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Italy - Florence, Pisa, Siena and Palio di Siena

18/09/2013 9:16:00 am

I left Brisbane in August to start a big adventure overseas. First stop was Singapore before a connecting flight to London. I do quite enjoy Changi Airport, there are many things to do to keep you occupied such as watching a movie or visiting the Butterfly Garden. After landing in London, I passed customs, caught a train and went to where I was staying for the night. The next day, after a quick walk around the centre of London, I boarded another flight to Florence in Italy.


Florence is an interesting city. I first saw it by night as I didn't arrive at the hostel until about 1am in the morning. The next day on a walking tour as part of The Fanatics tour, we explored the sights of Florence. Later that afternoon we visited Pisa and saw the leaning tower of Pisa. The evening was followed by watching the sun set over Florence and a walk back down the hill into the city.

         

      

                        

The next morning we awoke to catch a train to Siena for the Palio di Siena, a horse race which runs twice a year through the main square of Siena. The history of the race extends back hundreds of years. We arrived quite early for lunch and then headed to the main square to wait most of the day in our position. The race itself lasts approximately 90 seconds and it is extremely fast. Here are some photos waiting for the race to commence and during the race. After the event concluded we headed back to Florence, before waking the next morning to spend another day exploring Florence. We had a great dinner and then went to bed rather early to awake the next morning for the train ride to Cinque Terre.