I woke up smiling each day of this crazy whirlwind and this morning was no exception. However, after the short drive to Florence with Contiki – punctuated with a giant pizza slice for breakfast at a service stop – my ongoing illness truly took hold and I was left feeling distinctly worse for wear as we pulled into the beautiful city.
We kicked off the morning with a leather making demonstration and found out how to spot the real deal from the fakes on sale in the area. Then we had an included walking tour where we explored the streets leading up to the magnificent Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore.
It was one of those sights that seemed just a little too beautiful to be real.
Afterwards, we had some free time to wander so in an incredibly unglamorous fashion, I headed straight for the nearest pharmacy for the strongest cold and flu drugs available over the counter. Fully dosed up, it was time to enjoy our last day in Italy. Gelato in hand, we checked out some local street artists and relaxed in the sunshine.
Feeling sleepy from the heat and tablets, I napped on the coach back to the campsite to give me energy for our incredibly quick freshen up time – think 40 minutes for a full hair wash and pretty up for our official group photo! We stopped at the most stunning viewpoint over the city and cuddled up to commemorate the trip.
All the girls together…
…with Tony and Darius, of course!
Dinner time, the group split off and those of us who didn’t go for the optional extra Tuscan dinner found ourselves back in the main square to enjoy our last Italian meal.
Rejoining the rest of the group a couple of hours later, we made our way to a karaoke bar for happy hour. And not just any happy hour; these were two litre cocktail pitchers. Obviously, to get the best value for money, Ariana and I decided to share two. I expected Wetherspoons juice-style pitchers but boy, was I wrong – these were potent.
Some of the group even braved the mic and Darius gave us a particularly powerful version of ‘My Way’. Before we knew it, almost everybody was leaving for the night but with almost a whole pitcher to drink, a few of us stayed behind to party on into the night before an early departure for Switzerland the next morning…
Laura x
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