Arrivederci Italia.

I was planning to do a page on Tuscany, but because of what's happened over the past couple of days it's probably better to just have a bit of a look-back on the past week and a bit.

If I was an old man, and my wife was a grandma, our view of Tuscany might be a little different, but to sum it all up, I would have to say, 'thanks for the experience, but I'm glad it's over'. Maybe a bit harsh 'cause there were actually three places that I really liked and would put on the re-visit list. These are; Siena,

San Gimanano,

and Volterre.

Why?

Dunno! They just appealed to me.

I think, looking back - hindsight and all - staying in Radda was probably not the wisest choice. Everywhere was at least a half hour's drive, and in some cases more than an hour, and when you're a sensitive soul like me and you have to contend with...

coming at you at a great rate of knots on the wrong side of the road, it wears a bit thin. So, I think next time, I'd prefer to stay in Siena. Having said that, the place we stayed was absolutely glorious...

the hostess was great, and I think if we were in a group it would be ideal.

Anyway, Monday came and it was time for us to leave. The plan; drive to Siena, drop off the rental car, get a train to Florence, change trains and on to Milan. So, what happened?.

When we get to the Siena Train Station, we go to great lengths to find the right platform and the right train. It just happens that today is severe thunderstorm day and there's been flooding and lighting strikes all over the place. 

Every announcement at the Train Station is an apology, either for trains being delayed, or for trains being cancelled. Now we were supposed to leave Seina at 10:18. One o'clock finds us sitting on the train still waiting to leave. Next thing, some dude in a uniform, speaking a foreign language, starts telling people the train's been cancelled and that there are buses outside the station waiting to take everyone to Florence. So, playing Leemings again, we all file off the train, out through the station to look for the bus. 

Can anyone see a bus?

Oh! You can...

Can anyone see a bus going to Florence?

Now, here's me thinking that someone in charge must have a clue. Wrong..... Again.

So when 2:15 ticked over and there was still no sign of a bus, and there was absolutely no chance of getting a straight answer out of anyone in a uniform, we decided that Plan B was the best idea - a taxi back to the rental car place, and let's hire a car and drive to Milan.

so we did.

Oh.... sorry! Wrong car. It was this one...

Anyway, about four or five hours later we're safely tucked away in our hotel in Milan and everything's back on track - less a couple of hundred Euro!!

Today was our one day in Milan, and despite me telling them we were coming, it still rained all day. Not good enough. Anyway, we made the most of it and spent a few hours in the shops and even caught a few glimpses of the Duomo.

Hang on... that's not the cathedral! That's the shopping centre. This is the Cathedral...

If you want to see more, go to...

https://picasaweb.google.com/102502153151045712202/Milan?noredirect=1

But for us, it's "Arrivederci Italia" cause we're off to Paris tomorrow.

See ya!