Next checkpoints in Italy: Florence (+ Tuscany) and Bologna...
As we drove out of lovely sunny Ravenna, the rain clouds started gathering over the ENTIRE Italy, only to hit on us just as we entered the A1 heading south to the absolutely picturesque area of Tuscany. We arrived in Florence just as the rain cleared, but the GPS decided to direct us through the city centre (we punched in the name of a hotel recommended by the Lonely Planet), so we must have looked like absolute wankers driving through the pedestrian filled streets! Finally we just found a random park and checked into the nearest 2-star (very good in my books) and talked them down from a whopping 70 euros to 55. Florence turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous city, but the "holiday" idea was short lived when the predominant language heard was English (and American at that). I for one was quite happy just to stay a day and head off somewhere quieter.
This morning we drove around Tuscany a little and wound up in a small Chianti producing region nestled in mountainous landscapes known as Rufina. We managed to have our own personal wine tasting, and are now naturally 3 bottles of Chianti heavier... to store in our wine cellar....erhm!
We are now in Bologna, so have naturally had the bolognese for dinner while marvelling at the redness of the city! Of course, more photos will follow just to demonstrate how red it actually is! Once again, tom managed to talk the hotel receptionist down 30euros from the original price, but this time we are in a 3 star hotel! Perhaps by the time we leave, we will be staying in a 5 star for only 50euros... Fingers crossed.
Tomorrow we are heading to the city state of Verona, staying at lake Garda, so fingers crossed that the weather finally clears up! We do want to have a tiny bit more colour when we head back to Belgium on Thursday...
ciao until next time!
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