http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Bruce-and-Jac/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Bruce and Jac en-us Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:58:47 +0000 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:58:47 +0000 The one hour flight to Frankfurt was half empty but the 9 hour flight to Bangkok wasnrsquot It was an old 747 and didnrsquot look like it had been upgraded for years so the flight in cattleclass was not at all comfortable. A big brick bat for Lufthansa Nevertheless we did eventually arrive in Bangkok complete with all our luggage and after leaving most of it at airport storage caught a ta http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-403189.html After leaving Ptuj we decided to forego further sightseeing in Slovenia partly due to the Visa situation and partly due to the fact that we wanted to catch up with the Spreitzhofers at St Kathrein before we left. Jac programmed Dorothy once we got back to into Austria despite the fact that we pretty much knew the way anyway and off we went. Half and hour or so later we realized that there was ac http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Berkshire/Maidenhead/blog-403182.html Next morning D J popped in to say goodbye as we were having breakfast they were heading for the coast and we were off to Lake Bled. The drive to the town of Bled and the lake was only about 30km which highlights one of the great things about Slovenia itrsquos so compact. You could drive to just about anywhere from the centre at Ljubljana in couple of hours unless you wanted to take the ba http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovenia/Styria/blog-397339.html Driving through Rijeka in the rain during the busy afternoon traffic was slow going but at least Jac finally managed to load the credit onto her phone and we could communicate with the world again. It was not long after that that we came to the Slovenian border and passport control and after a couple of quick questions we were into another country. With 20 273 sq.km and 2 million people it was o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovenia/Upper-Carniola/blog-397004.html We left Dubrovnik on another beautiful day and stopped after crossing over their impressive Franjo Tudjman Bridge one of the largest single pylon cable stayed bridges in the world to take some photos. We then carried on up the Dalmatian coast and out to the Peljescaronac Peninsula which is a big wine growing region. The vines we saw here were quite different from those we saw in Italy they w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/Dalmatia/blog-396693.html We awoke on the ferry at 6am and got up for breakfast before arriving in Dubrovnik Croatia at around 7am. It was a beautiful morning a few clouds but warm and dry and Dubrovnik looked clean and quiet as we sailed in. Through customs without any hassles and got a new stamp in my passport Croatia is not part of the EU yet and on to the local supermarket to get some supplies except it wasnrsquo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/Dalmatia/Dubrovnik/blog-396516.html We had read that the Amalfi Coast had one of Italyrsquos most wild and rugged landscapes so we decided to go for a drive and take a look. We drove through the rough streets of Pompeii before taking the motorway south to Salerno and turning off to the coast. The Italians definitely drive to a different set of rules to other people similar to the Chinese in that if there is a gap they will fill http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Puglie/Bari/blog-396179.html Soon after leaving Rome it started to rain and rained off and on most of the way down the coast but by the time we reached Naples it had backed right off. We got to Pompeii and encountered some of the roughest and most poorly maintained roads ever and they seemed to suit the neighbourhood. Dorothy was also confused as to the campsite location and had us driving the backroads so we put in the GPS http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Pompei/blog-395569.html Itrsquos not true all roads donrsquot lead to Rome we found one that didnrsquot and had to make a Uturn It was a pretty easy drive though through some lovely countryside along the scenic route avoiding the autostrada again. It seemed to take us a little longer than we thought but we were in no hurry and we reached the campsite at about 4.30. It was a great campsite huge but with not t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-395564.html Easter Monday dawned fine again itrsquos been 9 days since we had any rain and the weather has been great. There was a queue to leave the campsite again but that was ok they even refunded our unused bus tickets bonus The drive to Passignano was only another 80km and we had managed to successfully avoid toll roads since Pisa a decision we had consciously made to try and enable us to see mor http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Umbria/Assisi/blog-393683.html Checkout was at 10am and there was a queue waiting to leave. It was another beautiful day and we were on the road again without too much delay heading south to Siena. It was only about 80km so we thought we would take a short detour to a little town called SanGimignano with itrsquos lsquo14 grey stone towers set on a hilltop and surrounded by an outer wallrsquo. Unfortunately a few thousan http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Siena/blog-392777.html We arrived in Florence at about 11am and the roads were chaotic Dorothy routed us through the middle of the city and it was a mess trafficwise. The road the campsite was on had no numbers so we had to put in the GPS coordinates so she could find it which she eventually did about an hour after reaching the city. I must highly recommend the Alan Rogers Camping and Caravanning Guide we bought whi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-391070.html Lucca was another old walled town similar in size and feel to Pisa but without the big drawcard of Pisarsquos Cathedral and Belltower. It was a little less commercial and a bit more oldworld as a result and we were able to find metered parking inside the old ramparts so we didnrsquot have so far to walk. It was another beautifully fine day at about 22 degrees which is great for walking aroun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-391067.html Luckily Dorothy had no problems with the roads since leaving Padova and we found our next campsite with no detours just after noon. It was less than 1km from lsquoTorre Pendentersquo the Leaning Tower so we decided to walk there that afternoon after lunch. The Leaning Tower was definitely a sight to see and not only because of itrsquos less than vertical stature. The Piazza del Duomo a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Pisa/blog-391064.html We arrived at Rapallo late in the afternoon after a pretty wet drive. The campsite was nothing flash but it was the closest one to Portofino and we could catch a bus there. It was really hilly country with lots of steep narrow and windy roads apart from the autostrada which tunnels straight through the hills and spans the valleys. Irsquove got to say that there are similarities between the Ita http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Liguria/Portofino/blog-391056.html The weather when we left Austria wasnrsquot bad but it was quite cool and overcast but when we came down from the mountains into Italy it was like driving into spring clear skies and about 10 degrees warmer. The mountains were beautiful and the road was great with very little traffic. When we approached Venice Dorothy the tomtom had a fit I donrsquot know how long it had been since Mauri http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-390626.html The next day we were back on the autobahn again heading for Innsbruck and hoping to find a mechanic who could understand enough English to give us a warrant. We made a short stop near the border at Schwangau to take a quick look at King Ludwig IIrsquos castles Hohenschwangau where he lived as a child and Neuschwanstein his own creation which reputedly inspired Disneyrsquos Fantasyland castl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Styria/blog-390625.html Within an hour or two of being on the road we were in Germany surrounded by hills and forests which were missing in The Netherlands. We had programmed in the address of an old friend Deborah from NZ who lived near Bonn. Unfortunately we programmed the wrong Gruenerweg so ended up in the wrong place Never mind we were only about 7km out and found it easily the second time. Deborah has a lovely pl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Rhineland-Palatinate/Trier/blog-386807.html Our cabin on the Stena Hollandica was great quiet comfortable beds and a nice shower. We slept well until the breakfast announcement came blaring across the intercom at 6.45am. We didnrsquot want breakfast so kept dozing for a bit longer. We disembarked at the Hook of Holland at around 8.00am local time and breezed through customs and back on to the right hand side of the road. We were headin http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/South-Holland/blog-386802.html We didnrsquot manage to get away from Maidenhead until about 3pm after organizing our packages for home and Jacrsquos EFTPOS card which wouldnrsquot work. Dobbie also required a little help getting started again but nothing major so the 4 and a half hour trip was no problem and Keith and Barbara Jacrsquos Godmother met us at the offramp of the M55 and we followed them to their place at http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/blog-381373.html