Hello everybody! Rome has given me some faith that Italy isn't a complete waste of time and money. Actually, that's a bit unfair, it's not been so bad, but Rome has definitely been an improvement anyway. The people have been helpful, and the city itself is amazing. We arrived a bit after lunchtime, and since it stays light for so long, we were able to see a few things before bed-time. Getting to our accommodation was a bit of an effort. We were supposed to be staying in a nice little place, the only place we had fully prepaid before we got to Europe. But when we arrived we found out that to get there, we would have to catch the Metro all the way out of Rome, then catch another bus, if there is one, ... read more

Hello everybody. We're still a bit undecided about Florence. It's got some great things...we saw Michelangelo's David today, which was obviously fantastic, but it's just a strange place. For example, the museum the David is housed in, you would easily walk past it if it wasn't for the massive queue outside. It's just another dumpy building. That's the thing about Florence...I've been working on this illustration all day... You know when you play with a kid, and it's fun for a few seconds, and then you wish you hadn't because they still find it fun long after you're very sick of it? If you're like me, in that situation, I try to progressively make the game less fun for the kids, although this rarely works. I think Florence is a bit like that with tourists. I ... read more

Hello everybody! We've been married 2 years today! Aren't we fantastic!? Today we went to the island of Murano, where they are famous for making Venetian Glass. It was pretty interesting. They time their demonstrations for when people get off the water busses, so as soon as we alighted there was a guy shuffling us off (like it or not), to a demonstration of a master making a few things. They're really amazing, except in a way it's a bit disappointing because when you see the vases and things in the shops, you imagine some cute old man labouring intesively over one piece for hours, sweating blood due to the stress he's under to produce a piece worthy of being called Venetian glass...the reality is that he's a fat sweaty guy in a shearer's singlet, with ... read more

Hello everybody. This will be a noticeably shorter blog. Today, we got in a taxi at 9:30, then got on a train, then got on another train, then got on another train, had some chips and bikkies, then got on a taxi, then arrived at our accommodation at 11:00 that night. Trains are nice, but I don't ever want to see another one. So I can't really write much about Venice, except to say that, for the 22 minutes I was awake, it seemed quite dark. Hope everybody is well, talk to you all soon Bye bye... read more

I said we don't like Avignon, Oh no. ... And we're serious. It's windy and silly. And we're cranky because we had to walk a long way in the wind. I just about got blown off the bridge onto the road in front of a bus. And most of the day was spent on stinky trains getting here. Therefore, there are no photos. Tomorrow will be better. Bye... read more