25 May 2008 Before saying goodbye to Levanto we visited one of the bars and had probably our last coffee and chocolate croissant in Italy. Then it was a final visit to the beach (we didn’t swim this time) and a stroll back to the campsite. We have really enjoyed our time staying in this small unpretentious town situated on a wonderfully scenic stretch of coast. We drove along the coastal motorway to Genoa and then continued northward and stopped the night at Pavia so we could visit the Certosa di Pavia one of the most extravagant monasteries in Europe. We joined a tour led by one of the monks and saw the highly decorated church, the refectory and the grand cloister surrounded by monks’ houses. Tomorrow we must stop finding beautiful things of interest to ... read more

23 May 2008 We decided to have a non pressured day without any travelling and were pleased to enjoy settled weather for the first time in several days. The morning was spent making purchases in the excellent local shops of this pleasant town and then I updated the weblog while Wendy caught up with some washing. After lunch at the van washed down with the good local white wine, I walked along the coast to the Punta Mesco which gave outstanding views of the Cinque Terre from its elevated position. On my return we set off for the beach and had a swim in the Med, something we have been meaning to do for several weeks. The water was not particularly warm, but we really enjoyed it. ... read more

21 May 2008 A driving day when we travelled 350K, mainly on motorways across northern Italy from Ravenna on the Adriatic to Levanto, a small town on the Riviera coast. The campsite is very handy for the town and railway station. ... read more

19 May 2008 We were sorry to leave Umbria. We have enjoyed its mountains, rolling hills and medieval towns (some of which we had to pass by). Hopefully we can visit at a more leisurely place some time in the future. Ravenna, our next stop, is a city of early Christian religious buildings decorated with exquisite mosaics, bikes and rain. Late in the afternoon we visited the Arian Bapistry and the much larger and more famous Basilica of St. Vitale. As we arrived shortly before closing, we were fortunate to have them almost to ourselves and with the help of the guide book were able to spend some peaceful time studying the fine detail. For the amateur photographer, mosaics do not photograph well because of the scale and low lighting. A most helpful lady in the ... read more

17 May 2008 We made an early start and after a quick supermarket shop headed for Assisi arriving at midday. Having read about the crowds we decided to do the washing and have a leisurely lunch before walking down to Assisi through the countryside. Our first stop was the Duomo which had obviously been prepared for a wedding. We saw the font where St Francis and St Clare had been baptised. The Basilica of St Clare is relatively unadorned as the then pope feared too much decoration would distract the nuns from their devotions. We visited another old church slightly off the beaten track - a rewarding detour. Having left it as late as possible as late as possible we then went to the Basilica of St Francis a church built on two levels shortly after ... read more