Okay, so I spoke too soon, became a little complacement, if you will; My flight was indeed cancelled due to the Italian strike. Having waited 14 hours for the next flight, together with frantically booking another hotel as my one cancelled on me due to a lack of post-midnight check-in,my patience was being tested. However, silver lining there was; Olga came to my rescue. I spent the best part of 6 hours at hers near the airport trying to re-assemble my first day in Italy. So, back to the airport for take 2 - we finally departed at 20:45. Upon arrival in Florence, exhausted, I got a taxi to my BnB in Badia Fiorentina. I was graced by a hilariously authentic Italian experience. As I rang the doorbell past midnight in what looked like a dodgy dark alleyway, not hopeful for an answer, I hear the windows swing open above me with a top-naked old Italian man shouting at me in Italian, which later translated to (as the guys in the bar next door didn't fail to mention), "Eh, Mamma Mia, what is it?? I am trying to sleep here!!"... Erm.. "I have a reservation here!", I politely reply, the best way us British know how to.. "Oh! Come in, come in". This is Bruno, my host. He takes me a on a ten minute walk to my place for the night, to what was a wonderfully quaint studio apartment over looking Ponte Vecchio river. I took in beautifully grand sites, even on this shortest of walks. My mind and body were tired, but my senses awakened - Florence looked magical in the night air. Needless to say, I fell asleep the moment my head hit the cool, soft pillow. I've naively forgiven Italy for its strike too quickly, it's just too damn charming already to stay mad at.

The following morning, I took a wander back to my originally booked BnB, Le Seggiole, for my 2nd night and wasn't disappointed. Greeted by Ulrika, a smiley and very helpful Swede, her and a friend gave me tons of non-touristy recommendations - it's like they knew me already ;) They reserved me the best room in the house, given last nights circumstances, which featured a 400 year old original ceiling painting! A 'very special room', she said. I concurred. After a solid 8 hours wandering a town in which I only had one day to fall in love with, I took in the Uffizi Gallery, the central market, THE best trattiroa in Florence for amazing Tortelli di Patate, terrace view seating overlooking the Duomo and Cathedral, melt-in-your-mouth gelato from River Reno, coffee at Chiaro Scuro - a local coffee joint, topped off by watching the sun set over Piazzele Michaleango, offering panaromic sexy views of Florence.. Blissful (purposely with a capital B). The Italian way of life is already appealing - their effortless style, enviable culture and most noticeably how embracing and unawkward they are in comparison to the Brits. For example, both times I ate out in Florence, another Italian singleton is placed on the same table as me, right next to me, which is a totally normal here, and inevitably start chatting (however broken their English and my Italian is).

Florence is as picturesque as a postcard. You almost want to feel what you see to check it's real. I can't forget to mention how beautiful everyone is here, both men and women.. it almost seems unfair they're all so highly populated in one country ;) So as night fell, I took a stroll to Santa Spirito, where the local haunts are. Most of you who've read this far know I'm one for finding the hidden gems of a city and this followed suit. Volume bar and Pop cafe were amongst highlights - aperitifs, strong cocktails and hot barmen? You didn't hear me complaining... All in all, I tried (and succeeded) to make up for precious lost time. I'm most definitely inclined to visit again someday. Ciao for now!