Day 8 - Florence

Another beautiful day greeted us as we headed for the sights of Florence. Our hotel is placed on the bank of the Arno River which made for a good morning stroll into the old town. Our first stop was the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge which has lots of small shops built on the side of it.

Florence has so many sights and landmarks it was difficult to know where to go next but we went up to Palazzo Vecchio. This was a very busy area with lots of people gathering to do a run/bike race around parts of the city. The square outside has many sculptures and lots of tourists. Next on the hit list was the cathedral, and although nice, it did not compare to the magnificent one we seen in Milan. The cathedral was a beautiful building but just needed a bit of a clean up. We also got some ice cream but were disappointed as it wasn't anywhere near as good as it was in Milan.



Florence in general is a really nice old place with lots to see so we wandered round some more sights for the rest of the day through the ancient narrow streets. Below you can see a picture of a real “mini-bus” which zooms silently around the tiny streets (its electric)! As there was so much to see we spent the whole day walking and taking everything in.

Day 7 - Milan to Florence

An easy, short train journey we thought... Its never that easy though is it. We decided to get to the train station and just get a train seat when we arrived. We waited in a big queue for reservations only to be told it was €20 each to reserve, you weren't guaranteed a seat and the next available train was 8 o'clock at night, either that or we chance it on one of the trains and stand for the whole journey!! We weren't waiting around for that long so just got on the next train to Florence.

The train was packed but we ended up chatting to an Italian guy who was really cool. Although he only had broken English we had a good laugh, he gave us some tips on Florence and it passed the time. We eventually got a seat as the train cleared which was a relief.

We arrived safely in Florence where we had to get on the number 14 bus to our hotel. When we got on the bus the driver had no tickets left but a wee old lady gave us a couple of hers then proceeded to tell us we had to get on the number 23 bus. The Italian bus system is confusing so we decided to walk to our hotel as it was close to the centre. We eventually made it to the hotel, dumped our stuff and went for some much needed food. A great pizza place next to the hotel did the job rounding off another tiring day.

Day 6 - Milan

After our short stay in Nice, we arrived in fashion capital Milan. As we only had one full day to take in the city, we set off early to the city centre. The old rickety tram got us quickly to the shops where Sam was in her element. Our first sight was a stunning archway which to our surprise led to a shopping centre containing cheap brands such as Gucci, Prada and Louis Voutton. We window shopped and people watched for a while before being truly taken by surprise. As we hadn't expected to be Milan, we didn't really research what was in the city but the maps told us there was a “Duomo” which we thought would just be a normal cathedral. However on leaving the shopping centre this beautiful building stood in front of us. It was absolutely massive and looked amazing with the sun reflecting off the white stone making it one of the most memorable moments of our trip so far!!


Italy is well known for its “Gelato” or ice cream as we know it, so as it was our first day in the country we had to try some. Its so popular that even the business men in their tailored suits have it for lunch which is quite an amusing sight. Each ice cream shop was packed with people but one stood out so thats where we headed. We can honestly say that this was THE best ice cream we have ever tasted; it was so soft and chocolaty that it wasn't scooped but molded into the cone, it was like an art.



Sam hadn't been to the shops for a while so she had to get her fix, so we set off again looking for any bargains but it wasn't to be as we'd have to carry it all with us for the rest of the trip :P It was another scorching day on our trip which really took it out of us so decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel, easy I thought, we just get on the tram in the opposite direction but Sam had other ideas.... A small argument ensued where I said we should get on at one side of the street, Sam said the other. The whole tram system went in a loop so as she was so sure she was right, I went along with it. Forty minutes later, we had looped back to where we had started (the shops), so what should have been a 10 minute journey took 50. Morale of the story, let Ally deal with directions. We bought some nice wine and had a relaxing evening to recharge.

Day 5 - Nice/Milan

As we had decided to leave Nice, thankfully there were some trains heading for the Italian border so we reserved our train ticket and set off for Milan. We just managed to catch our connecting train in Italy where we found out that we had our own spacious cabin to relax in. The train journey was mostly along the coast so we had some wonderful views of the sea on one side and the mountains on the other.

As our trip to Milan was spur of the moment, we didn't know much about it other than it is shopping heaven!! We arrived at the train station with a vague knowledge of where the hotel was but as we had walked loads in Paris, we decided to walk some more to the hotel about 2 miles away which seemed like fun. We eventually gave up and got the bus :P The hotel was a million times better than the one in Nice so we were able to get our holiday back on track. We had a relaxing night in the hotel getting a lovely meal, wine and some pretty good ice cream (more to come).

