M: Christmas Eve - a time for getting in supplies and sightseeing for us. We had made use of the clear weather to get an overview of the sights from the outside during the first few days. Today delivered the promised cloud, with the added bonus of rain - so we decided to do the "insides" of those with the greatest appeal. About 0930 we walked the 200 metres to the Arena and started with the international exhibition of presepi - which was mounted under the aren...

A: We were off to Verona today so packed up after two weeks in Florence and were on a local train to Campo Marte for about five minutes and then the crowded inter- urban (Frecciargento) to Verona which took about 90 minutes. (M: Fortunately we had booked a few days ago, because the train was packed. One of the downsides of these interurban trains is that they seem not to have sufficient space for large luggage, and nor do they have a facility for checking your l...