Long overdue but finally, here is a catch up

(Since my last blog) I still had 5 days left in Lucignano so I revisited Arezzo and arranged to hire a bike and spent the afternoon exploring further afield than I had done on my previous visits. I really enjoyed the feeling of the wind in my hair as I whizzed down the hills that took me so long to get up. They say you never forget how to ride a bike and despite a few wobbles early on, I did ok. However, I remember now why it was that I gave up bike riding on a regular basis - suffice to say that the drive home was uncomfortable and I decided to go to bed with a DVD rather than try and find a comfortable spot on the couch. It does get easier the more you do it but I now restrict myself to an hour at a time.
I did revisit Siena and it was a beautiful day so I enjoyed it much more than my first visit. I parked the car on the other side of the city this time and wandered for miles, eventually ending up back in the Piazza del Campo which was crowded but not overcrowded. I sat in the Piazza trying to eat my delicious chocolate gelato before it melted - nearly beat me but I put up a pretty good fight! Despite this, it is still not my favourite Italian city - that is still Florence.

Rome: what an amazing city. I wanted to see all the things I had studied and I wasn't disappointed. The Colosseum was wonderful but like many things I saw there, it felt dirty. The Trevi Fountain exceeded my expectations - I loved it (can you tell by the number of photos?) I threw my coin in order to return to Rome and a second coin to have my wish granted (must be quite a money spinner because I saw lots of people doing the same thing) I was surprised by the number of people who were just sitting in front of it admiring it - not that it is not admirable, just that I didn't expect to see so many on a midweek, midafternoon that was not a wonderful day. But then, Rome is a frantic city. The traffic is intolerable (I was relieved that Dario had told me that only lunatics drive in Rome and recommended I take the train from Arezzo) and there are people everywhere. I navigated the underground and came up at Flaminio where I found Via del Corso which is the best (and busiest) shopping street in Rome. At the end of Via del Corso, I discovered the Monumento Vittorio Emanuele II, which is where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded. The statue of Vittorio Emanuele completely stopped me in my tracks - huge, perfectly crafted and a complete surprise to me. Again, I took lots of photos. I climbed up all the steps, where officious people with whistles stop everyone from actually sitting on the steps, and took photos looking down on Piazza Venezia - roadworks and all.
I visited the Vatican City and checked out the queue for the Sistine Chapel and I think you must have to get there at 4.00am in order to view it before sunset. I did watch those poor people whose sole purpose in life seems to be setting up (and presumably putting away again) for the weekly Wednesday Audience. I tried to imagine what better way there could be of doing it but I guess it keeps at least 15 people in work. I was lucky enough to suddenly be surrounded by a tour group, with an English speaking (German) tour guide so I learnt quite a bit about Basilica Saint Pietro.
I hopped back on a Tour bus and headed back to the Railway Station in time to catch my train back to Arezzo (it only took an hour)

As I may have mentioned, I love Florence so it will come as no surprise to learn that I did yet another visit. I had lunch in Piazza San Signoria, finishing it off with my favourite 'macedonie', which is just a fabulous way of saying fruit salad. (The difference between what I get whenever I have macedonie and what I get when I order fruit salad at home is that macedonie is a great mix of exotic fruits (melons, mango etc) as well as some more common fruits - apples, pears, kiwifruit; and it is all so fresh and chilled just right (divine) while fruit salad is predominantly apples, oranges, pears with the odd exotic).
After lunch, I went wandering and found a very busy market where you could buy lots of tourist rubbish but also some great leather bags, and silk scarves, which I resisted (the bags anyway). I strolled back across Ponte Vecchio and picked up the car and headed back to Lucignano.