Florence

30 May - 3 June

After a very scenic and comfortable train ride through the countryside we arrived in Florence before the morning was over.

Dreamy Tuscan villa

We had been to Tuscany a few years ago. We stayed at a winery in Gaiole in Chianti and visited Siena, Pisa and San Gimignano, falling utterly in love with the rolling hills and vineyards. This time we were only visiting Florence though and it felt more like a city than I was expecting. After a little wondering though, the Tuscan charm started to reveal itself in the small alleys and the wine.

Pretty houses on the banks of the Arno

Florence has a lot to offer art fans, and despite my not being able to tell my Michaelangelo from my DaVinci I tried to appreciate what I could. We made time to visit 'David' and the Duomo.

Duomo

One of the highlights for me was taking the walk across the river to Piazzele Michaelangelo for a stunning panoramic view of the city and the surrounding countryside. On a quieter corner of the square was stared out to the hills listening to the birds a sing in the olive grove below. It was a peaceful moment in a city that was bursting with tourists!

View of Florence

One morning to went for a run in the park nearly. It was a Sunday and full with families walking, runners, cyclists and kids learning to ride their bike. On one side there was a little fair and a market and it was nice to find a slice of local life. I'm really starting to enjoy getting off the tourist path and finding more day to day things to fill our time. I even had a chance to make dinner at our bed and breakfast which was lovely after 3 months of eating out. Its not long now until we finish our travels and start living as au pairs and I'm excited to pack my bag away and settle in for a couple of months.

After our run, we had earned our gelato, and sat in the sun in Piazza Della Repubblica wolfing down cheesecake and snickers flavour whilst watching the carousel spin and sing.

Carousel in the square

One of the finds of our trip to Florence was a Latin bar called Eby's. Its a short walk from the Duomo but serves amazing smoothies and burritos. Mark and I love Mexican food and the burritos made for a great change from pasta and pizza! Be warned though they are huge! "This burrito is delicious but it is filling!"

On our last day we picked up some postcards across the river from Ponte Veccio and enjoyed some more aimless wanderings around this pleasant city! Before we knew it we were back at the train station waiting for our train to Bologna!

A change in the wind

There's been a change in plans!

I'm learning new things about myself every day on this trip, and whilst we were in Vietnam, where we thought we were going to build a new life, we realised something.

Ever since leaving Tan An and our not-what-we-expected jobs we busily applied for other teaching positions in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. We had two offers on the table to work in Thailand, and the Indonesian role was progressing well but we both had this strange lingering feeling that none of them were what we wanted anymore. It wasn't so much the work; we'd enjoyed the kids and subject matter of teaching English. It was more the idea of contracts, targets and results. We were having too much fun travelling by now and didn't quite want to give it all up for the lifestyle we will most likely have for the rest of our lives in the UK.

So, whilst going through these application processes, I explored other options that could help us extend our travels. What I found was WorkAway. Its a website for people looking for free help (hosts) and people looking for food and lodging as payment for their work. It was perfect! We could help renovate a Tuscan villa, or garden in the south of France.

In Hanoi we had our first responses, and whilst our dates didn't match with the need of many hosts, one was perfect. A few emails later we were happily accepting an offer to work in northern Italy for 6 weeks as au pairs for a 6 year old boy and a 10 year old girl. I was ecstatic, not only would we have the time to travel through Italy after our stay in Bali, but we would also get to live there which has been a dream of mine for years that I never thought I'd see realised. And what a better way to do it than with a charming and already friendly and helpful family!

There is no doubt in my mind that we have made the right decision, and the longer I am in Asia the more I can see is as the perfect holiday and sightseeing destination, but not somewhere I can see myself living. 'Its not you, its me'.

So, with that is mind, here is the travel plan for the next few months:

26 April: Leave the Thai islands for the mainland
27 April: Train to Malaysia
28 April: Fly to Bali
15 May: Fly to Rome via 23hour stop in Shanghai, China.
23 May: Train to Naples
30 May: Train to Florence
3 June: Train to Bologna
5 June: Train to Milan
10 June: Move in with family
7 August: Fly back to the UK for our next adventure!