Our map!

Just a little map to show you (as if you didn't know) where we travelled in those long, hot summer days.



Hope all your Christmas preparations are going to plan, we're all sorted (we think!).

Some photos..

Hello anyone who might be checking..

Well, we've been back in Blighty for far too long now, settling down, finding work. Marli graduated in September & we travelled up to Lincoln to watch her receive her degree - she is now officially a qualified conservator!! Currently applying for museum jobs in the conservation field, so watch this space. Helen sold her car and is now a fully fledged cyclist, now she just needs a job to cycle to. Life in Essex is fine and dandy, although we don't like this weather very much. Either sun or snow, make up your mind!

Below is a collection of photos from the trip, just a few to satisfy you all. Will try and update when we have news!

Love from us xxx

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Gay Paris!

Hello!

Back to normal, English keyboarding again, although it sounded like you were enjoying the French qs and zs (indeed, maybe it could catch on and become a type of blog-language.. maybe not)

First, we have to say that Massive Attack are AMAZING! Saw them last night in Le Bataclan and were both rendered speechless at the quality of the show - but more of that later, we have a whole week to blog about first...

So.

We had a lovely time in le Sud de France, with goodish weather (cloudy-sun-cloudy) and marvellous company. On Friday, a gang of Renwick friends arrived to the house, consisting of Penny, Joe and Linda - very nice people with a taste for good food and fine wine. Needless to say, for the next few days we ate like horses and drank like the fish we caught on Saturday..

Following that smooth linkage, on the Saturday, we travelled to a small fish farm near Beziers to catch our supper - a first for the both of us. Rods are loaned to the visitors, who, armed with sweetcorn, attempt to catch a trout - it's not particularly difficult, as the pool is swarming with fish (although they seem to be quite intelligent trout and have mastered the skill of stealing the bait without getting caught). Nevertheless, within minutes of casting off, (or is that a knitting term?) and declaring "this is the first time I've ever held a fishing rod", Amalia reeled in the first catch of the day (true beginner's luck). Everyone managed to catch their own fish (except Penny, who retired early and left the job to Joe), H apologising to hers before it was carted off to be electrified (very humanely).

The fish proved to be very tasty indeed and was complemented by lashings of a variety of delicious local wines (apart from the Swiss one which is, in fact, Swiss). A healthy debate around the dinner table about current employment issues (nothing was concluded!!) prepared us for a swift enjoyable midnight game of boules/petanque with Maxwell and Linda (they won).

The next day, we made our way in a convoy of cars, to Banyuls-sur-Mer; a gorgeous seaside town near the Spanish border, with a view of the Pyrenees - where Penny and Joe have an apartment. We spent the afternoon lazing on the nearby beach (which has fish and clear water with which to see them, which we didn't see, but Maxwell and Joe donned the snorkels and braced the water to have a look) before a delicious fishy supper (lots of fish in the south of France) which set us up for our first European night train experience.

After saying Au Revoir to the troop, we were driven (thank you, Pierre) to Perpignan train station, through the most colourful sunset we have ever seen (enormous turquoise sky fading to yellows, oranges and rusty reds, silhouetting the Pyrenees mountains and clifftop towns, and a piercing crescent moon). After saying goodbye to Pierre at the station, we patiently waited for our (20 mins late) train, next to two crazy guys (you know the kind, they appear drunk, talking loudly, running around and acting odd) - Pierre, remember the man who was walking in the middle of the road on the way to the station? He was one of them...

Praying they wouldn't be in our carriage, we boarded the train (and yes, they were in our carriage). In the carriage, we had all the people you secretly hope you won't have to sit next to - crazy people, children, giggling teenage girls and a SNORER. Not just any old snorer, but a 'rattle-your-bones', 'wake the entire neighbourhood' kind of snorer. As all the couchettes had been taken, we had to sleep in reclining seats in a communal carriage, which gave the crazy guys free reign to run up and down the aisles, talking to random passengers, eliciting 'shushes' from irritated 'trying-to-sleepers', ignoring them and talking louder. We slept approximately 2 hours between us, also due to arctic air-conditioning and unreclinable seats (men with unsquishable long legs behind). It was an experience!

We were glad to finally arrive in Paris at 8am - we freshened up in the station bathrooms (which were truly luxurious) and braved the appalling weather outside to seek out Gare de Lyon (a bigger station with a tourist office) and find somewhere to stay. We were allocated a hotel by a rather sniffy Parisien in the tourist office and caught the metro, hoping we wouldn't be repeating the Belgrade nightmare. But it's lovely, with ensuite bathrooms and TV (although why must the French dub everything - we English need subtitles!) AND minibar!!! All in a very affordable 2* hotel (which is only a couple of euros dearer than a hostel..) which is quite central and close to the Bataclan.

