The church bells were going wild all morning. Vickie told me that the Dutch were actually not allowed (or supposed to?) to drive on Sunday but that most of them drove to a parking lot and then walked to church from there so it looked like they walked all the way!! We hopped on a train to go to Madurodam (Little Holland). It was really cute walking around and finding out about the different parts...

An early rise at 3:40am to be at the international airport ready to fly to Amsterdam. All air travel went well and I quickly moved before takeoff to a row of seats by myself in a window seat!! Was surprised to find the airport well signed in English. Had a quick coffee while waiting for Vickie. For some reason the trains had stopped running regularly and only hourly. Luckily we caught one back not long after I met up with her as it had been delayed. Arrived i...

A relaxing morning walking around Florence. After the shock of walking out to about 8 degrees. I feel like I know the main parts of Florence now and know where I am going - sad to be leaving as it is a place i could spend more time easily. Didn't have to clutch on to my map like all the other tourists!! I visited most of the main piazzas again today and then had an early lunch - my last margarita pizza in Italy! Travelled by the fast train back to Rome Termini ...

Last morning waking in the Chianti hills. The sun was out and it was warmer this morning after our day of rain yesterday. A late breakfast and one of the couples that joined the cooking classes yesterday returned today. Just the three of us today. Today we made beautiful fresh focaccia bread (focaccia con patate) topped with tomato and oregano. Along with this was ricotta stuffed capsicums, an eggplant sauce (salsa alla norma) with penne, bocconcini (small p...