After breakfast we took the boat back into the city of Venice. The first thing we did was take a gondola ride. We had a bottle of champagne to share between four and all the views of Venice. It was brilliant. We took some of the back canals and got a whole different view of the city. Then we went to a demonstration at a glass factory. All hand blown glass. He whipped up this beautiful vase in a minute flat. I had a look around the place for something to take home...

We didn't have very long in Florence. Just the morning before we headed out to Venice. We took a look through a beautiful leather shop with some really fantastic leather coats and shoes and bags. I tried to find a coat that I liked but honestly there was nothing for me. I joined a walking tour to see some of the sights of the city but we just didn't have long enough. There's leather shops all over the place but I decided not to risk temptation and spend all of w...

Well it's back to the early morning wake up calls. Six o'clock our start this morning. But we didn't leave till eight and I had already packed so I had time for an extra lie in. Just had to make sure I didn't fall back asleep. Along the trip to Pisa, Patricia explained all our optional excisions for the next week. There are a few things I'll give a miss but I'll do most of it. We got to Pisa around one thirty and Daniel, Vic, another couple and I went out to lu...

I made the most of my last morning of sleep, having a long sleep in and a laze in the sun. I went out for a bit and wandered, but I didn't go into the city. It was nice just to enjoy the quiet, something that's been very scarce for the last month. The three thirty I went down stairs to join up with the tour for tonight's excursion, only there was no one around! I thought I had missed it. But I kept waiting and finally Patricia, the tour manager came down. I hadn...

So, I'm on my own today. You'd think I'd get something of a sleep in, but the walls are so thin here I can hear everything going on next door. I was awake around seven, but I was able to doze for a while, do some washing and read my book. Around ten, when I was half way through Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' which I started yesterday, I realized I needed to go out. So all on my lonesome, I jumped on the bus and headed out. I took the metro to Piazza Repubblica a...