The weather was still appalling on Tuesday, but we managed to visit Notre Dame de Paris (which, although soggy, was incredible - we arrived during Mass so it was quieter than usual - the interior is spectacular and although we didn't see the hunchback, we did see a man with a limp, which was good enough for us.

We did the 'touristy' thing (which we've actually been doing all the way around Europe..) and visited la Tour d'Eiffel, which was big. Didn't go up as it was windy (so the tower looked quite unstable - you never know!!) and very busy. Had a baguette in le Champ de Mars (the green bit by the tower) and made our way to the Musee de Rodin. H visited here with school, many moons ago (not that many really) and having really enjoyed it (and gained much inspiration) wanted to come back. It's housed in picturesque grounds, which we were able to enjoy (about time) as we had sun!

Enfin, in the evening, we went to see a little-known band called Massive Attack. The venue was tiny, with space for just over 1000 people, and we were lucky enough to start queuing early and get seats in the perfect spot (on the balcony, just above the band). The performance was wicked/awesome/fantastic/perfect (delete as appropriate), with an amazing light show which made it truly atmospheric. Singers from past albums were doing a one-off tour with the band so, for anybody who knows MA, we had Elizabeth Fraser (Teardrop woman) and Horace Andy (Angel + others) - it was amasing! We don't have great photos, as our cameras were confiscated before we went in, but we have some on A's phone + a bit of video...

Today, very tired, we spent a couple of hours in the Louvre (had a bit of a strange moment - a woman walked up to us in the internet cafe with developing hairdye on her hair and big glasses - Paris is officially an odd place to be) which was very cultural and very big - saw the Mona Lisa (has to be done) and Venus de Milo - tried to find some Impressionists but they were hiding - maybe another time.

So that, friends, is our tale up to now. And possibly, our last post from abroad. It's quite sad, knowing that we're ending this experience to come home and be like you lot (i.e back to the grind) - it's been quite a journey, and one we've enjoyed (almost) every moment of. (Although even Scary Sighisoara and the Belgrade terrors have blended into the two months seamlessly, to provide us with lots of interesting memories)

We hope you've enjoyed our running commentary - we've really enjoyed using this as a means to keep in touch with all of you, and hopefully to aid the writing of the book (which you all have to promise to buy!!!). We will post again when we're back in Blighty, a final summary to conclude our tour! But, fingers crossed, we will resurrect the 'Intrepid Travellers' for our 'American Adventure' in 2008 (?) - Watch this space!!!

That's All Folks!

Just q very auick one...

Bonjour tout le monde!

Qs you cqn probqbly see, ze hqve qnother interesting keyboqrd lqyout here in Frqnce, zith zs for ws qnd qs for as, hope you cqn decipher the script... Anzwaz is now Qnyzqy (bit more of q mouthful so dont think it zill cqtch on auite qs auickly)

This is just q very auick post to let you qll knoz ze qre sqfely in Pqris, hqving qrrived by night trqin yesterdqy morning. Its rqining qnd very cold (much the sqme qs Englqnd?) so ze qre getting rqther soggy seeing the sights qnd sounds. Hopefully zill find qnother internet cqfe (zith normql keyboqrds) tomorroz - its tqken qlmost 15 minutes to zrite this, qs there qre many more letters in the zrong plqce but in order for it to be qnyzhere neqr legible, greqt cqre must be tqken...

Hqve booked our Eurostqr tickets todqy - ze qre coming bqck on Sqturdqy qfternoon (cqtching the 11.45 trqin from Pqris Nord) but ze zill be in touch re: exqct ETQs (ETAs for you non French).

Hope youre qll zell qnd ze zill fill you qll in on our trqvellings through le Sud de Frqnce, fish-cqtchings, crazy people on night trqins etc etc tomorroz - dont forget to tune in, boys qnd girls!

Lots of love

From the Soggy Pqrisiens xxx

We Are Alive!

Belated greetings from the South of France! Sorry it’s taken us so long to post (not due to inebriated states, we can assure you) but it’s been a rather busy week…

Venice was lovely, with gorgeous weather, so three days on the beach left the Lemprieres nicely tanned and H a darker shade of pink. There were a few cloudy days, which were spent wandering the streets of the Lido/Venice and checking/rechecking the weather forecast for the next day. Went to the chilled-out bar by the lagoon (inbetween the Lido and Venice) again, which hosted the hilarious party with the Lady in Red – was very chilled out this time, with relaxing music as we drank our cocktails. We tried a new one, called ‘Blue Hawaiian’ which was a mix of Rum, Blue Curacao, coconut cream and pineapple juice… mmm. Gets one rather tipsy though, as P & H discovered. P also made friends with the resident DJ, who played ‘Over the Rainbow’ by Israel Kowabangabanga (or whatever his name is) for us every time we arrived, and again before we left.

