Florence

Florence was a nice place, but compared to other cities we've been to it was a bit underwhelming. That's not to say I didn't enjoy myself. I saw some beautiful artworks, including Michelangelo's David - which is a lot bigger than I imagined. We walked interesting streets and ate some great food. One particular street, Ponte (bridge) Vecchio, was originally lined with butcher shops. However, when the Medici family decided to put a tunnel through the bridge they ordered the butchers be replaced with goldsmiths because they did not like the smell. Today, the street is still lined with jewellery shop after jewellery shop.

The Duomo in Florence is one of the largest cathedrals in the world. Not just its sheer size but also the green, red and white marble facade, in an almost geometric design, make it a very impressive cathedral. The outside contrasted strongly with the austere inside which was relevant to the renaissance period it was built in. The church was quite different to ones we have visited in France and England.

Cinque Terre

We spent three weeks seeing four countries and now we've reached Italy where we will spend the next two weeks.

Our first stop in Italy was the beautiful Cinque Terre, a national park on the north-western coast. Built into the sheer cliffs of the coast are five towns linked by train line. It is possible to drive between them, but the area is world heritage listed so traffic is restricted. There are also shuttle buses which go up the mountains, and saved our poor legs from some steep climbing! The towns are built in terraces and look as though they grow out of the cliffs in all their pastel shades. There are also citrus orchards, olive trees and grape vines planted on terraces all along the cliffs. It's definitely something different!

The national park is famous for the many walking trails it provides, which is the reason we visited. We started our walk on one of the coast trails beginning in the town we stayed in, Riomaggiore. The walk was literally on the edge of the cliff for the whole walk, with breathtaking views of the ocean, mountains and towns in the distance. When we reached the next town, Manarola, we had to take a shuttle bus to Volastra, a town further up the mountains, where we began another trail. The path meandered through vineyards, at times barely a foot wide, with a drop down to the next terrace right next to our feet. In places there was still snow from a previous fall so the walk was definitely not for the faint-hearted. The path went further up the mountain and into a forested area where the snow was still thick on the pine trees and the path. No matter what part of the walk we were on, the views were amazing. Every time we turned a bend, a view even greater than the last presented itself. The trail then wound its way back down the mountain towards the coast. Barely existing paths and stairs a hand span wide (with no safety railing) seemed to be the order of the day. We finally reached Corniglia and sat to rest our shaky legs, only to find that the train station for was another 365 stairs down the cliffs! But even a walk to the train station is well worth it when it sits parallel to the coast and you have a view of the ocean as you wait for the train.

The area is definitely worth the visit, and not all the trails are quite as hairy as the second one we took. In summer, there are a lot of water activities available if you'd prefer to stay clear of the steep climbs.

A few photos from Bruges

Markets

There's nothing like a market to get you in a spending mood. And there seems to be a fair few markets in London. We visited the famous Portobello Road markets first off but were disappointed with it. Despite having a fairly reliable source say it opened at about 8 in the morning at almost 10 in the morning half the stalls were either empty or only half set up. Not really the kind of market you feel like strolling through. After a bit of a walk through we decided to head to the Camden markets to try our luck there. This time we weren't disappointed. The markets seemed endless. They're set along Camden High Street and Chalk Farm Road in a number of different areas, some inside and some through narrow winding alleys that just made the whole place cooler. You could become completely lost, but not be bored by the different things and people to see at every turn. If you're after the kind of market that is only second hand clothes and goods, you're much better off at the Portobello Road market, but the Camden market sold clothes, jewellery, accessories and all kinds of bits and pieces as well as great food! Even Dave enjoyed the hours we spent there which is really the biggest recommendation I can give to the place considering he's a bit of a shopping-and-crowded-places-phobe. And it was crowded! By the time we left in the early afternoon, solid masses of people spread out of all the market areas on to the footpath of the street and well up the road. In all, a good day out!

Snaps from Paris

To much??