HE SAID... We woke early (6.30am) to catch up on writing and prepare for our bus trip to Amalfi. We caught a train to Sorrento and then piled into a bus with scores of other tourists sharing the same intent. The journey was reasonably long (1.5 hours) and numbers were high, so many passengers had to stand in the aisles. While the trip was breathtaking, it was also downright scary, and there were times where I couldn’t look as we teetered precariously on sections of road where a knee high fence was the only thing separating us from the sheer drop to the ocean below. We arrived at midday and checked into a fantastic hotel - our room had three balconies that opened directly onto Amalfi’s waterfront. As I stood on one of these I could ... read more

HE SAID... We woke early in preparation for our 8.15am train to Naples. We arrived at Stazione Napoli Centrale at 10am, dropped off our luggage, walked outside and sat down for a coffee in the street. This was a great introduction to this gritty place, as we simply sat back and watched the city unfold in the mid morning. We headed to the famous Da Michele, which apparently is one of the oldest pizzerias in Italy. The margherita pizza was fantastic (although a bit early in the day at 11.30am), but it fuelled us for a walk through the streets to the San Gennaro Duomo and then to the Museo Nazionale, where we wandered through the vast archaeological museum until 2pm. We ventured back out into the streets and weaved our way towards the Mediterranean, passing ... read more

HE SAID... We woke at 6am in preparation for our 7.30am bus trip to Assisi. A powerful espresso at the hotel jump-started us for the windy bus trip through the Umbrian hills to Perugia. After a quick stopover at the Perugia bus depot we continued on to Assisi, arriving in Santa Maria degli Angeli (a small town about 4km from the old Assisi township) at 10am. Seriously short of underwear, we scouted Santa Maria degli Angeli for a self-service laundry before catching a bus to St Francis’ hometown. We wandered the streets of Assisi with busloads of bored (yet playful) students on enforced school trips, lunched on pizza and red wine and were awestruck by the panoramic views and claustrophobic corridors of the Rocca Maggiore. One of the many things I’ve inherited from my father is ... read more

HE SAID... We arose very early (6am) to pack and eat a 7.30am breakfast in preparation for a travel day that involved a 40 minute bus to Como, a 50 minute train to Milan and a 2 hour train to Venice. We arrived in a rain sodden Venice around 2.30pm, checked into the hotel and then headed out for an orientation walk that started in the Jewish Ghetto, rambled through to (and across) the Ponte di Rialto and ended in the Piazza S Marco. Incessant rain in tourist capitals means molto umbrello, and I nearly lost my eye on numerous occasions as obnoxious tourists oblivious to anyone and everyone rampaged through the streets with one single point of focus - themselves. We made our way back to the hotel, arriving at 6.30pm thanks to the brilliant ... read more

HE SAID... We woke fairly late again and headed back to the lead singer’s café for coffee and free wifi. The heavens opened and we scurried back to the hotel to check out by 9.30am. We caught a train to Santa Margherita, picked up a take away lasagne and headed up to a hilltop garden to lunch in the rain overlooking the Mediterranean. An absolutely amazing way to travel - steadfastly refusing to give in to the weather. We then walked back into the city centre and caught a boat to Portofino, climbed the slippery steps to the castle and cathedral and then headed back on a 5km walk to Santa Margherita. We arrived at the train station at 5pm for our 5.30pm departure, and played table soccer to fill in the time (we were soundly ... read more