We said fond farewells to Mina and Philip on Monday, as they travelled home to the (not so lovely) weather in England (which we hope is not quite so soggy now?) and we continued onwards and westwards to Imperia, on the north coast of Italy. The scenery along the route between Milan and Imperia was stunning, as the train track runs along the coast, all the way to Nice in France. It’s all a bit ‘Cornish’, with jagged rocks and impressive cliffs leading to the sea, and long tunnels passing through the cliffs between secluded coves.

Imperia itself is a fantastic port town, perched on a hill above the sea, with roads winding around the edge of the coast – we made our way to the B&B, unsure of what we may find (as we’d only booked it the day before), and after a 15 minute walk uphill and climbing up the steepest steps known to mankind, we reached the building, which looks out over the Mediterranean. Our room was unbelievable – a solarium by day and sleeping quarters by night, we had a 360° view of the surroundings, and looked down 100m to the sea directly below. The downsides (having to walk downstairs to the bathroom/no curtains) were bearable, compensated by the breathtaking view of sunrise/sunset! It was all very bohemian, with candles on the stairs and in the room, and had a panoramic view of the sky (which wasn’t affected by light pollution), and even saw a shooting star.

The day after we arrived, we went to see the whales. The boat, which holds up to 200 people, left the port at midday, so we hurriedly bought some rather fetching cowboy hats and lots of water and boarded. It took about 3 hours to reach the ‘hotspot’ and the boat began to slow to a meandering pace, and we all jostled to the side to get a view of the water (fighting with snotty Germans to get our towels in first). Every wave looked like a potential big fish, so we watched and watched and watched… after 30 minutes of watching, we began to tire slightly, as watching potential fishy-waves is quite tiring.

Suddenly an excited voice came over the tannoy – “A whale, we have seen a whale” – so cue more jostling and elbowing to get a good look and something in the distance came into view. It was white, and gently bobbing on the waves. As we got closer, it started to look less and less like a whale (as it was rather flat and pale) and more like a surfboard pretending to be a whale. It was indeed a surfboard pretending to be a whale, and it floated, quite ‘unwhalelike’, past the boat.

Our excitement faded and we all took our seats again, waiting for the next whale disguised as a surfboard, or indeed maybe dolphins disguised as an armada of yellow ducks. At this point, A began to feel decidedly queasy, due to the slow rocking of the boat and visited the toilets (which were Disgusting, with a capital D). Predictably, as soon as she left the deck, a school (? Group?) of dolphins appeared. She made it back in time to see them jumping over the waves – a truly amazing sight. We were informed that they were a group of female Striped dolphins, escorting a ‘piccollo’, or baby. They swam through the water, under the boat, jumping into the air in twos… The rocking of the boat was made worse by the hundreds of people running back and forth between the sides - the dolphins were playing with us, and followed the boat for a few miles before we sped off to find another group.

We caught up with more and they began to circle us, kindly passing by both sides of the boat to enable us all to take photos, even swimming in front, leading the boat onwards. Unfortunately, we haven’t got many photos as it was quite tricky catching them on film (they were pretty speedy), so by the time the shutter was pressed, all we had was a picture of bubbles. But we did capture a fin, which was rather exciting.

Just as we turned to make the journey back to shore, A felt her queasiest (but luckily had seen all the dolphins) so we spent the rest of the homeward journey at the back of the boat, watching land approach (and which had convenient ashtrays for H..). She felt better when the boat’s pace quickened, so by the time we reached Imperia, we were both A-OK. Disappointed not to see any whales, but at least we saw the whale disguised as a surfboard – it more than made up for it. A great experience, which we both thoroughly enjoyed, and the sickness was nothing in comparison to seeing dolphins in the wild.

Saying goodbye to Imperia (which we hope to visit again), we caught the train yesterday to Narbonne (at the stupid time of 8am, but which enabled us to have breakfast at sunrise). Had an awful journey to Nice (our first change), having to walk through 4 carriages of packed corridors (it was a compartment train), and people sitting on fold-down perches, so having to lift our not-very-light backpacks over their heads when they refused to move. Passed through Monaco station, which was incredibly posh – holiday there next year?

