We got on the wrong train.

Departing a city is like departing a friend, staying in places more than a day or two does allow one to learn more, see more and break through the tourist whirlwind.

In the end, we stayed just five nights in Florence and unlike the past, weren't rushed to see 'the sights'.  For me the Pitti Palace was my favourite, it is a gallery, a residence and also a museum. Pitti Palace isn't crowded as it does not have famous works of art like the Uffizi.

Katie's favourite place in Florence, after long deliberation was Uffizi. She said she was able to absorb more of the gallery this time as there were fewer visitors compared to our previous visit in Summer.

We packed our bags last night and had the final additions after showering and dressing this morning.  I keep saying they are getting full, but this time I almost needed to unzip the expander!

Leaving the country, time for the city.

This was another day where we once again surprised ourselves and managed to fit all our belongings and newly purchased souvenirs into our bags.

It was then time for the last espresso in the comfort of Rosalinda's lounge room where we expressed our thanks and discussed Stefano and his trip to Australia in 2019. 😜

In the past week whilst at La Maesta we had three opportunities to have local Tuscan meals with Rosalinda, Stefano, Lilla and Virginia. The meals were made with locally sourced ingredients and made with love using unwritten recipes handed down from generation to generation.

It had to rain eventually....

This morning started our last day at La Maesta. It was a little windy and very grey, the clouds were threatening rain, and we had laundry to do.

First off it was to Castiglion Fiorentino where we did a load of washing and met with a lady in the laundromat.  She was originally from Dusseldorf Germany, had worked in Africa and now lives in this region after relocating here as a pharmacist. Now retired, she saves her money and travels as much as she can. She has been to Hong Kong and Australia and is currently reading up on Japan, her next trip. As we left the laundromat the rain started and we had a thunderstorm for the next couple of hours.

The night train served its purpose, only just.

Neither Katie or I had used a sleeper train before and were unsure of exactly what to expect.

The train served its purpose and allowed us to get some sleep and transferred us from Munich to Arezzo, here are a couple of the downsides.

Last day in Munich

Today we repacked the luggage explosion that always appears to happen when we have been in one place for a few days, it is amazing how some well-planned packing can be undone when you have the space to spread out.

Todays blog delayed

Today's bog will be delayed as we will be on an overnight train without internet access.........🚂🚃🚄🚅🚆🚇🚈🚉🚋🚞🛤️