Italy is easy to navigate around and it was no time before we reached the city of Siena.

Firstly we drove into the city as far as was allowed and then realized that we would have to park outside the city limits, so we drove back out to find a park. Of course the only spot available was on a hill and we had to reverse park, something neither of us are keen on at the best of times. Remembering that we are doing this in reverse to how we usually park because everything is on the opposite side of the car.

I drive forward mentally ticking off how this is supposed to work, take a big swing while reversing and back into the space. Now I usually drive a rather large Holden Statesman so I make sure I have lots of room etc. When we hop out of the car we notice a group of guys a bit further down the road, standing and laughing back at us. And when we look back at the car we can understand why. Considering we are driving a tonka toy, the exaggerated arc to park the car was quite unnecessary. We could have picked the car up and placed it in the space.

So, with the car all locked up safe and sound we set off into the city.

The Torre del Mangia was built in 1325 – 1348 and is situated in the Piazza del Campo and next to the Palazzo Pubblico which was built between 1297 and 1342. The Palazzo Pubblico is reminiscent of classic Gothic architecture and has an amazing array of frescoes.

In medieval times the Torre del Mangia was the tallest tower in Italy. It is 102m in height and is now the second tallest in Italy, after the Torrazzo in Cremona. The tower can be seen from all around Siena.

To signify that the church and the state held equal power in the region, the tower was built to be the exact same height as the Duomo.

There are excellent views over Siena and the surrounding countryside from the bell tower which has approx 500 steps to reach the viewing platform. The circular stairway is narrow and it is a tight squeeze for two way traffic on the stairs.

We stroll up and down the hilly streets exploring the shops and seeing it is so hot we stop for a gelato in a corner store.

The water in this fountain was potable and very cold, so we filled up our drink bottles after taking a long refreshing drink to cool off.

We are planning to return and would love to stay in Siena for a few days to take in the sights in a more leisurely fashion.

We do get lost a couple of times but finally we see the sign in the distance. And now another fiasco. We drive into what we think is the right place and before we know it here comes a car at high speed and he cuts us off and jumps out of his car and comes running over.

What are we doing here, we are trespassing. It turns out we have gone into some secret area where the public are not allowed to go.

So we explain that we have an appointment at the showroom and that we have come over from Australia. The explanation calms him down when he realizes we are not there to steal next seasons collection designs and he directs us up the road further to The Society showroom.

It turns out that the holidays started the day before we arrived so we are unable to see the statues being painted. However, the managing director gives us the grand tour and explains in great detail the process of painting and drying each piece. I am overjoyed at seeing the place where all this fabulous porcelain is produced.

I only wish my daughter Varinia, who also collects Armani statues could be here to witness the sight of all these amazing pieces waiting to be painted, dried or shipped. I feel like a kid in a candy store.

And all too soon it is time to head of to Sienna and San Gimignano. Having the car has given us the freedom to get around and see as much as we can before we head off to Rome.

Here is an example of  Guiseppe Armani’s work. You can see the incredible detail in the porcelain. This piece is called Artemis and measures 24 1/2 inches in height.

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Next morning we are up bright and early to catch the bus out to the airport to pick up the car. We aren’t sure what to expect as we haven’t actually seen a Smartcar in Australia. After picking up the keys and getting directions as to how to get back into Florence, we head off to the car park.

So here we are driving down the highway at a nice steady pace, cars are zooming past with gay abandon – reckless fools. Okay this doesn’t seem too bad now that we’re getting the hang of it, right time to move to the fast lane, just wait for a break in the traffic – god is it ever going to end, doesn’t anyone go slow in this country.

And moving over heart in mouth, we are finally travelling at a great rate of knots. Whoo hoo this is great.

Trying to figure out where we are:

Here’s Paula with Chilli on top of the car having a look around the countryside.
Here I am being totally relaxed with our prime objective Casole d elsa in the background.

