We were sad to leave beautiful Switzerland today, but adventures in mountain passes lay ahead as we set off to cross the border into northern Italy. First up, we needed to retrace our steps from Preda back over the exciting Albulapass towards St Moritz. On we went over the Bernina Pass, which provided spectacular mountain views as well as the climb up one side and the hairpin descent on the other. As we crossed the border into Italy, the Swiss border control officer stopped us to peer closely at the washing hanging above the back seat. Satisfied there was no smuggling going on, but looking quite bemused, he waved us on. His Italian counterpart had obviously seen it all before and with a nonchalant wave of the hand he welcomed us to Italy. This northern part ... read more

Waking to a cloudless day could not have been better for our ascent to the perfect viewing point to see the Matterhorn. To get there we needed to travel by the cog rail Gornergrat train. What a magnificent piece of engineering to enable passengers to climb over 1400 metres in perfect comfort to view such great mountain scenery. From the top of the Gornergrat railway the Matterhorn is dominant. No one can deny its majesty and on such a perfect day the view takes your breath away. It is hard to imagine how such a mountain can be climbed. Once you get your breath back you can then take in the view of the Italian mountains that reach over 4500 metres and the dramatic glaciers down their slopes. With the 360° view you get the opportunity ... read more

Today we said “arrivederci” to Italy and started another exciting chapter in our European Adventures. We headed north alongside Lake Como over the mountains to St Moritz and a little further to our overnight stop at Preda. Slow driving was the order of the day. Not because we wanted to drive slow just to annoy the impatient Italian drivers for the last time but because the traffic was heavy, the road was narrow and it was one little town after another. Added to all this the scenery was postcard material from the start and that meant stopping often wherever we could. Como was alive with holiday makers and that made stopping difficult so we just kept on driving. There were times when we deviated from the main road and took zig-zag roads down to little villages ... read more

We had prepared for today by checking out the bus we would need to catch to Bergamo, a local station, in order to travel by train into Milan. All went to plan and we arrived at Milan Stazione Centrale then found our way to the underground Metro which would take us close to the gallery housing one of the most loved works of art in the world: Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. We had tried unsuccessfully to book tickets online to see this painting and were hoping to be lucky enough to get in just by turning up to the ticket office. The guide book had suggested lunchtime as the best part of the day to do this, so in we went and yes, two tickets were available for later in the day. Armed with our ... read more

Ten years ago we drove to Florence and have had nightmares ever since. Today, with the help of our on board navigator, leaving Florence in morning rush hour traffic was a breeze. We leave Florence knowing we have seen what we came to see. It was hot and beginning to get crowded but full of excitement and activity. We started our trip by heading for Forli on the eastern side of the mountain range that forms the backbone of Italy. The road zigzagged its way to the summit and down the other side. It was slow going but the scenery was great. Passing signs of “chains to be fitted” and “snow ploughs” gave a hint of what it must be like in the winter. Forli was not really our destination but just somewhere for the GPS ... read more