We were all on the bus at ten to eight, ready to travel down to Rome, via Sienna. Prior to our departure from Florence, Michele drove us up to the best look out over Florence, Piazzale Michelangelo for a final "Arrivederci Firenze" and photo opp. What a view, with the cathedral's dome shining in the early morning sun, surrounded by the many tiled rooftops. Just like a postcard!
We had another beautiful drive through Tuscany with its many fields of bright, yellow sunflowers and stunning mountain ranges. The countryside is also dotted with beautiful villas and stone houses, as well as the mountain top, walled villages from medieval history. Absolutely breathtaking!
We stopped in Sienna, to have a wander through this cute Medieval city and to see the town centre where the Palio is run. As it is close to the final Palio, many of the small areas of the city had their flags (with the colours and animals of their area's rider) in the old holders under their windows. It was a fantastic to walk into the city, down the cobblestoned streets lined with tall buildings with the rectangle window shutters, and the various area flags blowing gently in the summer breeze. It felt like we had taken a step back in time. The city centre was amazing! I was shocked by its sheer size, and its sloping sides. The fact that they run the Palio around here, and squeeze in sooo many people into the middle is amazing! We had about 40 minutes to wander around the city, and to buy the famous local food - Panforte. I bought the traditional fruit one, as well as a chocolate, a walnut and a cinnamon one....you have to taste them all to seriously judge which one is best :)
We then headed to a hidden treasure in the Tuscan countryside - Serre dei Rapovano, a beautiful hilltop castle and surrounding houses that have been transformed into a luxury hotel. The pool is to die for! Unfortunately (and fortunately), we were only here for lunch. The owner of this amazing property, Salvatorre, discussed how he made our lunch, and how he used the local produce to get the best flavours. I had a fabulous eggplant parma and pineapple cake, surrounded by stunning views of the Tuscan countryside and the hilltop pool. A fantastic lunch for the final day! 
After our fantastic lunch, we got as back onto the bus, and travelled for another hour down to where our amazing journey had began, Roma. Arriving at the Sheraton around 4:30pm, we had about an hour to relax and freshen up before we headed into the city centre, to Via Venneto, to a posh restaurant for our final dinner as a group. I had a fantastic night just chatting and reliving some of the best parts of our trip with fellow travellers. It was a great night, and a wonderful end to the trip. When we got back to the hotel I farewelled everyone (as they were all off to the airport early tomorrow morning, whereas I would be sleeping in [yay!!!!] before getting the train back to Florence). Now it's time to go up to my room and get a good nights sleep before the next chapter of my adventure begins!!! Ciao!
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