Raj: Yesterday we left Italy and arrived in Croatia via Slovenia. We were glad to leave behind the crazy Italian drivers and immediately noticed how Croatian drivers obey the speed limit (though we were still guessing what the speed limits were and Vikki and I agreed to disagree at times!). Slovenia was uneventful as we paid 15 Euros for 15 mins driving through the country at an average speed of 50kph - the shortest road tax pass was for a week and without it w...

Vikki: Today was our last day in Italy, as we now head east into Croatia. We spent today meandering around Murano Island, famous for its glass. We were lucky enough to find a workshop which had free demonstrations, so we all got to see glass blowing and how pieces are made. There are lots of shops selling the glass so we spent a bit of time wandering through them, picking up a few bits and bobs. Then it was off to Lido Beach (take 2) and this time with perfect w...

Vikki: Yesterday after one of our shorter car rides we arrived in Venice. We are staying in a small campground just outside of Venice, with an easy bus ride to get into the city. Quite relaxed and laid back and great helpful staff. Venice is lovely, great architecture and a serene feel to it. While absolutely packed with tourists, I think, because there are no cars, it doesn't feel as hectic or bad as you'd expect (and a cooler day today with cloud cover probabl...

Raj: Having left Rome our mood has improved. For the past 3 days we've been back in the countryside just outside Bologna, an area renowned for it's food, wine and gelato. Our apartment is very modern and relaxed, much like our stay in Terricciola (the place before Rome) but again they don't do air con here, just electric fans so it's been very hot sleeping at nights. The manager is very friendly and speaks great english. When we arrived he opened and shared ...

Anouk: We have been in Rome for 3 days and seen some amazing sights such as the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Vatican City and some ruins. We also went to a massive park (called Villa Borghese) and rented a buggy to get around. I thought the Colosseum was best because we could see the tunnels that they walked through, because the ground on top was so old and fragile that it broke off. We were struggling in the piping hot heat because there wasn't much shade and i...