A land of lunches.

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Hello and welcome to an extra ordinary blog post. Extra ordinary only in the respect that it comes two weeks after my last one, and not the usual six weeks…..

I will let the pictures do the vast majority if the talking on this post because Italy really is a very photogenic place (although I admit, I have only visited very photogenic places).

My plans were changed slightly due to my driving licence not arriving when I predicted, but combine Royal Mail and the Italian Postal service and things were never going to go to plan. But this delay allowed me to visit Venice, which I must admit was well, well, worth the detour.

From tomorrow onwards though I am back on plan, picking up my little hire car and heading to the Alps.

Should be jolly good fun.

All my love.

John.

Sorry for the crap photos, if you want to see Venice in full glory, Google "Venice".

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Photos

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I had just arrived in Mailan. "Would you like a drink" John "Of course mate, I have been hankering for decent wine for ages, India doesn't DO wine, is there an off licence near by?" Fed "I only have Champagne, will that do?" John "Oooooof Cooooourse!"

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I deeply appreciated Fed allowing me to explode the backpacking lifestyle on his lovely flat. A wonderful host.

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He didn't know this but I woke up early to have a coffee with the ingredients I bought back in Thailand. Fedrico would not have approved of such low rent Coffee.

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Lunching by Lake Como. The Trip Italy was really becoming a reality.

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Italy really does seem to be the land of the lunches. Life for many people revolves around food.....I like that. It shows a passion for life I feel we lack in the UK.

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Nothing screams "Holiday!" more than a boat trip on Lake Como.

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Lake Como almost has a fairytale feel to it. As if these buildings are from a Disney film.

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See?

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Fed suffered terribly for fashion, his new Prada shoes were giving him hell.

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No, Federico had not put on two odd shoes by mistake, apparently this is fashion nowadays.

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Fed talking to my Mum via Skype.

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Typical Venice.

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Even more typicaler Venice.

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I hear that hundreds of millions of Japanese come to Venice to get married, but these were genuine Italians.

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It is an odd sight to see the vast cruise ships navigating such a tiny space.

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Had Saint Marks basilica been built today it would have been a mind blowing achievement. The fact it was built several hundred years ago makes it unbelievable.

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I stole this from the Internet because it shows St Marks Basilica how it should be shown. All the walls and ceiling are made tiny tiles.

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Oh Italy, you really do a good job at beauty.

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Arty shot.

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In St Marks Basilica they display a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of the vast hordes of treasures that the Catholic Church has amassed over the centuries. I was mildly irked that they charged poor people to look at them. Like Bill Gates charging a slum dweller to look at his latest Super Yacht.

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This priest in St Marks Basilica was updating his Facebook status on his mobile phone. "OMG No confessions for hours, I am like really bored LOL"