Back in Florence. Spent the morning relaxing at the hotel in Rome. Was going to explore but it was raining quite heavily. Termini rail station.......mama mia!!!!! I much rather international airports than train stations in foreign countries. Luckily I arrived early so had plenty of time to work out which train, which platform etc. No trains to Florence....... I eventually worked out I was on the fast train that went to Venice and stopped first in Florence. Phew...

On our journey to Rome we stopped at Siena for a few hours. It is a pretty town with shops in a maze of streets around the central piazza. The piazza is used twice a year (July 2 and Aug 16) for a horse race- Palio di Siena. Ten horses and riders ride bareback around Piazza dei Campo The pic attached is of the main area they race around. One corner is really sharp and I can imagine that many riders hit the ground there. The hillside near Siena is gorgeous.

Visited a gorgeous township outside of Florence today. It is high up in the hills and different to anywhere else we have visited.It is a small walled medieval town on the hills between Florence and Siena. It is famous for the white wine produced in this area. The architecture is beautiful and a mixture of both Romanesque and Gothic. It is home to a famous gelateria that has won worlds best for four years running. They make gourmet gelato and I tried the champa...

A morning visit to see the statue of David at Accademia Gallery. It is 17ft high and was originally positioned in Piazza della Signoria. Amazing to see also the unfinished marble works that are also on display. David was moved indoors due to damage by weather and people - one guy in 1800's took to David's feet with a hammer. There are replicas in different places around Florence. There was a coloured copy of David in an outside courtyard done by a German artist. ...

A morning excursion to Isola Bella, one of the islands in Lake Maggiore. It has a huge dwelling with immaculate gardens. It is owned by a family whose ancestors were wealthy bankers and dealt with steel. To this day they still have ownership rights over all the waterways here and own a majority of the main island. Oh to be so rich!!!! They live in the house during summer each year and were there today. The family live on the second floor which is not open to the...