Escapisms

We had an 8am wake up call because we had to be up at the Uffizi at 9.30am. I got some bananas which I shared with Lindsay ie we had 2 each. It was better than the breakfast that we would have had here. When we got to the Uffizi the queue to get in was enourmous and Tom reckoned that people at the back of the queue would probably get in at around 3pm – lucky that we booked really. So in we went and saw so many paintings. We had a couple of breaks inbetween and I amde a trip to the loo. I brought a load of postcards from the shop to stick in my notes. We then all went and had lunch minus Toby who went back to the hotel as we had the ‘afternoon off’ and so we were all going to go shopping. I had gnocci with tomato sauce and then I halved a tomato and mozerella salad with Claire. We (Calire, Kartina, Sue and myself) all headed off to the San Lorenzo Market where I managed to get a cheap leather wallet as mine is falling to pieces. I also got a new pair of sunglasses as I managed to sit on mine this morning and broke them. I got Hugo a t-shirt with the words CAIO on it and in it are architectural buildings. I brought a tie for Dad and a scarf for Mum and a necklace for Chloe. On the way back tot he hotel I had my portrait done as Claire was having hers done. I managed to haggle the price down – it is quite good but the eyes are a bit large and the nose is slightly weird but I think that Mum and Dad will like it – at least I hope that they will. I had very little time before we went out to supper. We went to a place just beyond the Brancacci Chapel and I had artichoke hearts – absoloutly delicious. The waiter looked seriously like a Beatle. We went on to a bar afterwards and most of the others went to an Irish Pub down the road where as Charlie, Tom, Claire, Sue Katrina and I had a Balieys followed by a G&T and Claire also had that, Tom was really worried that it would make us really ill. It didnt though, I have done it before! We came back and I talked to Charlie about how useful this course was as Im actually starting to remember everything. I talked to her about my mocks and other thing. Tom in the mean while was gauging the others out of the Irish Pub where they all came back feeling very sorry for themselves. Tom obviously must have shouted at them all quite a bit. I went to bed at about 10 past 12 and I have no idea when Lindsay and Rose came back but luckily they didn’t wake me when they came in ar thier obscene hour (1.30am apparently)