Florence, Italy

Day 4 - breakfast then a bus to Florence for the day

We had a really good tour guide who explained the Tuscan region. We learnt all about the various olive oils! extra virgin olive oil- extra means excellent - the rule is that the olive must be picked by hand then squeeze within 24hours - it's produces 8%acidity - which is perfect- and keeps u super young!!!! virgin olive oil is the 2nd best as it's made from smaller olives and is still healthy but not as much- olive oil is bad as it is used in petrol and should basically never be used lol- so won't be buying that again!! Sure there was more detail than that but u get the gist!

Anyway so on to the Athens of the middle ages, as Firenze is known. This image is of the 'old bridge' the Ponte Vecchio. Rebuilt in the 14th century it was the only bridge to survive WW II in tact - and has a multitude of shops on it selling beautiful gold!

It was hard to choose between this image and a few of the Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo- after 600 years it is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world! It was also the first to be built without a wooden frame to hold it together - built in a herringbone style, this was an engineering feat of the time - it was super stunning!!!

The last major sight of the day, there were too many to include here, Michelangelo's David (now replaced by a replica, since the original was moved indoors to the Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno) Then original dates from 1504- the replica is installed in front of the Palazzo della Signoria.

Brilliant day followed by superb Italian food and coffee- the late afternoon was spent designer clothes shopping before we headed back to the ship.