Another bloody cathedral ! Plus an incredible selection of sculptures through the city, at some points more sculptures than people. The well muscled statue of David was there ( a bit like looking in a mirror Mal thought) as well as Dante and many others. Some beautifully crafted gold jewellery, unexpectedly the owner/jeweller/goldsmith was an Australian lady with a very okker accent after 20 years in Italy.

This morning we said Ciao to Venice as we travelled over the Apennine Mountains to Assisi. We strolled through the old town, visited Minerva's Temple. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy from the 2nd century BC onwards. The Romans equated her with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of music, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, and magic. We also visited St Francis' Basilica - home to...

Wow Venice! As we were taken by boat along the grand canal the scenery was breath taking. I couldn't believe we were finally here. The tears flowed as we passed the centuries of history that we had only seen in books. A stroll through the alley ways to a fantastic restaurant plenty of laughs and lots of wine before heading back to the hotel for the night. Today was a tour of St Marks Basilica the Doges palace the prison and the Bridge of Sighs that links them. W...

Well, Rome was a marathon - Vatican museum, Sistine chapel, St Peter's basilica, St Peter's square, the coliseum, the forum, Spanish steps, trevi fountain, fountain of the four rivers, the pantheon. 10 hours, 30+ degrees. Exhausted by the end, really needed 2 or 3 days to see it all properly. Amazing nonetheless. We even saw a kelpie on the steps of the pantheon, had to go up for a pat and a chat with the owner.

Headed off to Sorrento today, on the way we visited Pompeii. Incredible place, walking cobblestone streets and pathways, past houses and shops, remarkably well preserved for a city destroyed by a volcano. Surprisingly one of the most well preserved buildings was the "lupanar", inside the paintings above each room showed what particular service you could expect. Incredibly graphic, remarkably intact for being buried by volcanic ash 2000 odd years ago. (You can goo...