Saturday 11th July 2009 Woke up during night due to the VERY loud thunder and rain but turned over and went back to sleep fortunately!! Awake at 7am to be packed and at breakfast by 7.30am and we head off from Dubrovnik around 8am. We drive along the Croatian coast till about midday, nowhere to stop for a break but Damo manages to find somewhere around 11.30 for about 45 minutes and from this point we turn away from the coast and head inland along a brand new highway to Split. Most the view today is of rock and scrub hills, you couldn’t really grow a thing along this part of the Croatia it is ALL weathered rock with scrub on it. Our stop in Split is for lunch and we have 2 hours to walk ... read more

Wednesday 8th July 2009 Wake up this morning at 6am... had not slept well AT ALL due to the streetlights shining straight into the sail boat cabin which has no door plus I had woken up at 4am with a coughing fit, so it felt like I had only just got back to sleep when it was time to get up and get ready. We had to pack up our stuff and clean the boat and have breakfast this morning before the boat inspection at 6.45am. It has to pass the inspection or we will be charged 40Euro, gulp. Yesterday we had already done the front decks and cleaned out one of the inside cabinets where we had stored the water. This morning it is all the other surfaces and with 6 of us on the ... read more

Thursday 2nd July... Up at 6.30am!!!! to get packed and ready to drop luggage at the bus at 7.30am. Got up and found that Jamie had had a big night the night before, she is in the cabin opposite, she had been sick on her steps, our steps and everywhere in between.... yuk! Had brekky and we were then on our way to Orvieto!!! We catch the cable tram ( like in Wellington) up the steep hill and then walk through the narrow streets of Orvieto to the Cathedral. It is MASSIVE! We are virtually in the middle of nowhere and there is the 3rd largest church (not sure if it is 3rd largest in Italy or the world cause it is BIG!). Anyway it has painted frescoes on the outside and looks fabulous, went inside ... read more

WOW! That is the only way I can sum up the last few days it has been just crazy!! Arrived in London and on my free day there got a bus about ticket and saw the sights. I saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, London Bridge - had a fabulous day just seeing the places I have read about and heard about. Didn't get to actually go in and see anything not even the London Eye - I will have to do this on my days in between tours.... The next day (Friday), checked in with the tour guide (Brooke) at 6am!!! and then it was brekky followed by a bus trip to Dover. Very typical English weather on this day - grey and drizzling and ... read more

Just over an hour to go till we head off to the airport, it's been a really funny week leading up till now - I have been alternately happy, excited, apprehensive, nervous and mostly STRESSED!!!! It's funny having people coming up saying "oh you must be SO excited!!!" and they can barely contain their excitement :D it's really great!! I am thinking "yeap it's really great just so long as I remember what I have done with my camera, pack my hair brush, can I fit my sleeping bag in the suitcase will it still be under 20kg? What time am I leaving? Where is my passport? blah blah blah...." I am SO hoping to sleep on the plane because all the excitement has meant I haven't slept properly in about 3 days!! But in a ... read more