HE SAID... We arose very early (6am) to pack and eat a 7.30am breakfast in preparation for a travel day that involved a 40 minute bus to Como, a 50 minute train to Milan and a 2 hour train to Venice. We arrived in a rain sodden Venice around 2.30pm, checked into the hotel and then headed out for an orientation walk that started in the Jewish Ghetto, rambled through to (and across) the Ponte di Rialto and ended in the Piazza S Marco. Incessant rain in tourist capitals means molto umbrello, and I nearly lost my eye on numerous occasions as obnoxious tourists oblivious to anyone and everyone rampaged through the streets with one single point of focus - themselves. We made our way back to the hotel, arriving at 6.30pm thanks to the brilliant ... read more

HE SAID... We woke fairly late again and headed back to the lead singer’s café for coffee and free wifi. The heavens opened and we scurried back to the hotel to check out by 9.30am. We caught a train to Santa Margherita, picked up a take away lasagne and headed up to a hilltop garden to lunch in the rain overlooking the Mediterranean. An absolutely amazing way to travel - steadfastly refusing to give in to the weather. We then walked back into the city centre and caught a boat to Portofino, climbed the slippery steps to the castle and cathedral and then headed back on a 5km walk to Santa Margherita. We arrived at the train station at 5pm for our 5.30pm departure, and played table soccer to fill in the time (we were soundly ... read more

HE SAID... On arrival we walked the cobbled path into the fortified village of Lucca and made our way to our apartment, a roomy four storey conjoined building that we shared with our guide and two others. We had our own private balcony looking over Lucca, which was unexpected and simply unbelievable. We headed to the supermarket and stocked up on food and wine and then walked to our restaurant, which was run for (and by) disabled kids. My pasta with rabbit sauce was absolutely brilliant, as was our walnut, mozzarella and gorgonzola pizza! The house wine was sensational (as always), and I capped the meal off with a grappa (that warmed me up for the walk back to the apartment in the rain). Looking forward to the bike ride round the walls tomorrow! We arose ... read more

HE SAID... We landed in Rome and caught the train from the airport, arriving at Termini at 12.30am. It was warm and raining as we set out for the hotel. We got lost in the rain and eventually had to ask a café worker for directions. We were only 100 metres away from the hotel street, which we had already checked once - the packs were heavy and we were tired. We reached the hotel at 1am, unpacked, showered and went straight to bed at 2am. At the end of a long journey from Seoul, we had finally arrived in Rome. We woke early and headed out at 7am for a café latte and pastry, and then walked the city to a few places of interest. It felt strange to chance upon the Pantheon. It was ... read more

HE SAID... Our trip started at 3pm on April 30. We had worked frantically up until our 3pm deadline to leave, and then my Mum Aileen drove us to the airport. Aileen and Molly (Aileen’s red healer) had arrived the day before to look after the house and our pets. We arrived in Melbourne just after 7pm, dropped our bags at Eva and Roy’s (Ren’s parents) house and went out with them for a memorable meal at Sigiri - a fantastic Sri Lankan restaurant in Northcote, where we were joined by Ren’s brother Ralph. It was a regular Friday night buffet where everyone eats three times the amount they need, and we certainly kept up that tradition. We retired at 11pm and arose sleepily at 4am for a morning departure on Korean Air. We were finally ... read more