Rome to Florence

Tuesday 3^rd May

Its o630 and still no luggage, no toiletries etc etc and we are now heading to Florence.  Himself rang Liberian airlines this morning and apparently it is now in Rome airport.   I am doubtful, but we have less than an hour to we leave so I think we can kiss it goodbye.  I am ok with it, except that we did get Anna a ring on Saturday in the Champ du Elysees and despite my best  instinct telling me to carry it with me I put it in the case.  Oh dear.

Firstly an update with the luggage, well it never left Spain.  Apparently they are putting it on a flight to Rome, which is of little consequence to us as we are heading for Florence via Siena.  It will be an ongoing saga.  We put that to the back of our mind for now and to enjoy the days sights of the day.  Once again driving through the country side of Italy is beautiful, there are lovely vineyards and hilltop villages, all with a church as their centre.  Our tour group consists of mainly Americans (the ones with the very hearty appetites), Canadians, Australians and there is one New Zealanders.  They are a lovely mix of people.  Some are far older, a few younger but also some in their 50’s,  we are enjoying their company immensely. 

Siena is first stop which is really only a short drive from Rome, it only took us about three hours in the coach.  It is a medieval centre and is very full of fine old buildings, its churches and small museums harbour a wealth of artwork.  Our coach was parked just outside the medieval walls and so map in hand off we trotted and we found that it was very easy to tackle on foot.  I was feeling for a few of the older less agile people on the tour as the cobblestones can be a bit difficult in places.  We wandered around the snarled lanes and made our way to the Piazza del Campo  which is the civic and social centre.  Dating from the Middle Ages, this is where a series of colourful pageants and a wild horse race around Il campo in July.  The Il Campo becomes a racetrack, with a ring of packed dirt around its perimeter serving as the course.  For about 2 minutes the horses and their bareback riders tear around Il Campo three times, apparently with a speed and violence that makes the spectators hair stand on end.  The pictures of this event are incredible and one would not want to be a spectator situated near the barrier.  We can’t help but think back to a time we were at a Rodeo in Scottsdale when the children were smaller and a horse broke through the barrier just near where we were.  We wandered up to the cathedral which was marvellous; it has a magnificent façade of white, green, black and white marble.  One just doesn’t tire of these great cathedrals they are magnificent.  The inlaid marble floor was decorated with panels depicting historical and biblical subjects, but the marble pulpit was stunning.  After the cathedral we did a bit of window shopping, the pottery was just stunning and the brightly coloured plates were just wonderful.   We grabbed a lovely gelati ice cream that was so nice and sat down in the Il campo to consume it.  Then came the rain, a spectacular thunderstorm followed and it was so heavy, people fled everywhere, but of course the eaves of the buildings in Siena are almost non-existent so it is difficult to find shelter, we managed to find a cosy spot and sheltered there for a wee while before we hot footed it back to the bus leaving the others with their raincoats and brollies for dead.

Off to Florence, we are getting a bit excited now as we know that we can go and buy a clean set of clothes and at least get some toiletries.  We check into the hotel, which is a little disappointing after the accommodation that we had in Rome, but one shouldn’t grumble.  We are ready to go shopping, our tour guide points us in the direction of “very reasonably priced department store” .   We first go to the ladies department in a store named Coin.  Well it isn’t our sort of gear but we were desperate.  I pick up a pair of pants, a t shirt top and a pair of knickers, expensive and not my usual tastes but adequate.  Off to the mens department, well what a hoot this is.  Apparently the Italians aren’t as big as himself, we struggled big time.  Neither of us enjoy shopping and we enjoy less when we are under time constraints which we were.  We finally found a polo shirt that would fit himself, Armani if you please, pair of pants and undies and the price of himself’s gear was outrageous.  It would have clothed us both for two years at home!!!  We then go to find our toiletries. 

At dinner last night we felt lovely and clean and refreshed, it was fabulous.