Our last week in Italy was a busy and varied one. I was definitely sad to leave it behind after such a rich experience, but I could see there was only so much more culture Chris could take and he was definitely getting itchy feet as the days counted down until we reached the surf spots again and met his friends for a few beers!We did manage to find some windsurfing spots this week but there wasn't a great deal of wind. Spent a lovely two days at a camp site n...

We drove practically to the big toe of Italy where we got straight on the ferry to Sicily, a mere 20 minute crossing, and then drove down the coast to Taormina. This was near Mount Etna which we explored the next day. It was pretty cloudy so we weren't sure how much we'd get to see, but the thunderous sound coming from deep inside the earth surprised us as we walked up and got closer to the crater.Due to the weather there were not many people around,...

We left Budapest and headed for the Croatia and the Dalmatian coast. We stopped at the largest lake in Europe outside Scandinavia, which should have been good for windsurfing and relaxing, but the beaches were disappointingly and surprisingly prison like with fences for each private section who wanted to charge just for entry. The weather wasn't that brilliant so we just had some lunch then continued driving. Made it to the coast the next day and enjoyed a st...

We had the pleasure of Michael (Chris' Dad) and his partner Sue's company for the week. Having picked them up from the airport after a slight delay we made a bee line for our respective hotels in Verona. The main event was a night at the opera in the extremely impressive open air amphitheatre. After settling in we then realised that it may be a rather wet evening so Michael bought us very attractive umbrellas and rain macs. Thankfully just in time we were provide...

After leaving Venice, Chris thought he'd seen the last of posh Italians for a while as we headed into the mountains. Little did we both know we were headed for the most exclusive Italian ski resort - allbeit in summer, and would encounter the best dressed Italians in the world! To fully appreciate this point you probably had to be there when Chris went off for a day of Vie Ferrata a.k.a pretty extreme rock climbing, only to see a couple in all their finery, press...