Sunday 23rd August view all the photos It doesn’t take much to make Allan happy. A gentle breeze to take the edge of the heat, a seat at a quiet café, a cheap and delicious plate of rice salad and the best part of half a pint of caffe latte will do it pretty well […]
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Saturday 22nd August view all the photos No-one at home will believe this, but I’m up early again, making my way over to the Museo de San Marco. The streets are full of the rattling sound of suitcase wheels, everyone seems to be leaving (or arriving, I suppose), and I have to step off the […]
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Friday 21st August view all the photos Today I went to Sienna and purchased a shirt. Obviously that wasn’t all I did, but I thought I’d get it out of the way first, as it’s been brewing for a while. Having avoided temptation yesterday, half way to the Pitti Palace, today it was just too […]
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Thursday 20th August view all the photos Unusually for Florence, you’re not allowed to take photos inside Santa Maria Novello (the huge church handily just across the road from the station. I’m not aiming to walk as far today). So you’ll just have to take my word for the wonderful Giotto crucifix, single Massacio and […]
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Wednesday 19th August view all the photos Pisa Intrepid as anything, I’m up early today. Bus to the station…slight delay figuring out the automatic ticket machine, then entrain to Pisa. Not only that, but by dint of some effort I manage to stay awake on the train…more or less…and am rewarded by a moderately scenic […]
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Tuesday 18th August view all the photos After successfully finding my hotel and 3 or 4 hours sleep, it does indeed start to get better. Somewhat restored, almost intrepid, I grab a bus and head into town…and gradually drown in…well, Firenze, I suppose. It’s all quite wonderful, but a bit much to take in, all […]
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Monday 17th August view all the photos Florence – a place I’ve always wanted to visit. I’ve dreamed of actually being in the same room as the fabulous Uccello, Botticelli and other master works in the Uffizzi for as long as I can remember. As it turns out, August is the very busiest, hence worst, […]
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There’s something about those tiny, hurtling, hunting scraps of life that always makes me smile…swallows, swifts, martens. I love them all. They always seem to me expressive of the sheer joy of flight, madly attempting to zip across the whole breadth of sky, all at once. A sight so vicariously exciting, I sometimes find myself […]
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Sun 1st June view all the photos Last day, so of course I’m burdened by an un-realistic list of things to do, presents to get, places still to see. Or maybe I’m just pre-emptively stressing myself in preparation for the return to ‘not being on holiday’. (I was going to type ‘normality’ there, but a […]
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Sat 31st May view all the photos This could get muddled, as I found myself whiling away the evening (and writing notes, badly) at a local wine festival. As near as I can work out it cost me around £3.50 to get in (plus free glass of wine), subsequent glasses being about 75p. Most bottles […]
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