There were two days left before we left for home and we had packed our bags in readiness for going home. We had left enough clothes out to last us the last few days. We decided to visit two places today – Perugia and LakeTrasimino. Perugia was rather uncharacteristic for a town in Umbria. It does have an historic centre but it is well hidden amongst the urban sprawl. It is easy to miss on your way to somewhere else. The town itself is quite vibrant due to the university. Students are everywhere. We had a drink on the Corso Vannucci a busy noisy square full of people. It is most definitely a people watching square and we enjoyed a bit of peace before the storm. Storm clouds were gathering and the sound of thunder claps ... read more

Night comes quickly to this part of Italy. Perhaps its something to do with the lack of light from houses in the towns or even the clear skies. Lights in the distance look like flyflies twinkling in the distance flitting from tree to tree. Thunder storms too feel more intense with the claps of thunder louder and the lightening looking like someone has switched a light on and then off returning us to darkness again for a few moments. It’s lovely to listen to the sound of the rain pounding on the terracotta roof tiles. By morning the storm had passed and we were left with a warm and sunny day in the pipeline. We ate breakfast watching the tiny green lizards which were basking in the warmth of the sun. Today was another urgent and ... read more

This was only the second time I had flown - last time to the USA but this time the much shorter trip from Birmingham to Rome 2 and a half hours in the company of BMI Baby. We had booked our seats earlier paying extra for extra leg room and for a window set. It is so much easier travelling in the car than having to put up with all the hassle of an early drive to the airport, car parking and then waiting round for the flight. It's hard to find things to do for two hours, a bit of breakfast, a cup of coffee and customs and that's it. We can always guarentee tht we will be stopped and this was no exception to the rule as they confiscated my brand new shampoo and ... read more

The M56, the M1, the M15 and the M6 what can you say about them - long, uninteresting and a means to an end. A way of getting from one place to another and that is about it. Traffic jams and the biggest car park you can imagine on the M25 at times. The A6 and A7 sound much nicer especially when you give them their french names L'Autoroute du Soleil (the route to the sun), L'Autoroute du Sud (to the south) and finally L'Autoroute du Maritime (to the sea). We left the sun on the Alps and headed north for a date with our friends in Dinan and a very large TV linked to the Astra D satellite in order to watch the England match. We hoped that we would arrive in time for the ... read more

Breakfasted in Sion – felt rough – a bad nights sleep coughing and spluttering. My nose could give Rudolf a run for his money. Why is it you always feel far worse when you are away from home. Hankies in pocket, dosed up on Lemsip and Paracetamol went down for breakfast before leaving the French speaking side of Switzerland for Zermatt in the German speaking part. Zermatt is a famous skiing and mountaineering destination with chair lifts and cable cars climbing to the high mountains. It is also the terminus of the station from where the spectacular rack and pinion Gornergratbahn rises high above the town on its journey into the mountains. It is the highest open air railway in Europe. Everything in Switzerland runs like clockwork. The car park runs perfectly with perfectly parked cars ... read more