Actually still in Rome......we start the day with a lovely big brekky, here at the hotel they do it well. brett has slipped into a lovely habit of 3 pastries after his cereal and fruit. I have discovered banana flavoured yoghurt and am hooked! We hit the metro with a 6euro each day pass, and go first to Manzoni to an apartment in an ordinary unassuming street which was used by the Gestapo for detaining and interrogating prisoners. Then we head to Colli Albani t...

Having not had enough of buses on our trip yesterday, we are booked on another today! Its only a half day though, easy. We leave at 9am with Herta from Austria (speaking 5 languages) as our guide. We head to Hadrian's villa about 30 minutes away. It's super hot, in case you've forgotten. Hadrian was emperor between 115 and 138A.D. He was a peaceful emporer who loved to travel and did so extensively in the world, and who chose to live in the country for the fresh ...

We have finished in san francisco, after two slighty dodgy weather days! We are not complaining though. The plane across was smooth, all the better for sleep. The hotel Nikko was superb and central. We shopped and shopped, unsuccessfully i might add on thursday for shoes for brett. We went to Macy's, Neimann Marcus, ecco and every shoe store we came across. Never mind, to Italy we go and i believe they have shoes there...... We ate at my fave italian restaurant,...