After yesterdays trauma getting to the hotel/apartment in Florence, today was an absolute joy. Florence is full of piazzas, narrow streets and history. There is one drawback, tourists and they cannot be avoided because we're two of them.

First stop was the Ponte Vecchio, full of life and charm, jewellery shops and people, so of course we made the normal stop to buy earrings, for Penny that is.

It wasn't all shopping although there is plenty of opportunity and a never ending supply of stalls and street vendors selling everything from artworks to silly putty. When it gets dark the vendors are still there this time with glo stick parachuty things that they fire really high in the air with elastic and they spiral down. Pretty but use once only.

You cannot visit Florence without seeing David. This is the statue of the young David, who slew Goliath, carved by Michelangelo in the 15th century. Apparently he found a spare block of marble outside the cathedral in Florence and he asked if he could have it as he had an idea for this statue, he was given permission and the rest as they say is history. When it was finished it stood in the Piazzo Della Signoria until the 19th century when it was moved to The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze in the Piazza San Marco and a replica erected in it's place. The copy is in the square where we resided and is very good, but the real thing is stunning, the detail of the figure is amazing, you could sit in front of it for hours and not get bored. Well that's another thing before we die ticked off!

ps as I could not take photos in the museum I took the liberty of sketching the original and included that, thank you.