Final stop, Roma! On day 1, we decided we'd see the Vatican, leaving the next day to wander round more of the city. Rather than being church-like, the Vatican was more like a palace with an art gallery and museums. The Sistine Chapel was crammed with people, which took away a little from the magnificence of the murals. From there we went round to St Peter's Square. Italy played their second World Cup game this night, which we watched in a bar at the side of t...

We didn't arrive in Lake Garda until after 4pm so our first Italian experience was dinner in sirmione, a beautiful town inside castle walls on a peninsula in the lake. Day two we spent at the poolside at our camp site and had a homemade meal of pasta and BBQ chicken. It was nice to take a day to catch our breath in amongst the picturesque surroundings. Day three we went to Venice. Just like the postcards, and so busy with tourists! We got the water boat to the ...

Unfortunately, we would be staying only one night in Munich so we were under a bit of pressure to try see the city in a short space of time. We arrived in central station at 12.30 and joined a free walking tour from marienplatz, the main square in Munich, at 2pm. Our guide was a tiny South African man who lived in Munich with his German wife. He told us about Mary's column in marienplatz; the glockenspiel clock; the new town hall; the old town hall (which is ne...

First stop in Vienna was the naschmarkt. A snack market. This was the best place ever! Stalls of fish, olives, fruit, noodles, wine, oils, nuts... We spent a silly amount of money on olives and wine. Unfortunately we arrived about half an hour before closing and had already eaten, but was good fun and a good atmosphere! We then had dinner and drinks at a restaurant/bar/club/stage/beer garden place at Karlsplatz. The place was so busy because it was the launch n...

After a better night train experience second time round, we arrived early Thursday morning in Budapest. After our bag drop, first stop was a thermal bath in the city. Budapest is a spa city with literally hundreds of baths all over. We visited Szechenyi Baths, which had about thirty small spa pools, three outdoor pools, and a few (so hot we couldn't breathe) saunas. The place was packed and we spent hours moving around the different pools. Was good fun and nice ...