So here we are home again and what a trip we've had with Muzz and Rose. The places we've been are amazing. Istanbul is insane, 20 million people and the contrast in cultures is incredible. We loved the place and despite what you hear about security and safety we never felt uncomfortable there. Our day trip to Anzac Cove and Chunuk Bair at Gallipoli was a very special experience and I still get the chills when I think about the half a million people who died duri...

It's pretty much all over now! Sitting at Heathrow waiting to board NZ 1 to LA. London is still very cold, pretty much like mid winter in Auckland (about 12 deg today). The Tri World Champs event was very well delivered and the taxing was exceptional despite the awful weather throughout the 5 days of racing. We didn't really get much of a chance for sight seeing here as I've been pretty tied up at the Tri and in the Congress meeting. Dobby had a look around Harro...

On Tuesday we set off early in our rental car heading for the Amalfi Coast near Naples. We travelled down the main autostrade (A1) where there doesn't appear to be any speed limit. Along the way we passed Rome and Cassino before hitting the Naples area and finally the coastal city of Salerno. Form here we made our way along the amazing narrow winding Amalfi Coast road, hardly wide enough for 2 way traffic but as it rises high up into the rugged terrain the views ...

Had a local day today. Lazy morning chilling around Cortona, coffees in the piazza etc, then drove to Montepulciano for a wander around and late lunch. There was heavy rain overnight, and the place is looking really refreshed now after weeks with no rain all. The local crop here (grapes of course) are almost ready to harvest so the vines are bursting with fruit. Tomorrow we're off down to the Amalfi Coast near Napoli for the night. It's about a 4 hr drive. We're ...

Since our last blog, we've driven up through Croatia to Rovinj, a stunning ancient coastal town in northern Croatia. Dropped our rental car and spent the night in a very cool little hotel in the old town, then at 7am the next morning we caught a fast ferry to Venice. About a 4hr trip. Spent a very hot afternoon in Venice taking is as much of this amazing place as we could in our short time there. Took a taxi boat from San Marco piazza for a 45 minute trip along ...