Disputes between a series of "prisoner" popes and Italy were resolved in 1929 by three Lateran Treaties, which established the independent state of Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain of the earlier treaty provisions, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion. At 0.44sq km - The Holy See is the world's smallest country; but crammed in this tiny state are so many of the worlds treasures, and one of the most amazing museums I've ever visited. For the visitor there are two main buildings: St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. St Peter's Basilica Massive church built on the burial place of St. Peter, work started on the Basilica in 1506, was taken over by Michelangelo ... read more

The journal of a flying visit to the country of style, food, and the center of the Roman Empire. "Do as I say not as I do" - my parents used to say this to me often and now I find myself in a position where I do the same. I've spent some time writing a beginners guide to independent travel, yet I find myself making mistakes that if I followed the advice that I'd given, I wouldn't have made. Take this for example: if you are arriving late in an area, book accommodation in advance. So when arriving in Rome on February 18th 2005 at 10pm, I'd ignored my own advice, it's the low season - there will be plenty of beds in the hostels. 3 hostels and nine hotels later I find myself checking ... read more

New Years Resolutions: 1: Be a better blogger - yeah that means actually writing, not just planning to. 2: No drink for January - more on this later but todays hangover put this on the list. 3: Travel into 5 new countries in 2005. I've never honestly kept my new years resolutions before (usually the drink one is kept for about a week) - so I hope by placing them in a public place such as this, where lots of people I know will read, the pressure will give me the extra will needed to actually hold to them! 1: - being a better blogger. Specifically a travel blogger - avoid being introspective and self obsessed - talk about the sights, cultures and customs of the places I find myself in. So to practice: Hungarian New ... read more

Around Burgas are some of the most important wetlands in the world. Migrating species of many birds, travelling to Africa from Northern Europe (and Russia) follow the strip of land down to Turkey and then on through the Middle East and into Africa. Collectively known as the Burgas Lakes, they're actually seperate areas within 10 or so kilometers of the city. Sara and I visited the PODA Protected Area, which is the easiest for the backpacker to visit (has a visitor centre) and close to the city. The Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds manages the area and welcomes visitors. We only had a few hours at the centre but with the aid of binoculars lent to us from the visitors centre we saw, cormorants, herons, waders, swans, terns, ducks, coots and many types of ... read more

Sounds exotic, Nesebar, roll the sounds around and it could be in Moroco, or just round the corner from Timbuktu. In fact Nesebar is located on an island with a narrow causeway linking it to the mainland, and the wonderfully named 'Sunny Beach'. We knew that this world heritage site would be popular with day trippers so deliberatly aimed to make our day trip a later one. Buses run every half hour from 7am till 9pm both ways from Burgas, so not a problem there. First impression: Tourist crazy - so man, throngs, herds, hordes, stampedes, plagues, what is the collective noun for tourist? I guess that I'm just part of this collective group but feel that there are a few major differences between the traveller and the holiday maker. Holiday maker: has very limited time, ... read more