Friday 15 May

Overcast, a few spits of rain, nice and cool

45 minute drive into Firenza (why do we call it Florence?).

Go to the Academy – a nondescript building on a narrow street. Nothing from the outside would indicate you are about to see one of the great sculptures. Before seeing Michelangelo’s David we see 4 of his unfinished works. The last of these, in particular, shows what is created out of a lump of marble. In this last unfinished piece a leg appears to be emerging from the marble. Stunning. And then on to David. The place is not too crowded so we can slowly study it from every angle. What drew my eye is how ugly and out of proportion the feet were – like something from a Lord Of The Rings movie! This lack of proportion was necessary to support the weight of the piece.

A walking tour – the multi coloured St Mary of the Flower (Santa Maria dei Fiore) and then Piazza della Signoria where there are dozens of statues in an open air museum. Most are originals but there are two notable copies from the Academy: David and Rape of Sabine. In the Academy you cannot take pictures so copies are here.

On to a leather shop where Tina buys shoes.

We spend 40 minutes of our life to post a 4.58kg box home. You have to go through so many steps and I will never complain about our one-stop-shop Post Offices again.

On the way to the Piazza di Santa Croce for lunch I spot a beautiful leather jacket for Tina and this is purchased.

Excellent lunch in the Piazza and you will be pleased to note that at 2.51pm a band played “My Way”.

Bus back to Montecatini and in the evening we wind our way up a mountain. The bus needs an escort as the road is so windy but worth it as at the top is the Ristorante Pietre Cavate with breathtaking views. Here we have 6 starters, a variety of meats with yummy fried vegetables and salads followed by dessert. Then out comes the limoncello (a lemon based liqueur that we like very, very much) and more grappa. If something ails you, take grappa!

Tuscan notes: In the Tuscan dialect they do not pronounce a k or hard c sound so Coca Cola becomes Hoha Hole-la. Kirsten becomes Hersten (with the H brought from the back of the throat).