Woo hoo one more sleep till Firenze.

Another smashingly cloudless blue sky which seems the norm here until the clouds roll in about midday.

Today the cull begins as we shed luggage space to enable a less stressful train enbarkment and disembarkment and to eke out some extra space for some Florentine shopping. I have already got rid of two shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of pants and a backpack. All my bits and bobs fit in my Moto Guzzi satchel I picked up in Firenze last time.

The church bells are having a dong fest (or trying to drum up business) and there is no way you could mistake that it is Sunday in Italy. The chimes go every half hour and at prayer times but on Sunday they are louder than Geoff Edelsten's trophy wifes wardrobe contents.

The mercury has hovered around the 25 degree mark all day so to keep the kids out of Tarn's hair whilst she packed I was cajoled into taking the kids into the pool. So after fishing out 4 dead skinks and a live one the swamp was free of reptiles but the insect life (and afterlife) was still in large numbers.

I got in one step at a time as it's only just over 5 foot deep and my squeals rang through the valley as I entered the arctic waters. To say it was cold was as big an understatement as saying the elephant man was no oil painting. At one stage I felt my left testicle lodged in my right eye socket.

One thing I discovered was the pool floor was actually the tip of a flat iceberg. The girls had a ball anyway until the pool was evacuated by the arrival of a toad which looked like it had swallowed a baby crocodile. I bravely scooped it out (mainly because the scoop had a 14 foot handle so I had quick access to the stairs).

Well it's the last night here in northern Tuscany and I can think of no better way to say goodbye than Bistecca Fiorentina and patate rosemary. A nice bottle of Chianti to wash it down with to help zone out and rest for the last round of the rental car rally.

Ciao