I somehow found myself back in Italy following Croatia, as the girls I travelled Croatia with were headed there. We spent a few lovely days in Florence, where we spent many hours in cafes with tea and cards (if you're Italian then you'll know Briscola and how great it is), braved the leather markets again, visited the Uffizi gallery one night after dinner when it was near-empty, and discovered the most heavenly food markets hidden just behind the leather markets. Best. Sandwich. Ever.

I then bid adieu to my companions as they headed up to Venice and back down to Rome, while I went south to Sorrento. I spent a few nights by myself, making friends with other people at the hostel, exploring Sorrento, winding along the narrow cliff roads along the Amalfi Coast to visit Positano, and generally relaxing. Two of the three of my girlies, Phoebe and Hannah (Sonia had headed off for the last leg of her own trip) then came and met me in Sorrento. We visited the ancient ruins of Herculaneum which was absolutely wonderful, drank lots of wine and ate lots of gelati, before packing our bags and, after a minor (major) hiccup of booking the wrong flights, headed across to the wonderful Spain.