The woman who sold us our reservations had informed us that when we arrived at Nice Ville (the main train station), we would have to make our way to Nice Riquier (a smaller station on the same line), so we dutifully caught a train to take us the 3 minutes up the line to Riquier. Bought some lunch, ate it at 11am (as we were hungry) and caught the train to Marseilles. Realised, while on the train, that the station we were pulling into was rather familiar, being in fact Nice Ville, the station we had left not 15 minutes before. Silly train woman.

Saw more gorgeous scenery, passed through Cannes, which was also incredibly posh with many expensive yachts in the harbour (one of which we will buy next year and travel to Cannes and Monaco) and began to get used to the French language (after having been Italians for the last 22 days). From Marseilles, we boarded the train to Narbonne, and found that our carriage’s electrics were up the spout (so no electronic seat numbers and, crucially, no air conditioning) so were told to find other seats on the train. Ended up in a disabled/family carriage which was nearly empty, so had a lovely, spacious, relaxing journey to Narbonne.

Arrived to a welcoming party of Uxxxx Mxxxxxx and Pierre, who took us back to the house in Argeliers (about 30 minutes from Narbonne) where we met Jeannine (Uncle Maxwell’s wife – Mina’s brother – for those who don’t know who Mina is, A’s mother and Philip’s wife and mother of Lydia and Zegna also, Zegna who has two sons called Samuel and Leo and a husband called Christian – so now you know the Lemprieres/Renwicks/Bruces) Anzwaz, back to the story, we had a wonderful meal of barbecued lamb with potatoes and beans, and lashings of (many,many) different types of wine – so we slept very soundly.

Today, we all visited the fortified town of Carcassonne, which is the largest fortress in Europe – it’s very medieval, with lots of tiny streets selling souvenirs and gifts, and holds a castle (Chateau Comtal) and the Basilica of SS Nazarius and Celsus, a gothic church with a 1522 organ, which was playing atmospherically when we entered.

Walking around the ramparts, it provides a majestic view of the ‘new city’ and surroundings. It was incredibly busy, with hundreds of tourists packing the small alleyways, but a lovely atmosphere, and a great day out.

On the journey to the citadel, we stopped on a (pretty nondescript looking) road in the middle of nowhere, pointing uphill, and all got out of the car. Maxwell then proceeded to put a plastic water bottle on the ground, which then ‘rolled uphill’. It’s a local curiosity, a ‘trompe d’oeil’, where the road seems to go uphill but actually slopes downwards. Pretty eerie, especially when walking along, seemingly uphill, you close your eyes and feels like you’re going down. Interesting!

So now the hands are hurting and supper is being served so we must go – hope you’re all having a lovely time over there in England (where we will be in less than a fortnight!), and we promise we will blog again reeeal soon!!

Lots of love to all of you

A(M)&H+M,J&Pxxxxx

Venice (Again)

Ciao ciao

Firstly, apologies for the delay in posting - travelling combined with lack of internet cafes made it impossible to provide any update on our whereabouts...

Florence was divine, darling, with plenty of culture and family visits to keep us occupied! The first culture fix came in the form of the Uffizi Gallery, which we visited on Saturday morning en masse, avoiding the (literally) mile-long queue by booking our tickets the day before. We chose the perfect day to go, as the rain was coming down in buckets.

The Uffizi is huge, with an enormous collection of Renaissance paintings and classic sculptures, so we opted for audio guides to help us on our way. As there were a few of us, we opted for 'shared' guides, which meant being connected via two headphone sets and a thin wire, and a necessity to 'stay together'. Not as easy as it sounds, when the two headphones decide on different directions - there were many wives being jerked backwards by determined husbands and vice versa.

Also, when at maximum stretch, the wire between the two becomes taut, and is a lethal obstacle for any vulnerable necks passing by. Hence, an unfortunate Japanese tourist almost became a garotting victim between Philip and Mina, escaping considerable injury at the last minute. So, for your future reference, beware the headsets of the Uffizi.

The art was fantastic, with works by Sandro Boticelli (The Birth of Venus - amazing close-up), Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Giotto, Titian, Caravaggio.. It took a good two and a half hours to complete the main collection, so sore feet and aching legs ensued.

In the afternoon, P,M&L hired a car and visited the family in San Piero a Sieve for supper - we stayed behind to make the most of being in Florence, and visit the sights. However, the weather did not agree, and proceeded to empty the skies with great abandon, thunder crashing and lightening lighting up the wet cobbled streets - by the time we had left the hotel, dressed for the bad weather, both the Duomo and Medici chapel were closed, as was the market we were going to visit. Still, we found a nice self-service restaurant to have some food in the evening, with friendly waiters and delicious meals.

