The catch up crunch

I have been lazy – very lazy. I fell into an emotional rut from about the 9th, for a few days and then it all seemed too daunting a job to go back and catch up. I now see the benefits there would of been in a personal travel journal. However, now that I am spending my days lazing on a beach I figure there should be plenty of spare time to play catch up. These entries will be more brief – partly so I actually catch up, and partly because some details no longer seem important or are forgotten – so I will write them in category of places we have been. Please forgive spelling and grammar errors while I quickly churn everything out. (See photo collages day by day at the bottom)
Without further ado:

9th of June – 11th of June: Florence.
Our transition from Lucca to Florence was simple, a train from station to station, and a taxi from station to accommodation (to avoid us getting lost as usual). We stayed at a bed and breakfast called Il Magnifico, and the guy who owned the place was extremely lovely and friendly, giving us a wonderful induction. Our lunch consisted of feasting on the spread of food, which was supposed to be for the following days breakfast, so we left a little for that purpose too.
It was evening before we left our accommodation in search of some wonderful food, as we headed to a place which had been recommended to us. It was just a small pizzeria restaurant, but we all enjoyed some lovely pasta. On our walk back to the bed and breakfast we came across a bridge which had the sounds of live music ebbing from it (one of Kara’s most sought after things) so we detoured to stop and listen amongst the rest of the gathered crowd. Except most of the crowd were couples enjoying some cuddles – and a few a little more. Lots of PDA in Italy.

On the 10th it was my one year anniversary with my lovely boyfriend. Sadly all we got was a Skype date – sorry boyfriend!
We decided, after a very lazy morning, that we would go and visit the statue of David – which Kara was especially excited about. And especially disappointed to find out, after walking all the way there, that David was closed on Monday’s. We instead spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Florence, exploring the nooks and crannies. When it started to rain, we took refuge in the closest museum – which happened to include the apartment of Eleanora, a fact that Eleanor thought was rather wonderful. Disappointingly though, the tower was closed due to the rain.
Dinner that night, after our first choice was booked out, lead us to a little restaurant with a lovely friendly waiter, who ensured we received a few freebies and had wonderful food. With meals finished, no one felt like going home, so we headed to a wine bar. Unfortunately I was feeling to sick to partake in the drinking, and thus missed out on the drunk fun of the walk home. Although my fun, found in laughing at the antics of the other two, seemed almost as fun.

Tuesday meant we could actually visit the statue of David – after doing our tourist time and waiting in the line. Luckily (mostly so Kara wouldn’t be disappointed) he was incredible. He was bigger then any of us had imagined and wonderfully impressive. Even more so when you consider he was hacked from a slab of stone. After the daily outing, Eleanor and Kara were ready for a siesta – so I stayed in the city and explored the market stalls alone.
Dinner took us to the restaurant we couldn’t get a seat at the previous night, as we had heard it was supposed to be wonderful. It was the first place that provided us with a menu written entirely in Italian, so we had no idea what most of it was. Eleanor and I were brave, and just pointed at random items on the menu – a plan that backfired. I was presented with half a plain roast chicken, with very little meat on it, and Eleanor with a half a roasted bigger bird. I followed up my chicken ordering a pasta dish I could understand – ravioli Bol. A good decision, as it was wonderful pasta and the rest bolgenese I’ve ever eaten.

While in Florence I also made the decision to go home earlier then first planned. I will now be leaving after Venice, rather then continuing through Croatia, Greece and France. Despite this being sad, as I am hesitant to leave (and surprisingly not yet homesick!) it is definitely the right decision at this point in time, and has caused me to feel a lot of relief regarding it. I’ll have to come back to Europe again in the future to pick up where I left off – what a shame!