Heading up to Switzerland today. Lucerne will be our new home. Key words for today are MOUNTAINS, SNOW, COLD, and MORE MOUNTAINS. The weather looks like being kind to us as we head out - overcast and cold (3 degrees) but no rain or snow. As we thread our way out of Como we say goodbye to Italy. Must say that it was everything we hoped for. Great sights to see, wonderful food to sample, charming old villages/towns to visit. Before we know it, we are at th...

Today we leave Verona and head towards the mountains to Como. The weather appears to be good for the day - overcast and cold (4 degrees) but no rain. Freeway driving all the way (with appropriate tolls of course) makes for a fairly quick trip. Getting closer to Como however, and the weather starts to close in - low clouds and pea soup fog. Patches of snow on the roadside gives an indication of what is to lie ahead. Como is a charming town which lies on the ...

Today we head to Venice for the day (http://www.venetia.it/). After trying to decipher the train schedules we decide to drive across (about one hour). a quick search on the net to find parking info and we're off. The weather is being kind to us today - overcast but no rain (or snow), with temps down at 3 degrees. the drive across is quite pleasant, averaging about 130kmh on the freeway (Italians could teach us a lot about freeway design and speeds). Arrivin...

Today we depart from Certaldo to head north to Verona. We have decided to do the scenic route and take in Lucca as a stopover (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucca). For the most part, the drive up is on the Autostrada which provides a stress free way of travelling around Italy (once you get your head around the local driving habits). After we arrived and found a parking spot (and you thought parking in Townsville was a hassle!!), we set out to explore on foot. Lik...

Ok kids - the word for today is SNOW. Venturing northeast from Spezia, we can see snow capped peaks in the distance. "Wouldn't it be nice to be driving thru there" we say. Prophetic words to say the least. As we hurtle further north it soon becomes apparent that indeed that is where we are headed. We climb thru 800m and soon we are surrounded by snow covered slopes and fields. the temp has dropped to below 4 degrees and visibility has decreased to just 50m ...