Slow start this morning. The mozzies were going ballistic last night, as were the participants at the small bar on the next corner to our apartment. We both felt quite rung out when we woke up, as well as being very itchy from mozzie bites! It's also been quite humid over the last few days which, together with the 28-30 degree temperatures, has slowed us down a bit, and made it a bit difficult to sleep without the air conditioner on.

Yesterday we just walked around the local area, and today we headed into town, stopping for numerous coffees along the way . We have the coffee orders down pat now - we stand at the bar and order a doppio (double espresso) for Garth, and an Americano (long black) for Gillian, plus a couple of biscotti (small biscuits) or croissants, and the bill is usually less than €5!! If we sat down at the tables, then the bill doubles (at least).

We stopped at the Duomo to revisit the inside of the church (we hope to do the Bell Tower, Dome and Baptistery tomorrow - all of these buildings are closed on a Sunday) and managed to sneak in without the clothing police telling me to cover my arms. Many of the women were stopped because their shorts were too short, or their shoulders were too exposed, but I obviously managed to look respectable enough to get in. Or perhaps it's because I am older and not as stunning as some of the youngsters in the queue. No, that can't possibly be the case!!!!

I had forgotten how sparse the inside of the cathedral is, and how different it is from the ornate exterior. There are a couple of statues, some beautiful windows, fabulous floor, and that's about it. No frescoes, no large number of statues etc. I found it quite refreshing! It also claims to be the 4th largest Christian Church in the world, but that claim may be spurious.

On our return home, I took a couple of photos of November 1966 flood level markers. We are blown away when we pass markers that are so far up the side of buildings that you can tell at least one storey of the building would have been completely flooded. I also found another odd street sign or two....

Finally we passed another couple of stone tower houses, one of which was Dante's house when he was young. We also found the apartment where Michelangelo was born and lived as a youngster.