Heading for the Piazza del Duomo you can't help standing in amazement at the hugely impressive Cattedrale Di Santa Maria del Fiore, the largest in Florence and next to it the smaller Battistero di San Giovanni on the way to the train station for the morning train south out towards Sienna for today's destination, Grosseto.
Already the area is crowded and folk wait in orderly queues at the entrances, frazzling gently in the hot sun to gain access to climb ancient stone steps to no doubt discover the elixir of eternal life within the sacred sanctuaries.
This is the only problem with Florence, far too many people...the winter months may be a better time to visit to be able to appreciate it all, it's been a snap-shot tour and now that my Cartier watch has been repaired, half a Charolais has been devoured and a couple of matching snakeskin Gucci handbags purveyed, it's time to head off to pastures new....
A change at Sienna gave just enough time for an express espresso alla panini and then we boarded what must have been one of the tiniest trains in the world and trundled off up the rural hillsides, past vineyards and fields of crops of yellow sunflowers and ripe barley. Travelling by train is an effortless and comfortable way to see the medieval villages standing high up on the hilltops, a feature typical of Tuscany.
Arriving at lunchtime it was soon apparent that Grosseto was a nice sleepy town, a far cry from Dante's Inferno we had left behind. The lady at the hotel was helpful in directing us into the walled epicentre of the old town. Here a network of narrow little streets sufficed for a lazy wander before retiring into the comfy seats of a nearby bar to reflect and appreciate the hard work that must have gone into making such a fine bubbly local Prosecco....
Today's track from 'Ghost Poet'.
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