Florence Inferno

My first day in Florence, stepped off the train into this incredible heat. Italians call Florence Firenze probably because of the heat! I'm willing to bet that Dante wrote his Inferno here.

I'm staying in a nice hotel in Florence and this was the sight that greeted me from my bedroom window.

I have stayed in hotels with small balconies but never one with a terrace, so you're all invited over for a barbecue tomorrow.

I know dog-owners allow their pets to sniff lampposts but very few owners pick their dogs up to sniff one on a wall.

This is the famous Ponte Vecchio Bridge across the Arno River. This is how bridges over the Thames looked centuries ago with shops and houses festooned on the bridge. Now most of the shops are jewellers selling to tourists.

And this is what the bridge looks like when you are on it. Not much room for traffic these days!

Outside one of the many ice cream shops in Florence a white-helmeted policeman chats to a cyclist. Nearby customers try the excellent ice cream. And they are excellent, I tried one myself.

Went into this really nice restaurant and had a great meal. I chatted with a lovely young couple from the Netherlands, Daniel and Shushma who helped make it a great evening.