One handsome waiter in particular seemed very helpful, clearing our plates and trays and visiting our table every five minutes to remove a single glass or can at a time. He asked at one point where we were from - we answered 'England' and he professed that he would love to visit the country but that he didn't have the time. He left, we continued eating. Five minutes later, he returned, and stood, rather nervously, next to A, obviously having plucked up the courage. "I've never danced with an English girl.." he began - we nodded, smiled, replied 'oh, really?' in a confused fashion..

Then he leant in close to A, gazed into her eyes and.. "especially not one with as beautiful eyes as yours...". A, not having heard him, nodded and smiled politely at her admirer, at which point he bobbed up and down nervously and walked quickly back to his counter. As we walked out, he smiled and winked at A, declaring obvious love and affection. Italian men are so smooth...

We all spent Sunday with the family in San Piero a Sieve, eating ridiculous amounts of food at lunch and supper - lunch consisted of a starter of liver crostini, followed by tagleatelle, then pork, roast potatoes, faruna (guinea fowl), tomatoes and cucumber, four different kinds of cake, fruit, then coffee. Phew! You need an appetite to eat in Italy. Especially eating with a family, and an aunt (who cooked the entire meal) who cries 'Mangia! Mangia!' (Eat! Eat!) if you so much as slow down your pace. Don't come to Italy if you're on a diet...

Early Monday morning (very very early), Lydia flew back to England from Pisa airport, which proved much more straightforward than getting from England to Italy. We spent the day exploring Florence in the sunshine, and visited the Cappelle Medicee (Medici Chapel), part of Basilica di San Lorenzo (one of the largest/oldest churches in Florence) which houses the tombs of a number of the Medici family, as well as Michealangelo statues. It's unfortunately being restored at the moment, so a number of aspects of the interior were covered by scaffolding and statues were removed. Still, its a very impressive interior, with a high domed ceiling painted with images from the Bible.

Spent our last Florentine afternoon in San Lorenzo market, which sells clothes, bags, touristy tat, and is packed with all nationalities under the sun. Bought a great book in the international bookshop near the hotel, called 'Watching the English', written by a female anthropologist, and documents 'Englishness' in a very humerous way, and the fact that other nations, primarily Americans, don't 'get' us. (From the way we talk about the weather - "What foreign people don't understand is that we're not talking about the weather when we're talking about the weather.. its a form of social grooming" - to mobile phone/home/work etiquette) Every American should own a copy!

However, obtaining the book proved stressful. Having spotted it a few days beforehand, we went back to the shop to buy it. The space it had occupied was empty, so we assumed we were too late and that it had been bought. A suddenly spotted that an American guy was holding it, along with a few other books, and asked if we could have a quick look. He immediately started singing its praises, calling it 'brilliant' and that we should read it sometime. Handing it back, we wondered if he was buying it or if he hadn't yet made the decision.

So, for the following 10 minutes, we proceeded to covertly follow him around the shop, James Bond-style, eyeing his handful of books, hiding behind book rails and stands. Eventually, he disappeared from view, so we asked a cashier if they had any other copies. They said no, that they only had the one, and we pointed to him as he suddenly came into view, and we (the two of us and two cashiers) watched him intently as he wandered around the shop. Suddenly, he began to put the book back on a shelf, so we all 'oohed' and 'aahed' as it got closer, further away, closer, as he tried to make up his mind. After lots of 'oohing', he put it down, we cheered very quietly, and H plus one cashier, crept around the side of him to nab the book before he changed his mind.

All booked up, we travelled back to Venice yesterday by train, and immediately on arrival, P&M made their way to the beach to catch a couple of hours of sun - the weather forecast here is appalling for the next couple of days, so we need to make the most of the heat! We sat on the public beach for an hour or so, watching performances on the sand by amateur dramatists and dancers (yesterday was Feast of St Mary - an important public holiday in Italy), amid classical music and Jamaican instruments. It was a great atmosphere.

After supper in a pizzeria by the hotel, we made our way to a cocktail bar by the water, which is usually a very chilled out place to have an evening drink, with candles and fairy lights, and relaxing music. However, last night, there were celebrations, a party and a DJ, with people dancing everywhere and empty glasses of champagne, so we decided to gatecrash and drink up the atmosphere.

It turned out to be a very entertaining evening - as well as young, there were older dancers, women in their seventies, gyrating their hips to 'Rock around the Clock', swivelling their legs and risking their hip-replacements. A particularly energetic 60-year old in a bright red, short dress, red patent heels and curly blonde hair was the highlight of the evening, jumping out of her chair and dancing with great enthusiasm (very well, in fact) with eyes closed and arms in the air, next to her table, for four or five songs in a row, before sitting down again and her chair collapsing under her. She was then dragged to the dance floor by a hairy Italian.

