Ciao! We bring you this blog from the church of Montepulciano. No, not because we got distracted by it's beauty (although it is stunning), but because it has the best wifi in the whole town and James needed to study the form for Stakes tomorrow. Yup, we're using the monk's un-password protected wifi to gamble.... Let's hope we see some divine intervention in the results of his betting!

When we last wrote we were on the last days of France. So we finished France in style, ballooning over Provence on a perfect (albeit very chilly!) Sunday morning. It was really amazing and something neither of us had ever done, so to experience it in southern France was pretty cool. After a celebratory champagne and croissant to toast the fact we were back on solid ground safely, it was goodbye France, hello Monaco!

What a strange place. So tiny, yet soooo much to look at! Apart from the beautiful historical sights such as the (still in use by playboy Albert) Prince's Palace, old town, gardens etc, we spent hours perusing the beautiful harbours gawking at the monstrosities that the rich and famous call their 'toys'. It really was overwhelming to see the sheer size and opulence of these boats, and after a stroll past the 'boat real estate agency' where most of the for sale boats hovered around the 30 million euro mark, it was a glimpse into how the other half live and just how much wealth there is in this crazy little country!

Of course a trip to Monaco would not be complete without a bit of a flutter at the Monte Carlo Casino, and what a place to flutter in! Apart from the fact that the outside of the building is just beautiful, the 5 red Ferraris, Maserati, Rolls Royce, and Bentley that were parked in the 10 carspaces at the front indicated maybe what we were in for. And we weren't disappointed. It was beautiful and amazing, with more chandeliers than I thought possible, and I really did think James Bond was going to walk out from around a corner with his martini in hand. I learnt that not only do 200 euro notes exist, but so do 500 euro notes- and by the amount that people were laying out on the table I was sure they had confused 500 with 50....huge. So we spent a few hours at Monte Carlo, and can happily say (thanks lucky number 17!) that we were able to leave with a bit more than we started with - we even got a 200 euro note of our own!! The 500 was a bit more elusive unfortunately!

After a few days mixing it with the rich and famous it was time for us to head to Italy! Unfortunately it wasn't the smoothest trip as all day there was torrential rain, meaning that roads were blocked and accidents were aplenty. We sat in a tunnel for an hr and a half after there was an accident blocking it, so lucky we had the iPad for Monopoly to keep us sane! We finally arrived in Camogli on the Italian Riviera, the place we called home for a few days.

The Italian riviera was stunning. After the day of rain (which really didn't bother us as we were driving) we had the most perfect weather. Camogli was a picturesque little (still operating) Fishing village, with great little bars and a gorgeous beach, and We used it as our base to explore the surrounding areas. We spent a day in Portofino, playground of Italy's rich and famous in summer, and you can see why. Stunning clear aqua water, restaurants and bars dotted around a cute as pie harbour, every luxury brand name shop you can think of, and views you could sit and take in for hours, it was perfect. After a hike up to the lighthouse we stumbled upon a cafe that was kind of perfect - cold beers, tables in the sun, view over the Mediterranean and the Italian Riviera - needless to say we spent a bit of time there just 'taking it all in'...

We had planned to leave Camogli after a couple of nights and head to the Cinque Terra, but due to the day of torrential rains there were severe landslides throughout the area, and the towns were devastated. Some of the footage we saw was scary and just terrible, and the towns were left with no electricity, no gas, and no running water. So we extended our stay in Camogli, a pretty good option really! We spent our extra day walking out to a lookout point in another little riviera town, where again the sun was shining and the vista was heaven. The Italian Riviera was fabulous, and it's somewhere we definitely can't wait to come back to!

We left our relaxing beachside getaway and headed for Florence for some culture, some art, and of course, some leather! While It felt a world away from The chilled out, quiet beachside towns we had just left, Florence was great. We stayed in a great b&b in a perfect position, 5 minutes walk from the heart of Florence, but in a trendy little area that felt full of locals. We ensured our quota of Italian food was brought up (I think James had pizza 5 nights in a row?) at the great, and super cheap (compared to France!) restaurants, we visited lots of churches, and we found plenty of time to fit in some shopping! On this front we were successful, and managed to both buy some great leather products, and I'm sure we didn't get too ripped off by the very charming Italian man.....

We also managed to catch the races while in Florence (the Internet really is amazing!) which made James feel like he wasn't missing too much of his favorite time of year!

We left the hustle and bustle of Florence and made our way through Tuscany to the hill town of Montepulciano, which is where we are now. Known for it's wine, pecorino cheese, truffle, and a handmade pasta called 'pici', Montepulciano is fabulous. Set on a hill in the heart of Siena, the town itself is full of beautiful churches, fortresses, abbeys, and gorgeous shops. While it's a tough town to walk around due to the steepness of it's beautiful cobbled streets, there's always an enoteca (wine bar) to stop at and re-energize you. The surrounding towns are also beautiful, and we drove around yesterday to Pienza, Montisi, Pietorio, all tiny towns set high on hills among the stunning countryside. And it really is stunning. Exactly as I imagined Tuscany to be, full of rolling hills with vibrant yellow and red vines, olive trees blanketing the land, and Tuscan farmhouses dotted throughout. An amazing place to drive around. Add to that the fact that we are staying at one of those gorgeous tuscan farmhouses, where we wake up to the most perfect view out our window, and complete with Mamma who bakes heavenly cakes fresh every morning for breakfast, it really is perfect.

And on that note it's time to head off for the first of our daily coffees (every coffee here is made to absolute perfection and so cheap!). We head to Assisi tomorrow before beginning to slowly make our way up North of Italy. But while the weather is still good (still 20 and sunny every day!) we will lap it up, as it's only going to get colder from here.

Love to you all, hope you had a win on Cup Day!
Until next time,
James and Nic