Today we travelled to Venice! Venice is a part of Italy that is made up of about 150 tiny islands all separated by tight canals and joined by little bridges. It's like a maze in there and as a result, very easy to get lost. Nevertheless, Venice is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Every turn of a corner reveals an even prettier scene with more colourful houses and greener waters. It was amazing! Unfortunately Venice is sinking at a rate of about ...

Today we drove to Venice from Rome. It was again a driving day so not much happened. Once we got to the campsite in the afternoon however, it was an early dinner with gnocchi on the menu and then drinks around the pool. I bought a litre carton of sangria for 2 euro which was cheaper than the litre bottles of water and it was delicious. I then sat round the pool with a couple of others and read my book. Then it was off to bed.

Today you'll be glad to know I felt much better - but before I talk about my day exploring Rome and the Vatican, I thought I'd give you a little insight into what goes on on the trip besides all the sightseeing. After 10 days of being on the road together the group has become a little family away from home. The average age on my tour is about 24 with the youngest being 18 and the oldest being 31. All together there is 37 of us. We started on the trip not knowing ...

So I finished my last blog with "best birthday ever" but today I had the worst hangover ever. Today we travelled into Florence for an early morning walking tour and I woke up 30 minutes before we had to leave in a makeshift bed on the floor. I had a killer queasy stomach and was majorly dehydrated. I also missed breakfast because I woke up too late. I felt much better about my terrible state however when we all got on the bus and none of us looked remotely awake...

Today it was my birthday! It was a long travelling day where we drove from Nice to Florence with a short stop in Pisa. Pisa was good, but after travelling for over 7 hours to get there, spirits among the group were way down. On top of this, the sun was becoming unbearably hot and one tour member actually collapsed from heat exhaustion (after freezing in Switzerland, the tuscan sun is a bit of a shock to your system). While it was initially a scary scene, it the...