Hey,

So, day two, Ange and i first wandered the city, crossed the Ponte Vecchio (one of the few bridges across the Arno river that survived the war), and did a bit of shopping - all before lunch. Bought a really great italian leather purse and wallet.

This is the bridge that i mentioned. Kinda different as it does have buildings hanging off it.

That afternoon we explored the Uffizi Gallery - fantastic!!! Here is Ange and i outside the gallery with Donatello.

The Uffizi is the home of: Leonardo da Vinci's "The Annunciation"

Botticelli's "Spring"

and most famous of all Botticelli's "Birth of Venus"

They were all very impressive, and these pictures do not do them justice. The gallery had so many great pieces. I just loved it.

After that we went to the Piazzia della Signoria to see the fountain, and enjoyed an espresso (my first and it was not to bad at all).

Of course you can't go to Florence without spending time with "the man" - Michelangelo's "David" - it is at the Academic Gallery. It is really cool - and huge, i mean HUGE!!! I kinda took a picture and you're not really allowed to - the lady yelled at me! Oh well got to do what you have got to do!!!!

Now of course we could not forget that this was Valentines Day, so Ange and i went out for a nice Italian Dinner, drank some red wine, and looked around us at all the couples. All we needed was two cute italian men (and Florence seems to be full of them!) to finish the night off. Too bad they were all out with their girlfriends! Oh well, the wine was good!

Next day we did some shopping in the markets (bought two italian silk scarfs, and two cool leather bracelets). Went to the Pitti Palace - the Medici Palace. It was really ornate (to say the least). Then off a hiking we go. Found this

This was a great day. We hiked up out of the city, found some old streets and basically wandered around. We got a great view of the city.

To end this great holiday in Italy i went to mass at the Sanata Maria Novella Chapel. It was in Italian and really quite beautful.

We caught the bus later that night (10:30 pm) back to the Pisa Airport. We arrived at the airport at 1:00 am - acually 5 minutes past. I know this because the airport closes its doors at one in the morning. So we had to sit outside in the cold (it dropped in the temp - we could see our breath) for THREE hours!!! Thank you Salina for the flanal PJ's becasue i think that they saved me from getting a very nasty cold. I wraped my body in them - i did not bring any real winter clothes to Italy as i was not anticipating having to sit outside in the cold. Finally got inside at 4:00 am. When we entred we saw all the people sleeping in te chairs - they were smarters as they arrived before one in the morning so they got to stay INSIDE!!!

Anyway, caught the flight back to London (and the rain). Got back to Birmingham at 2:00pm. I must say i was kinda tired as i had been up for 34 hours. Crashed last night. Had a great time and would recommend Florence to everyone.

Hope all is well, miss and love ya all,

M.