Another couple, in their fifties and Dutch, gatecrashed shortly after us, holding ice creams they stood stiffly watching the action, with slightly twitching hips. As the music got older, and more their style, they loosened and began to jive, still stiffly, bouncing off each other with each beat. But as soon as 'I Will Survive' began to play, the husband pushed his wife away, puffed his chest out like a peacock, and turned into the Duracell Bunny, marching on the spot, hands flailing, bum wiggling, very serious expression on his face. This also continued through The Village Peoples 'YMCA', and he became camper each moment that passed. Poor wife, he was still jumping around when we left, and she was bobbing stiffly by his side.

And so we get to today, a wet and dreary day, with no prospect of the beach so far, so we are going to walk the streets of Venice, possibly find a hairdresser, window-shop and hope for better weather tomorrow. Oh and a Belated Happy Birthday to Big Al (did send a text yesterday, hope you got it) and hoping that you're all well with better weather than us!!

Will blog soon (hopefully)

Lots of love

A,H,P&M xxx

Firenze! Comfy Beds!

Ciao bellas/bellos

We are now safely ensconced in Florence and yes, Lydia, Mina & Philip did indeed make it across Europe to join us, even if the journey, for them, was slightly fraught and delayed.

Set off from Viareggio yesterday morning, saying a fond farewell to Paradise and its large bunny rabbits. Seemed to take half of the campsite with us though, with sand emerging randomly throughout the day from trouser turn-ups, trainers and bags. We won't miss the hard floors, bruised bones or mosquitoes, but the site was so idyllic that we may, just may, return. (But this time with a bigger tent and the comfiest airbed we can find)

To keep you up to date with the 'loo saga', we just have to inform you that if you were to choose to use a loo anywhere in Europe, for any purpose, then do visit the loos at Viareggio train station. They are fantastically odd, each cubicle set in a converted lift, and the door only sliding open after the digital display outside informs you to insert 20 cents. The door then slides shut, trapping one inside this strange metal box - as you take a seat, you press a button to set the automated loo paper machine into action, which provides one square at a time (but no more than 10 squares, if you happen to be greedy) Once finished, you hold your hand under a laser beam to receive soap, then another beam for water, and finally another button for air. Once all is done, you press a big black button for the door to slide open again, which then closes behind you, sets the digital display to 'disinfecting' and disinfects/flushes the room before the next customer arrives. The 30th Century is officially here, in a small seaside train station toilet.

Expected to meet the Lempriere clan from the train at Florence station, but received a phone call half-way through the journey to let us know that they would be late due to their plane being delayed, but that they would tell us all about it later. Thought nothing more of it, due to the fact we are a day behind with UK/world news as the papers we receive are a day late, and we haven't watched any TV for weeks.

Finally met them at the train station, and were filled in on the news re: UK airports/terror scares etc - they were very very lucky to have flown to Italy at all yesterday. Their plane was due to leave at 6.30amish from Stansted, just before the flight cancellations began, so although they were delayed by about 4 hours, their plane took off and landed safely - any later flight and they would still be in England. They still had the rigamarole of packing their hand luggage into the hold, and putting passports etc into clear plastic bags, and the queues and queues of people around the airport. Keeping an eye on the situation & hoping that Lydia will be able to fly on Monday morning, to get back for work!

All were exhausted yesterday afternoon, so went to the Hotel Colomba by taxi, booked in, and flopped on the beds (beds! comfy beds!) before going out for a bite to eat for lunch, in a cafe overlooking Piazza della Repubblica. Wandered around, had ice-cream from the best gelateria this side of France, ('Perche No?' or 'Why Not?'), and retired to the hotel again to have catnaps (on the comfy beds!). Ate in the evening, had another ice cream from Perche No? and went back to enjoy the comfy beds and Go To The Land Of Nod.

Saw the Duomo, or Santa Maria del Fiore, (H for the 2nd time, A for the 23rd time) which is an amazing sight, however many times you've seen it. Begun in 1296, it took 170 years to complete the works, (originally designed to be the largest Roman Catholic church in the world) and it towers above the surrounding Renaissance buildings. This, as well as every other inch of the place, is crawling with tourists at the moment, as it really is 'high' season so is incredibly busy, and you become very adept at dodging over-zealous tour guides and ducking under cameras pointed at various famous objects.

Every step you take in this city, you are bombarded with culture, art, history and beauty (as well as very nice smells of food and ice cream) and one visit is never enough. Still, we're going to try and pack it all in, along with visits to the family and lots of sleep in the comfy beds. Will keep you all informed as to where we all are and whether or not we've all got our transport connections!

