A:

Getting our bags from our unit to the Riomaggiore station was quite a feat, and Hercules would have been proud of Mick- he managed to carry the largest ones down and then up a total of 114 steep and uneven stairs but the weather had cleared so this made the task a little easier (M: Something about the bags absorbing less water perhaps? ). Once at the Riomaggiore station it was a train to La Spezia, another to Pisa and a third to Florence . Our landlord Enrica was waiting for us as arranged at Via delle Belle Donne, number 6, Florence, which took us about ten minutes to walk to from the main train terminal so our location is superb once again. She showed us up one level to our unit- number 1- and made sure we were comfortable, telling us that her mother lives upstairs and she herself lives close by so she can easily attend to any problems we might have.

The unit is exactly as advertised- it is basically one room with a large window and a small bathroom has been carved out of the space near the entry. There is the smallest kitchen I have ever seen, opposite the bathroom, and the bedroom is on a mezzanine above the kitchen and bathroom up a steel staircase. Everything is very clean. There is an airconditioner/ heater and television with cable (including BBC). The unit is a very clever use of a small space but is very comfortable. We have the use of a laundry upstairs which we share with the people next door. It has a washer and dryer.

We unpacked and went for a walk, excited to be here. I have not been in Florence since 1985 when we slept in a tent but Mick was here in 2005 and spent two weeks attending Italian language school near the Duomo. We had a look at the outside of the Duomo, and then at the outside of the language school. Around the Duomo are beggars who rattle a cup in front of you for money.

M:

So far the Florentine beggars get the assertiveness award from the Academy of Italian beggars. Although on second thoughts, I don't know that they are Italian. I don't want to make light of the plight of the genuine poor, but the women who ply their trade here in Florence seem to be an organised group. They wear a kind of uniform of long skirt and warm winter jacket. The older ones have cornered every church portico, so that it is impossible to cross the threshold without stepping over one of them. And the younger ones move among crowds with their cup and piece of paper - who knows what it says - with the energy tornadoes but more purpose.

A:

We were talking about the Duomo. The presence of beggars does not detract from the amazing presence of this building with its pink, green and white marble façade and Brunelleschi- designed dome. We will have a closer look at it another day- we are only five minutes walk away. We bought supplies from a supermarket that was a lot bigger than the ones we had been in in Rome and returned for a pasta dinner and bed.

The next day (Wed) after a surprisingly good sleep- because the unit is quieter than anticipated- we spent some time on the phone home catching up, as we'd had no internet access since Rome. We decided to orient ourselves a little, so did one of the walking tours using the downloaded iPhone app from Rick Steves again. We looked at the Duomo and the baptistry opposite with its famous eleventh century Romanesque doors. There had been a competition for this and Brunelleschi failed to win it, but went on to design the Duomo opposite instead! We had a stand up cappuccino in the café near the school Mick used to attend while we were in the area.

The walking tour took us along Via dei Calzauoli (which is full of delicious looking gelato shops) to the church of Orsanmichele.

M:

A sign of Florentine predilections, this church started life as a granary, and its pillars still retain the evidence of the grain shutes they once were. It is an odd, double barrelled kind of space - with the main altar in one half and a tabernacle in the other. The exterior is a testament to the pride of the guilds who sponsored statues in the surrouding niches as a way of showing both how pious and how powerful they were.

A:

It was around a rather late lunch time when we reached the Pitti palace which we got to after walking through the Piazza della Signoria which has a replica of the famous David by Michelangelo, past the Uffizi and over the Ponte Vecchio. We will see the original David later this week. We found that the old alimentari where Mick had bought a roll last time was now a rather more trendy lunch place. It was worth the stop - I had a schiacciata with buffala mozzarella with tomato and olive pesto. Mick had his filled with finocchiaria - a fennel seasoned salami.

M:

With the intention of making advance bookings for later visits to the Accademia and Uffizi, we decided to head for the Accademia ticket office. This proved to be closed on Wednesdays (ticket office - not museum) , but from the look of the place, at least for the Accademia, we could have walked straight in. This is one of the great things about being here at this time of year. The streets have been much quieter than Rome and even the square around the Duomo was relatively quiet. It isn't just the crowds. It has to be said that the Florentines are much better behaved drivers than the Romans, and it seems that both pedestrian crossings and parking regulations actually mean something here. There seems to be a general air of neatness and order that was singularly absent in Rome, and the shop windows are a delight to observe -even for products in which you have no interest! Check out the "Just for Jane" picture in the album!

A:

Our final stop (not in the audio tour) after a long day of walking was through the San Lorenzo markets where Mick bought a leather coat and I bought leather gloves and a small handbag. So at last I was able to ask my favourite Italian question- "Quanto costa questa borsa?" The answer was 30 Euros so it was a deal!

M:

The coat salesman was a real smoothy. And he never gave up! I was pretty decided I wanted a jacket - but by the time he had told me how good it looked on me, what wonderful Italian craftsmanship it was, and how well I spoke Italian, I was ready to go home with him. Anne had been eyeing off gloves since we arrived, and when it looked like we were done, Signor Smoothy talked her into them. And of course we paid part of the account in cash - which won't appear on any financial return from the shop, I am sure. I would tell you which one, but they may kill me

We stopped again at the supermarket - there are limits to what we can carry in one trip - and red wine is heavy! Home tired but happy and dinner of chicken and veg watched one of our DVD Italian movies, Giorni e Nuvole - the kind of bittersweet midlife crisis thing the Italians do so well.