We travelled by Busabout, from Munich to our first stop in Italy, the romantic Venice by way of Saint Johann in Tyroll. One of our road stops was high in the Alps and there sat a McDonalds with the best view in the world out of its restaurant window.

Nearly all our transport at the moment is by our Busabout pass. We try to get the front seat allowing us to have the front and side views as we travel. To do this we have a little scheme where Avan loads the luggage for both of us, while I line up to be the first to board. Having the front seat helps too, when it is time to get off and try to be first in line to get a private room if one is available. We are travelling on an unlimited pass for 12 weeks and it is a popular way to travel, as most buses are completely full. Because it is a hop on hop off type you are constantly changing who you travel with, but sometimes you have a few weeks where the same people are on the same schedule and we have made some fabulous friendships.

In our 15 days in Italy we just couldn't get over how beautiful the fruit and vegetables tasted! After travelling in the more Eastern European countries where fresh fruit and vegetables are not so available, and meat and potatoes is the main fare, Italy was a dream. I don't know exactly why but the Italian grown fruit tastes so much better than elsewhere. Fruit stalls are everywhere and the produce inexpensive. To eat out is also a wonderful experience with the best pastas and everything is light rather than stodgy and greasy. The wine is great and as cheap as water and then there is the gelatti! Well we've tried not to have too many, but the gelatis are the absolute best in the world.

Venice is so amazingly different from any other city. It is actually made up of 117 tiny islands with 400 bridges, ornate and each one different, and 150 canals. There are no cars and the only transport and means of delivering goods is by water buses, gondolas or walking. Gondolas were a bit out of our price range at 80 euros (about $130 A) for 50 minutes! One thing for sure is that in Venice getting lost is inevitable and we did it often. Marco Polo left from Venice in 1271 on his epic China expedition and a huge square is named after him, where now the pigeons have taken over and perhaps even outnumber the vast amount of tourists.

Footnote: Venice and its Lagoon are UNESCO World Heritage listed and featured in the book Unforgettable Places to See before you die.