Going to sign off now, and possibly have a nap this afternoon, due to a particularly savage mosquito keeping us awake during the night with ferocious buzzings and bitings, before (possibly) the first of our family/friend visits this evening, Gian Carlo, Carla and Monica for supper.

As usual, hope you're all well and, Uxxxx Mxxxxxx, we will be in touch (very) shortly about the South of France...

Lots of love

A,H,L,M&P xxx

Viareggio (Still)

Good afternoon, to All and Sundry,

Weather here is rather hot (well, we wanted sun...), beating down in the daytime and balmy evenings (although the temperature seems to plummet at around 4am, so woe betide any fool who happens to be outside his sleeping bag)

Have had a quiet couple of days, just relaxing, cooling, chilling - haven't spent much time on the beach (due to sun, as mentioned above), apart from an hour on Sunday - we splashed out on the private beach, as we thought it would be a nice change and an escape from the crowds - it wasn't much nicer - think sardines in a can and odd toilets.

Well, the toilets were normal enough, but a strange lady attached to a dirty mop hovered outside, next to a glass bowl with some spare change and a toilet roll. Offered her money, asked how much (paying for a toilet on a private beach - whatever next), she shrugged her shoulders and peered into the glass bowl as money was deposited - looking likely to spring into an attack of some sort if you didn't offer enough to the toilet fund. Seemingly satisfied with the 3 cents we threw in, were then ushered to the nearest free cubicle, and she returned to her hovering state next to the glass bowl.

Think we will use the free beach from now on..

The Paradise campsite is still paradise - although you have to pay for the showers (80 cents each) and 'a shower' (meaning how long the water falls after a token is inserted) lasts around three and a half minutes. Now, three and a half minutes is just about long enough to wash one's hair (obviously depending on length) and shave two armpits and one leg. To shave the other leg, one must insert another token. Which means dripping one's way back to the token machine, inserting another, and making one's way back to the water, without losing precious time for the shaving of one's other leg. It's fun, it really is.

Another plus side to the site is that it hosts a large family of bunny rabbits. Or a family of large bunny rabbits. They're huge and are a great fascination for the children staying here. They're very tame, and at dusk, sit close by the groups of people, washing themselves and digging in the sand.

The surroundings really are picturesque here - the beach has an enormous backdrop of mountains and there are pine woods everywhere, with a protected section, like a nature reserve, inbetween the campsite and the beach. We've been hearing odd sounds throughout Europe (in the trees, not in our heads) which we think we've attributed to cicadas - they sit in the pine trees and make sounds not unlike electricity lines. Which we thought they were until the moment it twigged that there were no electricity lines nearby (did we tell you we're quick?).

The evenings are filled with gourmet feasts from the local supermarket (consisting of insalata, baguettes, prosciutto and cheese, and the odd cheap wine/beer) and card games and Daily Mail reading (you get what you get - no Times or Telegraph here...). Although last night was particularly exciting as all the electricity went out, so the only light for miles around was from our citronella candle. Cue all sorts of insects making a beeline for us! (Makes the citronella candle a little redundant, really) Yes, MumMina, H is using her lantern, as well as the booklight and our torches are very useful. A is getting used to camping, slowly, this being the first time she has ever spent a night on the ground. It is rather hard, the ground, and our coccyx's and hips are rather bruised from the lack of airbeds, but it's all part of the experience (and it's cheap!).

Anyway, enough of our exciting, adventurous news. Hope you're all fine and dandy - looking forward to seeing you Lemprieres in Florence on Thursday! Wishing that the Bruces were there too...

Lots of love

From the Not Quite Brown Enough Ones xxx

Viareggio

Ciao!

We Intrepids are back online again, after a marathon journey from the campsite to the centre of Viareggio (MumSue, we are camping, just in a different place!) - we are about 2km from town, which usually would take mere mortals less than an hour to complete.

However, us being us, thought it would be fun to walk to the sea-front and make our way along the beach to the shops. The walk to the seafront is 1km, walking away from town, then another 2kmish to the centre from there. So with that and wandering aimlessly trying to find an internet cafe, our legs are nicely toned and we are 10% fitter than we were this morning. Oh and it was during an imminent thunderstorm, so do you see the lengths to which we go to keep you entertained? We do hope so.

Arrived in Viareggio to cloudy skies and buffeting winds, not quite the idyllic sun-filled resort we had been hoping for. Caught a bus to the campsite we had chosen (which looked nice in the brochure), which is along an avenue surrounded with trees and forest, with about 3 campsites next to each other.

