Its funny, isn't it, that when you ask someone the directions to the station they explain that its just around the corner, and not actually a kilometre away like you thought. Note: ask directions more frequently. Our train trip was 4 hours but that did include quite a few stops. We arrived in Como at about 4 in the afternoon, giving us enough time to drag our battered suitcases (clack clack, you know the story by now) to our hotel and hit the town to see whats whats and where is where. Lake Como is almost in Switzerland, and the area [View Full Entry]

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Venice has captured our hearts. When the daytrippers have gone for the evening, the cafe life becomes more prominent with full tables and chairs outside the ristorante, and clusters of merrymakers congregating outside the bars, with glasses ( & cigarettes) in their hands. The calle & fondamenta (streets) and campo or piazza (squares) can take on an eerie feel after dark. Not that you feel insecure. You don't. But the sound of your solitary footsteps on the basalt flagstones echoes down narrow alleys, and light globes shine dimly above anonamous doorways. Its quite cool in the evenings no [View Full Entry]

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The first stop after check out was one of Lui's most anticipated attractions. The Ducati factory and museum. I finally get to see where my bike was made. yipeee !! I won't bore you with the details that i thoroughly enjoyed, but Dot had a full time job mopping up the pools of drool left over after each section of the tour. After the factory we were shown to the museum and allowed to take photos of some of the historical as well as recent racing bikes. After Dot had gotten Lui's tongue back in his mouth, and coaxed him out [View Full Entry]

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There we were, in front of our hotel at the designated time of 7:20 am, waiting for our bus to take us back in time to ancient Pompei and then up the imposing slopes of the still active Vesuvius. There we were, in front of our hotel at 40 minutes past the designated time of 7:20 am, waiting for our bus to take us back in time to ancient Pompei and then up the imposing slopes of the still active Vesuvius. Mmmmm, better make a phone call. What do you mean you don't have our booking ??? We paid for it [View Full Entry]

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Our first full day in Sorrento was Friday, and what better day to head off to the Isle of Capri. The weather was a bit gloomy, and rain had been forecast for later, so we jumped the local bus to Sorrento early and made our way down to the port. There are ticket booths everywhere, so we just rocked up to one and asked for two ferry tickets to Capri. Ferry rater than hydrofoil as the guide books said the hydros were impersonal, and the ferries a little more romantic. Leaving dock 3 in 20 minutes. Cool. The boat that berthd [View Full Entry]

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Do you want to wake up in the morning? I mean wide eyed & super allert? Then take a cab ride from our hotel in Naples to Statione Centrale. Excitement, exilleration, white nuckle fear are all words that come to mind when describing the 10 minute experience. The train ride to Sorrento was a comfortably uneventful trip which provided some quiet time to unwind after the cab ride. Every thing fell to pieces from Sorrento station on. We found our way out of the station. Easy. We found the kiosk to buy the tickets for the bus. Easy. The bus? Not [View Full Entry]

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It rained overnight and Saturday started as a grey morning. We had a deadline of 9:00 am to return the hirecar to the local airport, so that was the focus of our morning. We were on our way, following the instructions dictated by the GPS. "recalculating...."oops, not again. Sometimes the most direct route is the tiniest of back streets. Roadblock. "recalculating....." silence. then more silence. "sorry, can't calculate new route..." blank screen. blank screen and silence. bugger, look for signs. Yes, the airport! all good, hand the keys back and no more driving for a wh [View Full Entry]

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The train trip to Rome was 2 1/2 hour long, and uneventful. The change of pace here is not subtle. Sort of slaps you in the face. They drink too much coffee or something. We are glad we arrived on a Sunday afternoon & not Monday morning. We found our hotel and then set out on foot to locate the starting point of Monday's 1/2 day Vatican tour. An hour & a half later we had it sussed. Not bad for first time in Roma we thought. We did stop for a couple of photos along the way.... Monday morning had [View Full Entry]

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After the Vatican in the morning we had a chance to explore a bit more and found ourselves at the Spanish steps. The Trevi Fountain is just around the corner, so we braved the waves of like-minded tourists and tossed a coin in, while posing for the obligatory photo. From there it was home to rest our weary legs. Seems we are doing 15 or so k's a day at the moment. It stormed Monday night, and today is breezy, but beautiful & sunny, though perhaps justs little cool at only 16 degrees this morning. Today is the Coloseum and the [View Full Entry]

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It was an early start, but it was worth it. We fitted in a few hours in Siena and still arrived in Perugia in time to have a look around before it got too dark (8:00 pm) Siena is a lovely city, full of cathedrals & museums, but we could only spend a few hours wandering the old streets in the centre of town. We tried to contact Henry a couple of times, but the we couldn't get thru to him on the local phone system. We visited the Piazza del Campo and were amazed at its size & the number [View Full Entry]

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