Santa brought me a case of food poisoning for Xmas this year. Not what I actually wanted big guy – the Italian leather fur lined gloves would have been *way* more appreciated. So that little event kind of put paid to our Xmas lunch plans. By the way, you might want to stay away from this place (although the entrees were delicious): Trattoria da Ginone. Chris then proceeded to burn the ragu that he was making for himself so it was a pretty miserable culinary experience all round. Oh well, I guess this is what ‘travel stories’ are made of. Certainly I won’t ever forget Xmas in Florence!

This is where we’re staying: Tintoretto, a lovely 16th century palazzo only a road away from the river Arno and a stone’s throw from the Ponte Vecchio.  It looked idyllic in the pictures, but having to run up two flights of stairs to go to the bathroom is not the best use of my time when ill. Oh well, who was to know… Anyway, I’ve recovered now so looking forward to getting out there and exploring. We bought a ‘Friends of the Uffizi‘ membership which for only €50 each gives us unlimited access to all the galleries and museums in Florence – I might be all cultured-out by the time we’re finished with Florence!