I have ended up in cinque terra once more. Levanto. And am very happy to be here. Last night was a long night for me. The room I got on the lake turned out to be the hottest room in the northern hemisphere. So I opened the window to let a cool breeze from the lake in. Turned out it was a bad idea because all the mosquitoes in Italy live outside that room. At dusk I got a swarm of he b*****s in the room and they stayed thee until the morning strafing me. I...

It's been an eventful few days. After leaving Vienna I headed for the hills. When I say hills I mean mountains. Alps to be exact. This is motoring heaven. Apparently everyone else thinks the same thing. A lot of folks are enjoying the roads and the countryside on two wheels and four. I have spent the past three days trying to get a nice even wear on my tires as difficult as this can be with a full load on. I spent another night in Austria in a place calle...