Time to catch upon Lucerne. We had a great train ride from Como to Lucerne after the drama of getting on the wrong train and a bum steer from a non English speaking conductor... corrective action and an early exit to fortunately pick up the right train at the next stop. The most lovely several hours ensued with valley after valley of picture post card scenes. The swiss seemed to have copied most of their village layouts from chocolate box lids... efficient but ...

Yesterday we had an enchanting day in Bellagio.A fast ferry across the lake and a wander through the narrow ancient streets lined with stylish shops. Our purchases were Como silk ties and scarves. We finished with local beer and olives in the shade watching the afternoon sun sparkle on the lake. In the evening we had an early dinner in a cost nearby cafe watching people scurry for cover in a thunderstorm

I have delayed posting on Venice because I have been concerned about my ability to describe this truly unique place without reverting to nauseating cliche about romance. Venice started and finished with twilight gondola rides and in the middle lots of walking through fairy tale streets.A highlight was Vivaldi in a local church and a late afternoon cruise up the grand canal. Hotel Villa Igea so well located with Piazza San Marco almost in our backyard. To keep the...

We are now on the train from Florence to Venice and starting to get confident with the process of catching trains in Europe. We have just completed a 3 night hit and run on Florence and feel very satisfied with what we achieved in so short a period. Florence immediately impressed as more stylish and relaxed cente. Food is on every foot path and around every corner. Our hotel Bonnefacio was only around a 10 minute walk to the historic centre. So we started with ...

We have now left Rome behind and have been so busy there has been no time to write each day with the head on the pillow being the main priority at the end of the day. Rome itself was the highlight. After the Colosseum5 the next day we enjoyed an evening opera recital at St Paul s behind the walls with the most angelic voices resonating in a lovely church lined with Mosaics. We had the most exquisite lunch at the Hotel Eden with 200 degree vista views over Ro...