Today we travel back to Singapore to stay a few days with longtime friends Susan and Tiri. We always enjoy our time in Singapore. It's a great little city, clean vibrant and warm. Tiri and Susan and their two girls are a delight to stay with, always entertaining always great hosts.

The Singapore Airlines flight was empty (we moved seats so we had a spare seat; further back there were at least thirteen rows with three people for nine seats). The service at check-in was poor, the food was not great, however the inflight service was attentive. Singapore Airlines has slipped with its economy class experience against Air New Zealand and Emirates.

So whilst we sit back on this long-haul flight, we can take a moment to reflect on Italy and what it has meant for us, our expectations and the realities.

Firstly Croatia. Split was one of several places that most surprised us. We loved Split for its vibrant old world town feel, built around a sparkling oceanfront. Maybe it was early in our trip and we were fresh and wide-eyed to historic walled towns, so were biased, but reflecting back it was a gem we did not expect. The islands in summer would be sparkling jewels on the clear blue ocean. For us they were wonderful excursions at a time when it was not busy, but still too cold to swim. Dubrovnik was everything we hoped, and Montenegro a bonus. Croatia is a friendly, place to visit, with good knowledge of English. It's relatively cheap, and it's laid back.

Italy is a country of many parts - connected by a deep history of empires, feudalism, religion, and a way of life that reflects this mixed past. The biggest surprise of Italy was understanding its vast and varied landscapes including national parks. The realisation that there is vast parts of Italy that are sparsely populated, especially in the south, has changed our perception of Italy. From the green rolling hills of Tuscany, to the deep dramatic gorges around Matera, to the stunning clear Alpine landscapes with colour in the lake districts. It's the landscapes and history that will be our takeaways of Italy. The unique towns and cities we wanted to explore all gave context to the evolution of culture and society in Italy. They provided art forms in the landscape, that we could study and explore. The towns and cities gave energy to our desire to discover more, to take the next steps after long days walking, to find new moments of wonder. Every place we visited was different from the last, yet was similar in the way geography and history shaped their forms.

Has this trip strengthened our love of Italy? Absolutely!

We will come back again!

Everyday we had new places to visit and new discoveries to make. This trip was wonderful in the areas we visited, each section of our holiday brought new environments, from the coastal regions of Croatia and Amalfi Coast, to the hills of Matera and Tuscany, to the lakes of Como and Gardia. This was a scenery and history trip, with only a passing interest in the arts.

And now for the awards section:

Best dinner: Dubrovnik hotel
Best breakfast: Dubrovnik champagne breakfast at hotel
Best lunch: 1st equal - Budvar seafood on the beach; and Hvar
Best Hotel setting: Dubrovnik, The Grand Argentina. Fabulous outlook
Best hotel room: Matera - atmosphere, design and style
Worst hotel: Korchula
Best deal: Verona apartment booked at last minute
Worst deal: Avis rental car - cost of a donkey
Most surprising place: Split
Least inspiring place: Milan
Most inspiring place: Villa Carlotta gardens in spring
Best local cuisine: Bologna first night
Most surprising purchase: 1st equal Sorrento purchases, Suit in Singapore
Toughest climb: Cortona up to the cathedral
Best view: Tuscany Spring countryside
Best boat ride: Blue Grotto, island of Capri
Worst travel leg: Auckland to Singapore
Best drive: The road to Orvetta from Cortona
We most want to go back to: Italian Lakes and Alps