Day 4 - Paris/Nice

We left the glamour and luxury of Paris behind and headed south to the Cote de Azur for some more sunshine and the Mediterranean sea! There's a cute picture of our Paris hotel below.



We had our first experience of the metro which was fun – at least we didn't have to commute to work like most people using it, but it ran like clockwork and was quick – wish I could say the same about back home. We boarded our super fast train in Paris which was stunning compared to the trains back home – even in the second class seats we had. When we got on the train we could hear what sounded like a baby crying and thought 'typical I bet we will get stuck beside the crying baby for the whole journey' but then realised it was a cat in a box. Luckily it shut up after 10 minutes before Ally got the chance to strangle it. (ha ha)

To our dismay when we arrived in Nice it was pouring with rain, but it wasn't long before the sun came out. We had a wander around and seen most of what Nice had to offer (not very much), however the view along the coast was just like the pictures and the promenade was buzzing with people. We went for a drink then sat on the pebbled beach for a while whilst the sun set at night before heading back to the hotel where we met some new American girls. We were planning on visiting Monaco whilst in Nice but due to the current train strikes in France there are limited trains running and we couldn't manage a trip there (maybe we'll buy a place there sometime instead!!). We decided to cut our visit short in Nice as our accommodation wasn't up to much either and we couldn't get to Monaco and didn't want to be stuck in France, so we decided to head for Milan for a couple of days.

Paris Day 3 of 4

Still knackered from our activities yesterday, we decided to head over to the Eiffel Tower again to climb up it as we never got the chance yesterday. Its got 2 options, either climb the 700 steps to the second floor or get a lift up. To my amazement, Sam was determined to go up the stairs, a decision i'm sure she later regretted (below). The views over Paris were amazing and it was well worth the climb.

As we had seen a lot of the main sights yesterday, we decided to just have a stroll around to see if we could find anything. As it was roasting again today, we managed to see Paris at its best with beautiful buildings lining every street we walked down. We made our way back up to the Champs Elysees to get some food and have a nose around at the shops. We were both needing a rest after all the walking so we went back to the hotel to put our feet up before setting off in the evening.

Our climbing had not finished for the day as we headed for the Arc de Triomphe to get some wonderful views of Paris, the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysees lit up at night. The spiral steps to the top proved another challenge, but the views were amazing again with the Eiffel Tower sparkling every hour at night. This is our last night in Paris as we set off for Nice tomorrow morning on one of the superfast TGV trains that will whiz from one end of France to the other. We will also have our first Metro experience so will keep you posted on how that goes. If its as hot down in Nice as it is up here we are in for another beautiful stay.

Paris Day 2 of 4

Our first full day in Paris so we went on a whistlewind tour crammed full of the cities most beautiful sights. It was a scorching day (28 degrees) so we decided to walk and explore the city by foot. We set off from the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower to catch some glorius views but decided against going up it today as it was really busy.

We then headed on a "boat bus" tour along the River Seine which allows you to get on and off the boat all day long at the main sights! We visited the area of St-Germain-des-Pres with its pretty boutiques and church before heading back on the boat to the Notre-Dame Cathedral. The building was stunning and absolutely massive and you could go in and walk around!
Ally was keen to see the Mona Lisa painting so we hopped back on the boat to the Louvre museum. The building was breathtaking with thousands of pieces of art work inside. The Mona Lisa was smaller than we expected with some of the other pictures covering the whole length and breadth of the wall! Here's a picture of the Mona Lisa. We also seen the Place de la Concorde just before sunset so the pictures are gorgeous. We then walked the full length of the Champs Elysees to add to the miles we had already put on the clock. Later we headed out for a drink and then put our feet up to rest after a hard days walk.

Paris Day 1 of 4

Set off from Glasgow to Paris on Saturday and arrived just in time to catch the last rays over the Arc de Triomphe whilst on route to our hotel in the 20 degrees heat! Luckily our hotel is only a 2 minute walk from the Arc de Triomphe so that was our first sight in Paris. After dumping the bags we headed up to the Arc which was all lit up and looking fabulous with the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the distance. We then explored the Champs Elysees with its fancy shops and hotels before heading back to our hotel for a few drinks.