When the days, then the weeks, start to blur into one and it becomes more and more difficult to recount when and where you’ve been, you start to wonder whether just one more “trip” or “visit” will send your wheels flying off the merry-go-round.
Thankfully, a four hour visit to the Uffizi Gallery is just the tonic. Laura, our effervescent guide, bubbles over with glassful after glassful of interesting tidbits. Brings the painters and their stills to life. Our ears glued to her stories. Eyes to the images. Caravaggio top of our favourites.
Earlier, the day starts frustratingly. Big Shuttle has a flat tyre. Little shuttle ferrying the 10am crowds to and fro as quickly as traffic allows. Later, with Florence well and truly “done”, we make our way back to the pick-up point. We’re twenty five minutes early and first. Driver’s already there waiting. Having a ciggy. We order from the roadside cafe and he joins us. He knows a little English and a little French. We have a fun conversation. He also knows we’re first in the queue. Mary-Ann reminds him (and me) a couple of times. Then a couple of couples climb on board. Before we have time to realise, the shuttle is full. All waiting for the driver! Yes, we should have put something on a couple of the seats. Another wait. A frustrating end.
Thinking all frustrations are a thing of the past, we’re aiming for Pisa today. We’ve a train to catch from Florence Central. Shuttle driver (a different one) engages in a long Italian conversation. (short ones don’t exist) Then a couple turn up without tickets. We leave at 10.12am. 12 minutes late. We have a 2K walk from the drop off point. Miss our train by 2 minutes. Next one due in 53 minutes. We don’t think much of Pisa. 18 euros to go up the tower seems steep. Leaning towards extortion. Bus loads being bused in. All with one aim in mind. Millions of Facebook people holding, cuddling, leaning or pushing the tower back into a perpendicular state. Seems pretty straight to me. Mary-Ann tries it on for size. Doesn’t quite fit.