Reuben and Katie: Florence

The camping ground in Florence was great - situated in an olive grove overlooking the city, and we enjoyed glasses of wine and cheese and olives, sitting on the balcony watching the sun go down over the city most evenings.

However, with the (un)healthy population of mosquitos (by then end of 7 nights there wasn't much skin left unbitten - and that's using repellent!), an unnerving incident with a scorpion crawling over Reuben's pillow on our first night, and the usual inconveniences of communal showering and toiletries we are now rather enjoying the relative luxury of our hotel room, with ensuite and king-size bed, in Rome!!

Florence is the Renaissance-mecca and there was lots to see and do during our week there, although there was also time for relaxing and enjoying the mediterranean sunshine. We really enjoyed the Uffizi galleries (the first thing we have really had to queue for, arriving there at about 8am and still having to queue for 1 and 1/4 hours) but it was free so that's a bonus! It is really well laid out, with a clear development of the Renaissance style, starting with Giotto and Duccio and friends, leading through Botticelli (our personal favourite), Raphael, da Vinci, and ending with some dramatic mannerist sculptures and paintings (eg Madonna with the long neck).

Another really great experience was hearing gregorian chant in the church just above the camping ground late one afternoon. We had read that there was a church on the hill above florence where you could hear gregorian chant at vespers (one of the few places left in Italy apparently). We weren't quite sure which church, and also didn't really know when vespers was (apart from the vague idea that it was either 3-ish or 5-ish after reading Umberto Ecco's Name of the Rose) but managed to arrive at the right church just as they were beginning... It was quite special because the church is decorated inside with amazing marble, late afternoon sun streamed through the clearstorey windows, and with the echo of the priest's voices in this kind of atmosphere, it created quite an experience.

We also climbed the Duomo for a panoramic view of the city, took a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano, and had a look in a number of the churches with Renaissance treasures (eg Santa Maria Novella). As kiwis we are always searching out GREEN gardens and trees etc, so we also paid €8 each to go into Boboli and Bardini Gardens.