Cheerio!

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Ciao peeps.

And welcome to what will be my last post for a while. Tomorrow, 303 days after leaving the UK I will arrive back in sunny old Bristol.

It has been a good trip and an excellent adventure. In retrospect it has probably been a better trip than the first one. On this trip I had a better understanding what to expect, knew what I would enjoy and planned accordingly.

Of course there have been times of difficulty, being so long away from your own culture can be taxing. This is especially true of India (I am still a bit scarred from seven months there, but still want to return).

Would I do it all again? Absolutely, in fact I hope to, I just need to knuckle down and earn the cash. Life needs to be a balance between working and pleasure, I see no reason why, if you work and save and the circumstances allow it, you should not then enjoy time away from work.

It may sound strange but I am actually looking forward to working again, getting stuck in to a challenge or two, it is good for the soul, but, when the time is right I hope to enjoy another adventure, which is equally good for the soul.

Balance. Balance. Balance.

Anyhow, that is enough of the pontificating.

Thanks for reading. I always say that even if only one person reads it, it is worth writing. The fact that quite a few of you do is really humbling so thanks again.

All me loves!

JohnJo

PS. Do check out the pictures on this post, Italy and Switzerland are epic.

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Photos

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After picking up the funky Fiat 500 in Milan I made it to my first alpine destination without crashing or killing anyone.

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And what a destination it was.This will be the first of many pictures of epic mountain scenes.

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And the first of many Fiat 500 by the side of mountain road pictures....

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My first pass, the famous Stelvio. The little car coped quite well.

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What a road. I love driving, all driving, but especially this kind of driving.

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This is the Italian Switzerland border. A "green border" so I am told. No guards, no gates, nothing.

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A little tip. If you are considering driving the Stelvio Pass, and I suggest you do, the Swiss side is much nicer, no traffic and the roads are as smooth as silk.

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Switzerland is unbelievably lovely.

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It is.

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Picture postcard stuff.

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And if you avoid the incredibly smooth and safe motorways you can also find some great driving roads.

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Mr Bright had added a road sign to guide me to his home.

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The legendary Swiss public transport system in action. For eight Euros you can buy a ticket that will allow you to use any bus, train, tram, metro, boat and cable car in whole city of Zurich for 24 hours. And it will all be on time.

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Swiss food consists of a lot of sausages. Who would have thought there were 12 ways to serve sausages and potatoes?

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Who would have thought that Switzerland would be the last bastion of indoor public smoking? Apparently Swiss folks like to protect their personal liberties.

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And who would have thought that the ruthlessly efficient Swiss public transport authority would have a sense of humour?

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Crazy indoor garden park thing in Zurich.

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A morning in the Bright Bossart household. Very kind hosts.

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Andys baby buggy had better rear brakes than the Fiat.

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Andy and I took the boys to the woods to make a fire. I was in my element.

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The closest I have come to the woods of home.