Well we finally made it. Feels like we have run a marathon. We left PERTH at 10.20pm. 11 hours to Dubai. 4 hours stop over. No flies on me this time. I managed to find a dunny that had real porcelain instead of a hole in the ground and a hose for a wash down. Getting on to the plane is a journey in its own right. Downstairs onto a train. Then into a big lift. Out of that into another lift then downstairs to the terminus. Once all that was done a bus ride to the plane. Perth's airport is dwarfed by this place. The flight to Bologna was uneventful and we arrived at 2.10pm. We took the shuttle to the train station to get the to Pisa. As we arrived early at the station we were told to take the early train. It was leaving from the East platform. Fortunately I have a very good handle on the AusTalian language. Saw Oest and ran as we had 8 minutes. But we couldn't find the train! I learned afterwards that Oest means West. Whereas est means East. Anyway Cheryl had worked it out but we missed the early train. After I managed to stuff things up I decided to shout everybody a water. I went to the supermarket only to find self serve cash registers all written in Italian. I had to call the lady across as I could see a bottle of water could bankrupt me. The lady suggested selecting English. As it turned out it was a great piece of advice.

Dianne as we all knows panics a bit. She did not believe me that the train leaves this platform at this time. I called her over to the timetable and pointed at the entry. It was a bit higher up on the timetable so she had to stretch. Then she says to me who was looking over her shoulder "I've just farted". I have decided I am not helping with anymore timetables! The train arrived and soon we were off to a station 2 stops before Florence. We changed trains there and eventually arrived in Pisa. We caught a taxi to the Royal Hotel Victoria. Let's say it is not so Royal these days and Queen Victoria probably did sleep in it. Probably on the same bed. But like many of the places over here they have their own personalities and a quaintness about them. We loved it. I had to hit the sack early. Like all my previous trip I seem to end up with a runny nose and sneezing. Brian Cheryl and Dianne finished the first day with a couple of drinks on the great little terrace outside our room. Looking forward to tomorrow.