So off we go up to the town. There is one road going through the town, you enter in one end and keep on driving to go out the other. All the other streets are for walking only.

We stop at a shop to ask directions, guess what, the only person in the shop who speaks English is an American who had arrived the day before.

However, at the mention of Guiseppe Armani the lady behind the counter rushes around, takes my arm and guides me to a man outside the shop and with much gesturing from her, he takes me into a doorway down the road a bit and up some narrow stairs where we meet a young woman, who understands a tiny little bit of English. I keep repeating Guiseppe Armani simply because it seems to strike some sort of recognition in the townsfolk.

So, no, she doesn’t know where the factory is but I might be able to find someone at the police station down by the piazza. Great so I have no idea where the piazza might be. I meet up with Paula and we go into another shop asking where the piazza is and with much gesturing and pantomime we finally set off in the right direction.

Wwe giggle all the way down the road, thinking how naive of us to think that everyone in the world speaks and understands English.

The next stop the Police station – guess what – they don’t understand English either, but hope is at hand, someone knows someone who might be able to help. And sure enough a young boy of about 14 years is found and brought to speak to me. I am just about to fall at his feet and kiss them by this stage.

His English is hesitant but he understands what I am looking for and sure enough it isn’t here.

So he tells us how to find the factory and with much gratitude we set off.

Casole d elsa is just how I have always pictured it would be – there are men sitting around talking and playing chess and women having conversations at 100 decibles, talking over each other. To me it’s perfect.

My main reason for coming to Florence is to visit the factory of Guiseppe Armani “The Society“. I collect Armani porcelain and so this is exciting for me to be able to see where and how the statues are made.

However, before we go in search of the factory we need to pick up the car we will be using to drive around Tuscany, from the Florence airport but we will do this in the morning.

Today is like any other day that we arrive in a new city, we book into the hotel, drop off the luggage, freshen up and set off to check out the area.

Fortunately our hotel is well situated so that it is not too far to walk up to the Ponte Vecchio.

The Ponte Vecchio has always been a place for shops and merchants. There was a time that shops on the Ponte Vecchio were given a tax exemption for selling their wares.

Apparently this is also where the concept of bankruptcy originated. Whenever a merchant fell on hard times and couldn’t pay his debts, the soldiers would physically break (“rotto”) the table from which he sold his wares (the (“banco”). This was known as “bancorotto” it can also be interpreted as “banca rotta” which means “broken bank”). As the merchant no longer had a table on which to sell his goods from he was unable to service his debts.

From 1442 until 1565, the association of butchers had the monopoly on the shops on the bridge. In 1565, Cosimo I de Medici prohibited the butchers from selling on the bridge and they were replaced by gold merchants. It is the jewellery merchants who inhabit the shops today.
The Ponte Vecchio spans the Fiume Arno and is the thoroughfare between the Palazzo Pitti and the Palazzo Vecchio.

Early the next morning we spend time in the queue waiting to go into the Galleria d Uffizi where we spend a pleasant few hours purusing the statues and paintings. There are just so many beautiful paintings and works of art by such artists as Bellini, Leonaro da Vinci, Tinelli, Tintoretto, Raffaello Sanzio and others too numerous to mention.

It is such a pleasure to stroll down the corridors past the numerous marble statues in the likeness of people of antiquity. Women with flowing gowns and tightly coiffured hair and men in togas or battle dress, each staring sightlessly into the distance, each a remnant of a long gone age.

Of course as in most of the museums, palazzo’s and art galleries we went into, photography was prohibited so we had to content ourselves with taking pictures outside. On exiting the Uffizi we spend part of the afternoon exploring the piazza San della Signorina and the Loggia della Signoria with their magnificent statues.

I have to say I am a real fan of marble statues and the Italian artisans have the ability to bring this medium to life showing the muscular definition and amazing facial expressions. Here is a statue of Leonardo Da Vinci outside the Academia.

And no, part of the statue’s face isn’t missing, there is a pigeon sitting on his hand.