Piero Della Francesca Arezzo

... there are more locals than tourists and every one likes to get out and about and socialise.<br>Jane manged to root out an 80 year old gold watch which belonged to the shopkeeper's uncle.<br> <br> <br>We wandered in to a terrific display of old radio and movie equipment dating back to Marconi. John &amp; Pat will appreciate the photos.<br> <br>For our last night we went to ...

On a drizzly morning we set off in the Panda and in an hour and or so got spat off the Autostrada at 130kmh!<br>Only about 80km further than we needed to go, so we followed a few back roads to arrive at the hillside town of Cortona.<br>After parking below the town's walls we were greeted by a posse of cats.<br>Guess what? Jane has bought another bag. Apparently two was clearly not enough, so now she has to carry the extra one.<br>The sun finally came out and we found ...

... Museum where we saw Michelangelo's David, quite magnificent in all his glory.<br><br>I snuck a papparazi photo while the guards were not looking. Also showing was a Robert Mapplethorpe photo exhibition which was also interesting. Next was lunch; Florentine Steak and glass of Chianti, yumm. After leaving the restuarant, we wandered past a leather shop where Jane bought a ...

Sorry for not including this text, a small internet cafe issue! Today we picked up our hire car, the mighty Fiat Panda, and with some trepidation set off on the wrong side of the road into peak hour Arezzo traffic!<br><br>After the adrenalin subsided a little we found ourselves, well we still don't know where we ended up, let's just call ...

... let the photos tell the story.I am writing this in the kitchen as the afternoon sun streams through the windows and listening to the sounds of some local musos entertaining the market crowd in the Piazza Grande with some romantic Italian ballads.The days are quite cool (min 8 to max 15 degrees) so we are making good use of our jackets.Tonight we plan on having a quiet night at home after finding a cafe with Wi Fi so I can send this dispatch. Happy Birthday to me.

Hi all, <br><br>Just wanted to let you all know I made it safe and sound. It was a long trip, but definitely worth the experience I'm about to have. The place we are staying has an amazing view and I will be posting pictures once I'm all unpacked and settle. Sending you all love from Italia!<br><br>Ciao!<br><br>Robbie<br>

... in Arezzo....yuck) but hopefully we will get a hold of the movie at some point. We spent the last 2 hours before getting on the bus walking up and down the two main streets of Arezzo, going in and out of stores looking at clothes. Every night, it seems all Italians go out of their apartments and walk around town, talking to friends and going into shops. It's funny, but also great. I wish we had that ...

... bright, sunshiny day (a bit hot actually), so I just soaked in the rays during my 40 minute wait to gain admission. Once inside, I headed immediately for the main attraction; Michelangelo's Statue of David. And I gotta tell ya', that sucker is huge. Twelve feet tall I think they said. Much to my chagrin, there were signs posted instructing that photos were not permitted. But much like the Sistine Chapel, these were being regularly ignored by most of the patrons. So, I got up close ...

... far as a month away from the day one calls. My day with the ladies started with coffee in a small café; I settled for a sandwich rather than a caffeinated beverage. We originally planned to sit down, but we would have had to pay to sit! Not cool, but I understand they do it to cover the cost of cleaning tables, rather than raising prices across the board. From coffee we went looking for a store selling stamps for postcards that one person wanted to send ...

... and see David. The first view of David is definitely beyond the power of words to describe. He is more than breathtaking. I am surprised by his sheer size. I didn't think he was that big (13 feet tall and carved out of one huge block of white marble). We can only gape in wonder in the presence of such an incredible beautiful thing and try to appreciate the grandness and perfection of it. We ...