Florence

After much research we decide to throw caution to the wind and drive straight in to an Italian city, this one being Firenze

The faithful App and its contributors lead me to an urban enclosed parking spot just 2km from the main sights of the city. After 'threading' our arrangement through the barriers and sharp turns we lock it all up and head for town

We are thrown in to a world of scooters as they are everywhere and constantly perform circus stunts to avoid tourists and those crazy car drivers…

What level of control this guy had is unsure but he looked the part

So the bridge, or should I say Ponte Vecchio, is our first stop as its rammed with jewellery shops and freshly licked windows

Step away Nina….

The Palazzo Vecchio towers over the malls

One for you Julie...

More windshield than scooter..

Jimmy Nail must be in town

The Cathedral in all its glory

The Campanile Di Giotto

Last time we were here we walked up the bell tower and almost died through exhaustion

Much nicer to view from below and healthier..

Leather shops again dominate and the aroma is everywhere

Closely followed by loads of these..

And endless pizza sellers

Nina discovers a dedicated leather market and all is lost for a while

Refreshment is sourced from a couple of bars where the wine prices where sensible I have to say, we stayed clear of this menu as we seem to have switched to wine since our arrival in Italy

As the sun went down on a long day's city strolling and after having a nice meal at a ristorante, entertained by our American neighbours, we select this little corner bar for a nightcap

Nina plucks up the courage to go ask for 'due bicchierra vino rossi per favori' and the guy returns with huge glasses of the red stuff

All is tranquil until I go to pay and he presents a €16.00 bill

Bad Karma my friend….

We soldier on, cos thats what brits do, and trudge uphill back to the van

I have a brainwave and decide to don more sensible shoes and go seek some nighttime shots of the city

It was a 5km round trip at midnight and we must have been mad but pleased we did it

So with traffic and city noise ebbing away we turned in at 2am…

Exhausted teddies...