After a sleep in and luggage repack (how did the bag fill up so quickly?), it was time for a breakfast cappuchino and sacher torte (they had run out of breakfast dolci). The strozzi palace is taking on the big gun art galleries by doing modern informative exhibitions. The one I saw today was the formative years of Picasso, miro and Dali, along with stories of how they came to discover their individual style, rebellion against the established art styles and also ...

I was up early, one of the first in line to enter the uffizi art gallery, home to Botticelli's Venus de milo and other gorgeous art, mostly religious in theme and Renaissance in style. There were a few caravaggios thrown in the mix, but the most stunning art was by Botticelli, he paints women so beautifully. His artist model was a woman named simonetta, and he was so taken with her she was the model for almost all of his women, she tragically died young of consum...

Goodbye Siena, Tuscan countryside, villa and girls, hello solo adventure and Florence!!! It was love at first sight for Florence, it is Renaissance old, small, full of iconic buildings and the people here look amazing! Must be due to the amazing shops - I am staying on "can't afford anything" street, my pensionne is opposite tiffanys in a small lane. The pensionne is in an old convent, and is run by a gorgeous proud florentine man and his too cute for words Jap...