We had to spend a couple of days in Rome to sort out some clothes, phone charges etc. Then we hit the road for the Amalfi coast. We were going to have a look at Naples, but, with a combination of the city's reputation of being the crime capital of Europe and our latest experiences meant we were all keen to bypass it.

Once we got to the coast it was an amazing drive. The road was cut into the cliff in similar yet crapper style to the great ocean road. Most of the hills rising above the cliffs are covered with lemon trees. This combined with the tiny ancient castles and towns perched above the sparkling sapphire Mediterranean was just what we all needed.

We hired a villa for three days atop one of the cliffs outside a small town called Maori, which I convinced our kiwi companions had to be a good omen. It proved to be as we had our own little pebbly beach at the bottom of some cobbled stairs and lemon groves to wander among. Not to mention a perfect sea view from our private terrace where we ate home cooked breakfasts and dinners and had too much vino.

After another drive along the cliff top we made our way to the ruins of Pompeii. After hearing quite a lot about the site I was pleased to find an amazing preservation of a whole roman town. Compete with frescoed walls, plaster casts of fleeing bodies and temples dedicated to Jupiter. The ever-present reminder of the angry and ready to wake Mt Vesuvius added to the ease of picturing what life would have been like.

Then we reached the mountain top town of Matera. Arriving at night and not really knowing where our accommodation was located added to the eerie old testament feel to the ancient cobbled streets (apart from the yellow glow of the street lights of course). This place is like a town in Afghanistan with pizzerias and confused mosques with statues of some lady with a baby. Everything looks so old, many of the houses are caves, and there are remnants of these cave houses on adjacent hills. We spent the next day peering into old churches carved into the rock, wandering down dead end alleys and admiring views from cliff edges where old walls built by shepherds could still be seen in the dry hills surrounding the town. I understood why Mel Gibson filmed the passion of the Christ here.

We're now lying on another beach half way up the calf side of the boot. We are on our way to the home of the bolognese sauce for an unplanned stop to fix the busted lock on the car - the only thing the crooks left us in Rome. Then it's back to Venice to drop the car back and retake some of the photos we lost. Next is lake bled, and I'm looking forward to that one. Cheerio