First thoughts on Florence

Took the last train out of Manarola, heading South!
Good idea for a song, eh? Actually it was an early train, and it meant we had to fill in 2 hours in La Spezia, not a town high on the tourist trail. But on the upside, we did see this monk who looked like he was auditioning for a role in the next Dan Brown book. (There is symbolism to die for here, Dan)
La Spezia is a working port, a naval base and not a whole lot else that we could see. 2 words of advice: Don't try to go down a tunnel, and always carry an umbrella! (Ask Rhonda to explain)

Wow! This is a big room with a cathedral-sized ceiling. Florence hotels are huge, luxuriously appointed and ridiculously cheap. Don't tell anyone in case they put the prices up!
Internet in the room, cable TV, big breakfast with eggs, how could you go wrong?

Ponte Vecchio: we came, we saw, we ran!
Some women go weak at the knees at the sight of all that bling: not mine, she is made of sterner stuff. The oldest bridge in Florence, in fact the only one to survive Nazi occupation in WW2. Th story goes that Mussolini knocked holes in these walls from the 14th century so that Hitler would have a better view when he stayed there.

My sister warned me that there would be more penises than a St Kilda Grand Final Dinner Dance! She was right- an exquisite range. Rhonda has taken to comparisons lately, which could be a bit concerning. Apparently David measures up very nicely.

Statues everywhere: if you didn't get your own statue in the 1500's you were judged to be a failure. Some of them are really good. This bloke saved Venice from the Saracens (or some such group) Good for him.

Random thoughts on Florence after 24 hours.
Marble everywhere, much of it in penises.
Dirty streets, strange smells wafting.
Narrow streets ending in a beautiful piazza (how you say, town square, scusa mi)
Motor bikes!!

Next: Considered thoughts (after more than 5 minutes in Florence), and we try to explore Tuscany!