We have a whirlwind seven weeks to hightail back to Paris. We are going via a few more Eastern European nations with plans for all the IA countries, the Slovakias, Romanias, Bulgarias and Hungarias. First up, Bulgaria, proudly boasting "the oldest survived state in Europe which has kept its original name". You suspect a country's tourism is in its infanacy when the customs official at the border asks with a look of resignation if we are just transitting in Bulgaria. It's as if that's all he thinks foreigners do here. A nation that must be crossed enroute to somewhere else. To his great delight, we asked the customs guy to put down his well worn transit stamp and dust the cobwebs off his tourist visa stamp. We are staying, for a short while at least. So ... read more

Somethng has changed. Where are the endless piles of garbage, the potholes and the unfinished buildings. Of course, we're in Greece now. At the Albanian/Greek border, the Greek customs official asked if we had stopped at all in Albania. On seeing the perplexed look on his face when I told him a week, there didn't seem much point in attempting to explain him we actually enjoyed ourselves. First port of call, Monodendri, one of the numerous Zagorian villages, 1100 meters into the Pindos mountains. These stone buildings with their slate roofs are reason enough to visit this wonderful section of northern Greece. For us though, the star attraction was the Vikos Gorge. There is a sign in Monodendri claiming, "1997 Guiness Book of Records, world's deepest gorge." I don't know if this meant: a. the Guiness ... read more

Our cultural and historical appetites sated, it's back on vacation in Croatia, driving even more conservatively, headlights full blaze at midday in order to placate the unsympathetic Croatian Policija. Back by the sea in Croatia. Vacation time as it never rains along the Dalamation Coast in June. SEND IN THE DROUGHT BREAKERS! In actual fact, the rain normally comes early morning and will usually clear after an hour or so. Korcula Island is another of those idyllic blobs of land nestled in the azure waters of the Adriatic. We found a neat little apartment owned by a guy who would be a walk up start in any Croatian Richard Geer lookalike contest. He and his family were just as amicable as the one we bunked down with in Mostar. Richard Geerovic took us fishing, invited us ... read more

Slovenia into Croatia. Different language, (not that we can tell), a new curency (no euros here just the mighty Kuna) and a national soccer shirt that looks as if it has been dragged down from a Pizza Hut window. The people, however, appear more turbulent (there we go again lumping an entire race into one generic basket). Where else in the world do you see fights breaking out in internet cafes? These Croats sure can fire up over a virtual war game. The owner of our apartment is a former Croatian army sniper who is now on a war pension. He told us this whilst pointing to the bullet hole in his neck. That's one way to get workers comp although it must be a fine line between a profitable little pension and death. We settled ... read more

Tis a long haul from Roma to Venice so we decided to break the journey in half by staying somewhere in between. Urbino was the lucky winner with a pit stop in Orvieta enroute. In a continent spoilt for beautiful towns, these two more than hold their own. Orvieta, I'm not even sure if it is in Umbria or Tuscany, is conveniently off the main tourist trail, giving it a far more relaxed feel, with the exception of about 10 screaming school groups. Orvieta seems the school excursion HQ of Italy. Urbino is the shining light of the province (are they called provinces in Italy) of les Marches. The name implies an urban sprawl but the reality is far more beguiling. The old city sits high on a pedestal standing sentry over the beautiful countryside. It's ... read more