Firenze:
We caught another fast train to Florence from Milan and arrived in time for Andrew and Tara and a few others to head up to San Baronto in Lamporecchio. We arrived to have a few drinks and nibbles before we went and met Andrews sisters in-laws where El and I were staying for the following 3 nights. Mario and Paula were awesome! Even if there was a slight language barrier. Mario was a vet and had a few animals such as Jeffrey the horse and a Punto a little dog. Mum and dad were late to arrive having been in Sicily in the morning but it was good to see them.
The next day Andrew has hired a 52-seater bus for 25 people and a local driver to take us around for the next 2 days. Florence was very busy and due to only being there for a few hours I didn’t get the chance to go and see David. We walked around the Duomo and the famous Jewellery bridge (so famous iv forgotten the name of it) before we jumped back on the bus bound for a fashion shopping outlet strip in the middle of the Italian countryside. The shopping was alright would have been good to spend some more time in Florence. We had dinner in Porciano (where el and I were staying with Mario and Paula) that night which is located on the side of a mountain overlooking vineyards, farms and Tuscan villas. It’s in the region of Lamporecchio in between Pisa and Florence. Everyone came from San Baronto because it was the second weekend of the harvest festival they have yearly. Because there were around 30 of us they set up a table for us overlooking the Tuscan countryside with a live band. Stacey made it out that afternoon to spend a couple of night with us. It was a great night eating until we couldn’t stomach anymore, listening to live music and watching the old locals have some serious dance offs. They were very good dances from tangos, rumba etc. Andrew had told me he had heard of a few stories of affairs starting and ending on the dance floor over the years and that even though it was professional dancing everyone on the floor dressed for the occasion and were trying to out do each other. A spectacle to watch!
Lucca and Pisa:
We hoped on the bus to Lucca a small fortress town and hour from Pisa. It was excellent to walk the streets looking at the old stores, towers and fortress walls. Stacey and I climbed one of the watchtowers to look over the city, which was spectacular. We walked along the ramparts and had a look at the botanical gardens situated within the walls which had a pond filled with snapping turtles! Yeow Yeow Yeow
We arrived in Pisa after Lucca on a stinking hot afternoon to be greeted by immigrants trying to flog what ever they could to anyone who looked them in the eye. Even selling “Genuine Rolex” apparently? We made our way to the Cathedral and the Leaning Tower of Pisa where we did the usual tourist pictures. Then the heavens decided to open up for us once again on this Asia/European adventure! So we took cover in the cathedral. The leaning tower of Pisa was great to see and to learn about but apart from that it didn’t offer much else and felt Lucca was a much better town to visit.
That night was our last as big group, as Stacey and I were heading to Rome the next day. We headed to a lovely restaurant Mario and Paula included. We ate and drank (including some homemade blackberry snaps) before we headed home. The next morning I said goodbye to mum, dad and El my travel buddy for the past 4-week and headed to Roma.
Rome:
Stacey and I arrived in Rome in the afternoon after an adventurous train trip where we couldn’t find out boarding passes when the ticket inspector came around. After scrambling around for 5minutes I jumped onto my emails on my phone, which had 2% battery and showed him the confirmation email with our seat numbers. Hail Technology!
Our hotel room was close to the central station in Rome so we decided to hike it, shower and then go and explore Rome. Now Stacey said she had the Rome sight seeing down pat because she was there last year so I kind of went with her and allowed her to direct us until she got us lost….. haha. Before this however we did manage to navigate our way to the Colosseum, which was as good as I had always imagined it to be. To think of the things those walls had witnessed and the atmosphere they would have contained over the centuries of use was astounding. Some little pezzie tried to sell us roses but we soon shoed him off. We had a brief look at the ruins but our next stop was the Trevi fountain. This is were Stacey got us lost haha but we soon found our way as did a couple a hundred other people. We had gotten there around 9pm so it was all lit up and people crowding the waters edge to get photos. The mystique is that if you throw a coin into the Trevi fountain it guarantees your return to Rome. Looks like i am going back.
The Vatican:
Tuesday was our last day together so we decided to go and visit the Vatican…..with everyone else in Rome. Getting to the Vatican at 10.30 wasn’t ideal as the line was now over a 2 hour wait in the searing sun just to enter. After shoeing away a few tour guided saying they would get us in skipping the line we eventually decided it was worth it. SO we paid a guide 46 euro each, which in hindsight was a great decision. I learnt a lot more information that I would have not known about or would have blindly walked past. Like the storey behind the Sistine Chapel paintings both the ceiling and the end walls by Michelangelo. We spent 3 hours walking through the Vatican with the finally visiting the Cathedral. Afterwards we had a brief look at the Spanish steps before heading home to grab our bags. I dropped Stacey off at her backpackers where El was also staying that night and from all accounts they had a big night on the turps. After that I headed back to the station and decided to get a cab because I couldn’t be bothered catching a train then a few local buses to the campgrounds where I was meeting my topdeck tour. The cab driver was nuts and I thought that I mighten even make it to the camp grounds they way he was driving through the streets. At the station prior to leaving he quoted 70 euro and because I was so hot and sweaty and tired I just agreed. When we got to the campground the meter read 46 euro (he got me good). Although I tried to justify my decision later in the night after hearing another couple were pick pocketed on the local bus to the camp ground and it was a hell of a trip from Rome central station. My driver also dropped some killer beats sooooo………
After a quick meet and greet the day was over. We headed to the port the next morning to catch an overnight ferry to Greece
