Thursday 26th June Really hot day (about 38 degrees) - travelling all morning, arrived Pisa around 2.30pm. Extortionate parking (60 Euros for a couple of hours!), and surrounded by hawkers the minute we leave the coach. Pisa was beautiful - think everything's being cleaned... and as per usual more entries for a potential book many of us have discussed entitled "famous monuments I have photographed encased in scaffolding". We'd set the 'creative photo' competition earlier that day, but I don't think anything would have stopped our guests enthusiasm for trying out that those 'tai-chi' st [View Full Entry]

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Sunday 22nd June Average temperature in Rome is supposed to be around 27 degrees at this time of year. The coach clock is registering 36/37 degrees! Everyone’s wilting a bit, but we keep reminding each other that it was only last week that we were all complaining that it was too cold! We stop at a truckers stop which seems to fit in with Freddie’s hours - actually quite impressed - some good snacks to buy, toilets clean, and some large sandwiches and even larger jars of Nutella (5kg) available! See the countryside look increasingly ‘Roman’, with a number of town [View Full Entry]

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Friday 20th June We manage not to have TOO early a start today, but we’re still in Punta Sabbioni for 9.15am, where it takes a while to find a good deal for the ferry over (4 Euro though). As we’re taking 2 packed lunches today and are staying out to see Venice at night, it’s too late to get a return deal - we’ll need to get the regular ferry back tonight. Send group with Paul and arrange to meet them at 2.30pm in San Marco Piazza, whilst Freddie, John & I head off to the airport to pick up the [View Full Entry]

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Thursday 19th June Another early start and an efficient pack-up, and we’re soon en route to the campsite in Ca’Vio. Verona is also not a possibility for a stop, as it’s too far for Freddie’s drivers hours, but we take a chance on Trento for an hour, which actually turns out to be the perfect size for this kind of stop - and turns out to be the city of painted walls. Very nice, a real Italian market, Cathedral, unusual other buildings, and beautiful other decoration, plus our first taste of Italian Gelati! The campsite is a bit further than expected, [View Full Entry]

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Wednesday 18th June Late breakfast (9am!), clearly doesn’t look like a paragliding day, but then a handful check it out and it is a possibility! Several others of us head up the hill towards Herz-Jesu, a chapel we can see from the valley. A steep climb and muddy (and I’ve forgotten my sticks again)… takes a while, but come out to several great panoramas of the valley. We sit for a while trying to spot the paragliders, but give up and head back down - again, trying not to slip! Back to the campsite for lunch where we find the non-paragliders [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday 17th June Excursion day to the Krimml Waterfalls - I’m determined to get to the top this time! I manage it… in 1 hour 10 minutes.. the superfit made it in about 50 minutes. Bought walking poles for this particular day, but left them on the campsite - doh! 16 people made it to the top, others chilled at the half-way restaurant or elsewhere. No time to see side-paths or the base! We took longer than expected to get here, and then wait a bit for a couple who got lost on their way back to the coach. Time for [View Full Entry]

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Monday 16th June Catherine’s 21st birthday today, so we surprise her with a little cake before we head off - didn’t want to wait til the evening. Find the coach drop in Salzburg after negotiating the one-way system a bit, then Freddie and John drive off to the coach park, and the rest of us head in across the river, looking out for pretzels en route. Lose half the group at the first ATM, more at the pretzel stand, and several went on ahead to find the Sound of Music locations (I would like to have gone with that group!). Had [View Full Entry]

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Campsite is Petronell Carnuntum Saturday 14th June Asked the campsite to explain the train ticketing into Vienna. Went to the station to buy the tickets - still confusing, but the best value for our needs, we need a single into Schwartz, then a 24 hour day pass, then a single back from Schwartz. Buy the first 2 easily enough, then think I have the third but as the last one drops out see it says ‘Von’ (from) Petronell Carnutum. When the guard comes along the train he tells us that these tickets are no good to get back, but to ask [View Full Entry]

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Friday 13th June Back on the coach, to find our way out of the Czech Republic. A long road, and we don’t quite make it across the border before Freddie’s drivers hours run out, so we stop at a service station for 45 minutes. Next obstacle is getting a refund on the Czech Road Tax. The border “sends us to the Devil” (service station) - but their machine is not working, so we welcome everyone back into the Czech Republic having already welcomed them to Austria! The other Devil service station also works and thankfully we get a rebate along with [View Full Entry]

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Wednesday 11th June Tents down quickly again and onto the bus for a bit of a drive into Prague. Soon drove back into drizzle again, and the countryside outside noticeably changed to communist style buildings! Were told to expect delays at the border, but Czech Republic has now joined the EU so border controls are very relaxed - road tax system a little confusing as he kept my £100, although he’d only asked for about £57. He said we could get it back when we left Czech Republic. Didn’t like leaving it, but Freddie had heard was a strange system, so [View Full Entry]

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