Greg and Brett left Paris early in the morning on the 11th to ride to Florence. Their route would take them through the Mont Blanc Tunnel - all 11.5 km of it. Their ride was 1200km and they would meet us in Florence on the 12th.

Stacey, the children and I flew to Florence. A taxi took us directly from the front door of the hotel to the front door of the terminal - no dragging luggage today. After a rather frightening flight - very turbulent and an aborted landing when we were about 100m from touching down on the runway (high winds) we landed safely after a hearty round of applause for the pilot! Another taxi took us directly to our apartment. The children are delighted with our home for the next 4 nights - we have 4 bedrooms each with mosquito nets (princess beds), two bathrooms, terrace, lounge, kitchen, a chandelier and even a chess board - what more could you want. The adults were delighted that we had a fridge to keep our beer and wine cold and also a washing machine to clean our mounting pile of smelly clothes. The only thing missing was air -conditioning which would have been appreciated as the temperatures have been 35 degrees or more for our entire stay - luckily every room has a fan and the windows open wide to let in any breezes.

Our apartment is on the south side of the river about a 15 minute walk from the Ponte Vecchio and a further 10 minutes to the Duomo.

We had a Sunday to ourselves before the husbands arrived - what should we do? We are in Florence after all - one of my favourite cities. First stop was the railway station where we had been told we could get a sim card for Stacey's phone to allow us to communicate with each other if need be. At this stage we did not have a city map and I was quite pleased with myself that we found our way to the station with ease. This is my fifth visit to Florence after all! Sim card in phone, and map collected (only as a back up of course) we headed off towards the Duomo.

As we had time to ourselves, we wandered in and out of shops and checked out the prices of the goods on sale. When we got to the Duomo, it was crowded with tourists all trying to get the perfect photo of this enormous church - an almost impossible task. We then went off to get our first Italian gelati with the children - Grams knew the perfect spot (air conditioned and we could sit down). This was the first of many gelatis devoured over the next few days. Favourites were chocolate for Hayley and William, Peach Mango for Stacey and Brett, Mint for Thomas, Stracchatelli for Grams and Tiramisu for Grampy. We spent the day checking out entrance procedures for the sights we wanted to see and visiting some of the beautiful Piazzas marvelling at the architecture and statues that adorn every corner of this beautiful city. We found a lovely air-conditioned restaurant for dinner before returning to the apartment to await the arrival of Greg and Brett about 9pm. We had the beer chilled and ready - I don't think it even touched the sides as their ride had been extremely hot and not very comfortable.

Everyone slept in the next morning - this holidaying is hard work! After breakfast we set off to town. First visit was the Duomo. The queues to get in stretched almost all the way around the church and it looked like it would be a long wait in the heat to even enter the church. Kerrie spotted a man selling fast track entry for 10 Euro and quickly snapped up 4 tickets for the adults and half price entry for 2 children with one free - bargain! The tour was also audio guided and would start in just 10 minutes - bonus, almost no waiting. We all made sure that our shoulders were covered and Stacey wrapped a scarf around her legs to cover her shorts as a requirement of entry. We spent 35 minutes having the exterior and interior history of the church explained to us. This beautiful Gothic church is far more spectacular from the outside than inside. The exterior walls are covered with coloured marble, frescos and intricately carved statues. The interior boasts an enormous un-supported dome and is the most prominent point in Florence. We did not climb the steps to the dome or the tower - far too hot!

Then it was off to visit David at Galleria dell Accademia. Today was Monday. Guess what? Closed on Monday. We would try again in the morning. So, it was back to exploring the city. We wandered up and down the narrow streets keeping in the shade as much as possible. We stopped in many shops, bought nothing, but it was cool. Another gelato in our favourite spot and then checked out Piazza Della Repubblica. It was at this time that Greg and I were walked out! We returned to the apartment and left the others to continue their exploration. On the way back, we did a little grocery shopping, you know, all the essentials - beer, wine, cheese, crackers and even milk and bread.

We had arranged to meet our friends, Craig and Marg at their hotel at 7pm and invited them back to the apartment for a beer and pizza dinner. We had last seen them in Glasgow almost 4 weeks ago so we spent the evening catching up on the routes we had travelled and the adventures we have had. They left about 11.30 to walk back to their hotel which was directly opposite the Duomo and air-conditioned! Lucky them! We fell in to bed absolutely exhausted.

Our plan next morning was to get up early to line up to see David. After our late night, that just didn't happen. We managed to get back in to the Accademia about 12:00 only to discover that the non-reserved queue was out the door, down the street and around the corner and it was 38 degrees! The fast track queue was not much better. Stacey and Brett made some enquiries about fast track entry but had no success. I guess David will join Mona Lisa on the list of things to do next time. We did manage to find a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition which the children enjoyed. Next stop - gelato of course. We spent some time wandering around Piazza Della Signoria admiring the replica statues located there and then went to check out the Galleria Degli Uffizi. The children were fascinated by the cartoonists who were madly drawing characatures of passing tourists and the busking statues that came to life if you made a donation.

Greg and Brett then headed out to the airport by taxi to collect the hire car that would be Stacey and Brett's transport for the next 5 days. Stacey, the children and I found a place for a cool drink (read wine and beer for the adults) and then went to buy a few gifts for the children. Hayley and Thomas both got masks as The Phantom of the Opera remains one of their favourite activities of the trip. William purchased a very stylish hat with a couple of Italian pins attached to it. We headed back to the apartment about 5 pm to get ready for the next part of the trip in the morning. Dinner tonight was a Greggy dinner of cheese, salami, olives, pesto, beer and wine for the adults and Grams cooked spaghetti for the children - real Italian feast for our last night together.

Wednesday would see us part ways with the rest of the family. Greg and I would head off on the bike towards France to watch the Tour de France. Stacey, Brett and the kids would head south to Assissi, Pompeii and Rome before heading home via Dubai on the 25th. Our last outing together would be to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. We left the apartment about 9:30, us on the bike and the family in the air-conditioned car. We started out following Brett. The traffic was heavy and the temperature well over 30 degrees already so it wasn't long before Greg and I told the others we would meet them in Pisa. And, we actually did - about an hour later. We spent another hour taking photos of us all at this famous landmark before Greg and I had 'last cuddles' with the grandchildren and we then rode off in to the sun to our next destination, Rapallo, for a couple of nights rest.