As we walked in, it looked a bit run-down, but thought it was just tiredness affecting our judgement - we were shown to our 'pitch' and thereupon attempted our first tent-building. However, without a hammer, it proved tricky to get the pegs past the large underground stones and thick tree roots, so our converse trainers came in very handy, hitting the pegs with mounting frustration and anger. Pegs were bent by stones, hands were bruised by pegs, pegs ended up being thrown long distances due to afore-mentioned bending.. After the pegs were in, realised tent was on top of an angry ant's nest. So unpegged pegs, moved tent, bent more pegs, threw more pegs, hit converse trainers more.. but somehow, the tent managed to be erected.

Also realised tent was next to the railway line, with express trains threatening to derail next to the site every 10 minutes, and a busy main road with fast cars and honking scooters. Still, we thought, at least the tent is up - we can put up with the rest (grubby toilets, showers and sinks, grubby travellers (we're clean travellers), grubby amenities, ants..).

Exhausted from erecting, unerecting and erecting tent again, made our way to the amenities to have a nose around and see if we could buy some food. Found toilets - holes in ground, lovely. Went back to reception to ask after nearest ATM and was informed that we had pitched our tent in the wrong place, in between two pitches. Imagine our delight! But the kind receptionist said we could move the tent in the morning.

Decided there and then to stay one night and try another, quieter, cleaner, normal-toiletted site (this one was also 2km from the beach) in the morning. So ate at the restaurant on-site and went for an early night. Had a vague sleep-like trance state for a couple of hours, inbetween bouts of waking due to inebreated neighbours, express trains, zooming cars and wind (outside the tent, not inside) and woke, not the slightest bit refreshed, and blearily packed the tent (a hell of a lot quicker than putting it up) and exited the site by 9am.

Weaved our way down the road 10 metres and came across 'Camping Paradiso', an oasis in a sea of discontent. Log cabins, tall pine trees, pine needles in a light smattering over the sandy ground, sunlight filtering through the trees onto white-gravelled ground, normal toilets and clean showers, clean people wandering along the winding, pretty paths. And 7 euros cheaper! Receptionist had a heated debate with the guy who runs it (spitting image of Zio Beppe) as to whether or not they had room - luckily for us, she persuaded him they did, and, with a sparkle in his eye, patting random people on the head as he skipped along, he showed us to the spot.

And a lovely spot it is. Dappled sunlight falls on the tent, passing through the pine trees towering way above our heads. Pine needles cover the floor, and the pegs slid in with the greatest of ease into the sandy (unstony) ground. Nice neighbours, nice people, nice setting, very clean - lovely!

The weather yesterday was fab, sunny all day, so we made our way to the beach (just a 1kmish walk - we'll get so fit in between our tanning sessions!) and spent the afternoon there before returning to the tent and lazing about for the evening. Washed our clothes by hand which was new to both of us - you get so used to home comforts that fending for yourself makes you realise how well-off we all are!

Going to splash out and lie on the private beach tomorrow (11 euros for 2 seats and an umbrella) and do absolutely nothing. Love this travelling lark!

Will try and post in a couple of days. Looking forward to seeing you in Firenze, M,P&L!

Lots of love to all

The Getting Browner Ones xxx

Venezia

Good morning boys and girls

We arrived in Venice yesterday afternoon to blue skies and heat! Ljubljana had unfortunately succumbed to the big old raincloud that is currently passing over Central Europe so our last day and morning there was soggy, to say the least.

But our stay in Ljubljana was great, definitely one of our favourite places so far - especially the mahogany bunk beds, which were divine and very very comfortable - we didn't want to get up in the morning!

This is just a quick post to say that our plans have changed once again - we won't be going to Croatia, as the weather forecast there for the next week is appalling, with thunderstorms and showers every day, so our 'camping expedition' in Pula has been rained off.

We are now travelling down from Venice to Viareggio, on the west coast of Italy, as we have turned into sunseekers and are craving a beach and sun loungers. So we will be there for around 7/8 nights before catching the train to Florence next week.

Our posts may well be rather boring for the next 7 days or so (sun, sand, sea, etc - no sights!) but bear with us - normal operation will be resumed shortly. (May take this break to post some more photos from the last month of travelling)

Hope you're all well and good and that the weather there is nice and warm. MumMina - a little note just for you - we'll be keeping an eye on the weather, Venezia isn't looking too promising at the moment.. but all might change! We will keep a space in our tent for the both of you should you need it! Just bring your own sleeping bag and frying oil! Can't wait to see you.

Lots of love

From The Soggy Ones xxx