Up up and away - its off to Rome we go!!! Despite all we have heard
about EasyJet, the flight is smooth and comfortable. Now for the 3rd
hiccup of the day - trying to arrange a rendezvous with the car hire
people at Rome Airport. what should have been a 20min wait, turns into a
2 hour wait (more sighs and looks from Navigator Julie). the local
agent finally turns up and whisks us off to pick up the car (looks like a
2nd hand car lot when we get there). After about 1/2 an hour we are
finally on the road heading towards our first destinaton in Italy -
Viterbo (GPs loaded with all the necessary info for a trouble free
journey) Note to all: ITALIAN DRIVERS ARE JUST AS MAD AS GREEK
DRIVERS!!!!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viterbo).

4th hiccup of the day - we miss the turn off on the Autostrada for Viterbo -
after recalibrating the GPS we find we find we have to do an extra 40km
to get back on track (by now navigator Julie is no longer speaking to
me!!)

The GPS takes us thru the back roads of the
countryside - hilly, narrow winding roads in the dark is not my idea of
fun (you don't want to know about navigator Julie any more - suffice to
say "NOT HAPPY JAN!!!)

We finally arrive at our hotel
(Best Western Viterbo) - surprisingly, the GPS led us straight to it.
After checking in we're off in search of some food. we found a pizzeria
close by and availed ourselves of one of the best pizzas I've ever had,
while julie waxed lyrical about a porcini mushroom risotto. Washed down
with a couple of glasses of red wine, and the toils of the day seem to
melt away into insignificance. Did I mention that it is cold: C-O-L-D
about 3 degrees. Just watching the weather report on CNN - looks like we
will be heading for Spain - massive cold front coming down from the
north - freezing temps and early snows (Julie just might get her white
Xmas yet).

Tomorrow we head off into Viterbo to do some exploring - stay tuned.