Wake up knowing we are allowed to check out at 1200 -so guess what - just make the 1200 checkout. Never mind.... Leave bags at hotel and explore Fairbanks. Downtown is hard to find as there really isn't much of downtown... Get a coffee house that looks ok and order soup and coffee for Chris. Soup good, coffee gets a pass mark. Bit of a drizzly day but not too bad to walk the streets. Ask about where to go in downtown and we had obviously got that right befor the coffee shop. Do a few more shops the tot the visitor centre where we spend the best part of 2 or 3 hours - very inter steins especially after our northern adventure. Walk back to the hotel, order a cab and off to our next ... read more

Wake up in Deadhorse and pack bags for departure. Breakfast in the kitchen and meant to leave at 0800. Slight delay with iced up van so leave at 0840 - temp 29 F.... Pack into the van for the trip south on the Dalton highway. Regular stops for viewing wildlife - Alaskan snow geese, ptarmigan (national bird of Alaska - looks like a chicken - Snow White in winter but changes colour in summer to brown - we saw both versions), caribou, musk ox and other birds. We followed the trans Alaskan pipe line (way too much pipe line - 800 miles). Finally stopped for lunch at an old construction camp site. Snow capped mountains all around. Again the stories that Pat and driver Mike could tell us were fantastic real life stories of what they ... read more

Left home at 0730 for the airport. Got through all the bags, customs, etc. without a hassle and then boarded the plane. On board and the pilot tells us we are leaving 15 mins late on purpose as they were going to make up 1 hr on flight. Not what you want to hear when you already have a 6 hour layover in LA. Still made up best part of 1 hr anyway. No dramas with bags etc. landed LAX early 0730. Bags finally come out. Cleared customs and transferred bags for next legs of flights and on the footpath at 0845. Now we have a 7 hour layover. Still decide it is easier and safer to stay on the airport. Walk to terminal 6 to see next flight area. Decide to go in but security ... read more

Day 48 Arrividerci Roma. We wake early and have our last meal in Europe. That is after lugging the bags down the circular stairs - wont miss them. The man in the breakfast cafe is a bit friendlier after 7 days of seeing us and Chris even got a special coffee this morning - double hit in a bigger cup..... Car arrives and we are off. Say our farewells to the receptionist who has been a good source of information and assistance. On the way Chris says it was lucky that we had the drivers in the order we did in Rome. This one was a typical Rome driver - fast and no room for other cars on the road...... Make it safely to the airport and get through the check in without even looking at ... read more

Day 46 Another day of exploring the back streets of Rome. We head towards the Piazza Venezzia via backstreets. Find all sorts of interesting places as we wander from one little street to another. Shops, little shops where men are re-upholstering chairs, metal working shops, all working in very confined spaces but some sort of organization exists. We eventually get near the Piazza Venzzia but there are flashing blue lights everywhere up the road we are now on. Oh oh. Looks like a bike accident ahead. There are police everywhere with a woman lying on the road - doesn't look too bad, but there is chaos with people, cars, buses, police. This place has about 6 roads feeding into it and the accident is on one of the out roads so you can imagine the mess ... read more