Next morning we had brekky then went to Central to try to get our tickets to head to Lake Como also referred to as Lario. This is the third largest lake in Italy and the deepest, with a maximum depth of around 410 mtrs. While the Como section is relatively narrow and the mountains behind are somewhat uniform, the Lecco branch is more rugged and rocky. The northern part features deep valleys and tall mountains, and is the most dramatic. The central section of the lake, based around the triangle of Bellagio, Menaggio and Varenna, is where the scenery is most spectacular. We used the self service machine (thanks to all Nat’s research!!) and thought we were doing alright even though it was more expensive than we had expected. We finally managed to validate it (with ... read more

15th September We went for a walk to Piazza della Scala, home to the city's famous opera house which was designed by Giuseppe Piermarini in 1776-1778, to hold up to 2,000 spectators. We decided that rather than take a tour through the theatre, we would try and get last minute tickets to the final performance for the month. The deal was you had to come back at 6pm. We went for a walk, had lunch then went back for the tickets, after working out the system we finally managed to get some (which were close to the last ones!!) and then had an hour and forty five minutes to get back to the hotel using the underground, shower and get back for the show! It was a challenge but we’ve been under pressure many times in ... read more

The next day I went for a walk through the streets and look at all the shops and the donkeys making their way through the steep winding hills as they made their way up the stairs... Sarah thought that there was an overwhelming smell of pepper, turned out to be donkey pepper!! Awesome view, awful smell!! Next day woke up and it was cloudy, after Arty told me that it’s NEVER cloudy in Santorini!! What’s going on there?!?!?! Had brekkie (with cake at the end!! Love holidays!!) and then to Maria to have the obligatory frappe who is just adorable and works so hard for 8 months of the year, 7 days a week!! Then off to the beach, so caught the bus to Perissa which has black sand and smooth rocks and the nice man ... read more

Made my way to the Royal National Hotel to meet up with Elisa. We boarded our open bus tour. First thing we went past was Trafalgar Square, which I’m sure any self respecting Aussie, had no interest in being near, since the English were celebrating their Ashes win against he Aussies, all wearing their ‘Kangaroo Bashers’ shirts… we then went past Leister Square, The Ritz and we jumped off at the Hard Rock - The world’s first, as we were starving!! But they were closed due to a fire that had been through there 2 months earlier so we continued up the street to Henry’s Bar and Grill where a prerequisite to working there is that you have to be hot I’m sure!!! We had a great lunch and a couple of strawberry daiquiris before continuing ... read more

Caught the bus into town and made our first stop Anne Franks House. Really wanted to see that as I plan on reading the book when I get back home. Arty, Rohan and I met up and had a drink later before checking out one of the many sex shops, some very interesting stuff!!! We wanted to find the supermarket one!! But didn’t managed to unfortunately! Hehe!! Rohan and I headed off to do the Heineken Experience and see just how many of the free beers we could skull in the shortest amount of time… which turned out to be not many!! They have a think on the highways called ‘Auto Barn’ where you can go as fast as you like on certain parts of the highway, ours taxi did over 160km/hr and I have to ... read more