Day 221, 10 February 2013, Florence (Firenze), Italy. Planning on the fly (still!) we checked the guidebook stashed on the iPad and discovered the "must do" items in Florence. And then we set out. First off we went to the Uffizi Gallery. Low season being what it was, we weren't about to spend €4 each on top of the €6.50 entry price just to reserve entry in advance... it was only a 40 minute queue and then we were in. There is a surfeit of religious art in Italy and we probably reached saturation point in the Vatican, so whilst all very beautiful and all very golden and usually starting with "The Madonna and/of the etc", there were only a few items in the Uffizi that really caught our eye - Botticelli's Birth of Venus (Yes. The one from the seashell). The Michaelangelo with the baby St John and the Holy Family and, ta da!, our new favourite artist, Bronzini and particularly his painting(s) of the dwarf Morgante. It was a fabulous day on the weather front and having left the Uffizi with our immortal souls intact we crossed the famous Ponte di Vecchio - the only bridge spared by Hitler at the end of WWII. (Pictured - looking down from the 1st level of the Uffizi Gallery.) It was built in the 13th century and was originally home to butchers and fishmongers who put their waste directly into the River Arno. Then the tanners took over.... horses' urine was intimately involved... Then in the 1500s the purveyors of "vile arts" were thrown out, the rents were doubled and 40+ jewellers and 14 goldsmiths were ensconced on the bridge. And most of them are still there. Preciousssss...... (quick Lord of the Rings reference!) Compared to Rome, Florence is particularly easy to tootle around on foot and has enough major landmarks and signs to make getting lost nigh on impossible. Therefore we wandered and discovered and explored. Upon leaving the Bridge we soon discovered the Mercato Nuovo. Or new market. Well relatively new - from memory it was established in the 1600s. New to differentiate it from the Mercato Vecchio (Old Market) which was demolished along with its surrounding slums. The market was fine as far as it went. Just ridiculously non-negotiable. We don't like paying retail for anything, anywhere in the world - so discovering all the little leather purses cost €10 no matter which stall holder we asked looked awfully non-competitive. We would have escaped Florence without the purchase of any leather goods at all, but the Turkish coin purse we use for ready-access money, spare camera battery etc finally died. Having had no luck at Mercato Nuovo, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before we hunted dinner. Snooze, shower, change of clothes and a few extra layers - the sun had disappeared and our breath was visible in front of us. Ended up having divine risotto with porcini mushrooms and fresh asparagus (me) and James had ravioli with ricotta and spinach, mushrooms and truffles. The most superb Italian food so far. (Osteria All'Antica Mercato, on Via Nazionale near Mercato Centrale). Note to selves - must go and check out the food market there tomorrow morning. The hordes of leather vendors were just closing up when we arrived for dinner around 7pm. But we have big hopes for the perfect purse purchase tomorrow prior to taking a (relatively) impromptu day trip to Pisa (and the Leaning Tower - which is, of course on the "must see" list.)