Italy: Its all Good!

We have finally bitten the bullet and are paying the 8 euro an hour for the internet. Excuse me while I type very very fast to compensate for this extravagance.

Our lives have been fantastic since we last communicated. You can't complain while crusing thru Tuscany and Venice and we won't. If there's a better place in Europe then bring it on. Mr Unexcitable has been greatly moved by Tuscany and seeing Siena, San Gimignano and Florence on gorgeous Spring Italian days. Gents, bring wives, fiances and girlfriends to these places immediately - you cannot go wrong.

Well we left Rome and headed to Florence seemingly a long time ago but probably less than a week. We landed in Florence and did our usual trick of waiting for a man to offer us cheap accomm. When he arrived he promised 40 euro accomm with our own shower. This was a nice surpise and we followed eagerly. Ignoring the stench of sewage in the streets (We are getting used to this smell by the way, anyone who has visited Venice will be know the smell I'm talking about), we found the hotel and settled in. Sure the old sheets were on the bed, but they were embarrassed about that and fixed it post haste.

Florence is certainly amazing. We took a fantastic walking tour which was conducted by a chick from Sydney. She knew her stuff and we were soon looking at every building as though it was built by the Medici or Strossi families or some other guild. We were spotting Donatello sculptures all over the place and thus completed our Ninja Turtle set: We have seen a Leornado, Raphael, Michaelangelo and Donatello. Cowabunga!

We checked out the Affizi gallery and enjoyed the Renaissance works. Apparently in the 14th century humans were once again able to paint without making babies appear disproportionate in the head. Scarily Cathy and I prefer the older 12th century stuff - check the frescos in the tower of San Gimignano as perfect examples.

Speaking of which, SG as we'll call it, must be the most perfect hilltop village in the world. Gorgeous like an advertisment for Intimissimi at the bus stop, it captivated us and encouraged us to stay far longer than we intended. Its tower, once climbed, has perfect views over Tuscany and its Wild Boar Panini will live long in the memory. Check it out here.

Siena: Having now read Dario's Too Much Tuscan Sun, I was looking forward to seeing the town of the Palio. What I didn't expect was to meet 2 Canadians and spend the day walking around shooting the breeze. It was lovely to speak some English and I certainly enjoyed the opportunity. I asked them how did the Canadians get rid of the Queen when us stupid Australians were unable to do so. They looked at my blankly and said they didn't know. I suggested that there must have ben a referendum or something and they said they didn't know. I laughed and they laughed and we moved on. 30 minutes later they piped up and said that the Canadians still had the Queen - that's why they couldn't tell me when they got rid of her! I was stunned. Surely those smart Canadians got rid of the Queen years back, but apparently no! We spent the night chatting away and made some new friends, which was lovely and overdue.

Staying in the 1, 2 star hotels means you can sleep in the same room and share your adventure. You do however lose the opportunity that comes from meeting new people in a hostel. Having heard more stories from our new friends about snoring, vomiting strangers, I'll stick to me and Cathy by ourselves in the 1 star I reckon.

Then on to Venice. For those that have been here, you know what I'm talking about. For those that haven't, get here before global warming finishes it off. Its like nothing else I've ever seen (except maybe Amsterdam without the cars, drugs and women). Truly amazing but probably only for 48 hours before the smell and inconvience of the 117 islands and 450 bridges takes its toll.

Before I sign off for a couple of days: some stories about some people we have met.

1. English couple who spoke like the black guy in the Nescafe ad about Kenyan coffee "Twapshire!!!" who were dressed like they had been born in Yemen and were living in the hills with Osama's relatives. We met them in a museum in the medina at Sousse in Tunisia. I didn't mention them at the time but I keep reflecting on this idiot Pom, dressed in a flowing blue Kaftan like thing, leather sandals and a scarf that he stole from Yassir. It was quite frankly extraordinary. We had a hard enough time in that country without dressing like movie extras but he seemed to think it was the way to go. Tragic.

2. Man on the train from Palermo to Rome who only spoke Italian but attempted to convert the other man in our 4 man carriage to his form of religious cult known as the Watchtower. While I stuffed the ear plugs further and further into my inner ear, this gentlemen spent half the trip showing the other man pamphlets and telling him about religious matters. It woudn't have been a problem, except for the fact that it continued until after we fell asleep and was going before we woke up. What a nightmare! The only thing that saved us was the fact we couldn't speak Italian, otherwise we might have been next on the list!

Anyway, I'll leave Cathy to post soon. Must respond to some email.

Cheers.