If we had the opportunity to return to somewhere we’d already visited in Italy, we’d go back to Florence. We loved everything about the city, especially the art and the food. Once again, we were treated with lovely weather and another great hotel right in town on the banks of the River Arno.
From Naples we caught a fast train to Florence via Rome. After checking in to Hotel Alessandro, we visited the Galleria Accademia where David stands. Actually the statues that line the corridor leading to David are impressive on their own . They're huge pieces of marble, partly carved into (ie. unfinished) and human figures appear to be climbing out of the rock. We also caught an exhibition of rare musical instruments including a Stradivarius Violin and an ivory harpsichord. That night we had a memorable dinner at Locanda Giovani, a restaurant run by a father and son team. Jane ordered the Nero (black) pasta seen below. Not something to eat on a first date as your teeth do become decidedly black also! A reminder to anyone eating in Tuscany: Don't get sucked in by the offer of a free grappa to end your meal. It will almost certainly be the end of your night out as well.
On 6th of September, on a bridge over the Arno, we met Keith (Irish) and Andy (Scottish), our bike tour guides for the day. There were 5 of us on the tour (they have bikes for 40 for the busy summer season!) and we piled into the boy's combi bus to drive to Castello di Popolo, a very impressive castle sitting atop a Tuscan Hill.
First we saw the olive oil pressing equipment. Oil is made in November for just one month since the olives must be pressed within 24 hours of picking. It's amazingly green oil. They don't export since the demand is so great within Italy for this terrific stuff. We thought we'd better buy a couple of bottles. 
The wine production here is on a grand scale. The variety of wine is Chianti, made using mostly Sangiovese grapes. There are very strict rules about when you can call your wine Chianti Classico or Riserva. The major difference is Classico is aged 1 year in barrels and Riserva is aged 2.Popolo also make Vin Santo, the sweet after-dinner digestive used to dunk your almond biscotti. Vin Santo has to be stored for five years in the elements and the castle tower is used for this purpose. And for showing the cyclists 360 degree views.
Following a taste test of the products we picked a bike and helmet each and made our way down the hill to lunch (about 12km down the road but all down hill), stopping for plenty of photos. Tuscany really is just like in the books and movies. So beautiful we know we'll be back for more!
Apparently us bike tourists are the only non-Italians who ever visit this lunch spot... VERY authentic pasta and tiramisu to help us on our way back up the hill. Okay, maybe is was flat for 25 minutes and then one big hill at the end (aided by the ever-present combi bus driving behind to pick up those who let the hill get the better of them). Greg pedalled his little heart out while Jane helped Keith not to feel too useless for driving the bus.The next day we'd booked into the Uffizzi Gallery, one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. The gallery has been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public. To do it justice we hired audio guides and spent 3 hours walking through time from the earliest religious art to Titian and Caravaggio.
The afternoon was spent meeting up with Jane's old friend Mikhaila (our future travel buddy), drinking wine, eating antipasti and perhaps the best sandwiches in the world at the oldest sandwich bar in the world: I Fratelli est. 1875.
A visit to Florence wouldn't have been complete without seeing the Duomo ie. the church who's tremendous dome is a symbol of the city. Duomo is actually a generic Italian term for a cathedral church, not -as we thought- the nickname for the building because of it's shape! Actually the church is also called Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. The design for the dome itself was a competition, eventually won by Filippo Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi got his inspiration from the great dome of the Pantheon in Rome. However, somehow the Pantheon was built using concrete and no one could remember how they did it. He would have to build the dome out of bricks. This enormous construction weighs 37,000 tons and contains over 4 million bricks. Work started on the dome in 1420 and was completed in 1436. It was the first 'octagonal' dome in history (The Roman Pantheon is a circular dome and was built in 117–128 C.E. with support structures) to be built without a wooden supporting frame and was the largest dome built at the time (it is still the largest masonry dome in the world). 
To complete our stay in Florence we walked up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo for twilight views over the magical city.
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