Bari to Igounomitsa We actually had the opportunity to sleep in today!! Not that many of us took it, we are all so used to getting up early that we still got up at 7 when we could have slept in until 9 or 9.30am. It would have been a bit hard considering the noise from all the traffic and tourists, but still possible. Nonetheless, we were ready to go an hour early, so sat around waiting until 11am for departure. It was a pretty typical drive day, music, movies and chatting amongst ourselves, and we arrived at Bari at about [View Full Entry]

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On the way to Sorrento we stopped at Pompeii to see the fossilised city, that was really something! We did a tour of some of the main attractions of the city, but an hour and a half tour is really not enough to see everything, so it felt quite rushed. The city is huge, and everything is preserved remarkably well, including paintings, artitecture and people. There are even track marks worn into the ground which shows where the carriage wheels would have driven. It was a very hot day, and the dry dusty city was a pretty harsh environment, but I [View Full Entry]

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All roads lead to Rome, so it was natural that we'd get there sooner or later! We packed up pretty early, and stopped over in a charming hilltop town called Orvietto. It was one of those quiet little old towns with cobbled narrow streets, window boxes with flowers and vines, wine stores and old people that are aging incredibly well. It was really cute, and I got a hot chocolate and enjoyed the serenity. Orvietto also has a really weird church, it's kind of like a cross between beetlejuice and gothic architecture. The light in the morning was still low, so [View Full Entry]

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Ciao bella! Florence you have many names, but you are bellisimo no matter what!! This has been my highligh so far. The city is stunning, and our campsite is on a hill so we have a fantastic view at sunrise and sunset (I have seen both). Exploring the 'Flourishing City' It was a big day, I had an early night the night before and was feeling a lot better. So after a 30 minute walking tour, and a glass demonstration where I saw a man blow a horse in about 60 seconds (hehehe), I ditched the group and went exploring. I [View Full Entry]

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The leaning tower was another stopover on the way to Florence, so again we had about 2 hours to explore, eat Gelatti, and take original pics with the tower. Not just that same cliche of holding it up. I did my best. It was kind of a disappointment, it was so crowded with merchants selling tourist crap, and idiot tourists buying it that it detracted from the monument which was pretty cool. And its in a courtyard with a few other buildings and the old city to the side, so theres a lot to see. Not enough time to climb to [View Full Entry]

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It's Amore!!The campsite we stayed at on the mainland in Venice had another Top Deck crew visiting at the same time, so there was bound to be a wild toga party. I danced my ass off on a couple of energy drinks, and hit the sack at about 1.30am. However, a bug had been going around the bus, and this was the night that I started to get symptoms - sore throat, sinus pain, and generally lethargic and unhappy. So I didn't get as much out of our stay in Venice as I would have liked.The city of Venice is actually [View Full Entry]

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Two houses, both alike in dignity in Fair Verona where we lay our scene... This was technically a stopover, we had 3 hours to explore on our way to Venice. The city is really pretty, and there were lots of pretty things in markets, like Masks and food and touristy stuff. I saw Juliets balcony, which was a bit of a let down as it was in a small courtyard packed full of people. Your pass through an archway to get there and people have plastered love notes all over the walls of the arch so it looks kinda yuk. But [View Full Entry]

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The campsite at Antibes was really cute, had great charging facilities for phones and cameras, and was right next to a theme park, so that was an added bonus. I had been having a bit of a 'down' day, so after dinner I went to the park ("Antibes Land") and laughed myself silly on a ride called the Oblivion. 3 times. It was great, just what I needed. It's Nice! Again we had a fabulous sunny day, and spent the day in Nice which is a short drive away. After checking out the shopping, I went to the beach and parked [View Full Entry]

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Commo e-stas!! From Avignon we stopped briefly at the Pont du Gard, which was pretty impressive. We got some pics and it was a nice morning, but where we really wanted to be was Spain. So after a few more hours in the bus we were in Barcelona!! Thats right, sunny, hot, wonderful Barca, city of Sangria and parties! We did an inital driving tour on arrival and saw Gaudi's amazing unfinished cathedral to the Sacra Familia (Sacred Family). We arrived at our first hostel in the afternoon of the 5th and got comfy in the lovely soft beds, clean fantastic [View Full Entry]

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The camp site was a dust storm. Apparently in August there is a huge naked hippy festival at this camp site and about 300 campers attend. As a result of this and the dry weather, there was no grass whatsoever and the massive winds were whipping up dust like some kinda tornado. It was constant sandblasting, which made it a bit unpleasant. Anyway, the city was still beautiful, and its a significant area as it was a stronghold for the popes and their riches back in the day. So there are big walls which protected us from the wind once we [View Full Entry]

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