Our first night was in a village called Lossburg, in the middle of the Black Forest. A very nice hotel among the rolling hills and pretty landscape. It would also be our final stop on the way home. The second day we travelled through Switzerland to the North of Italy, staying in a little village called Verceia at the north of Lake Como. Switzerland was so beautiful! The north of Switzerland didnt look much different to the south of Germany and we missed the turn at Zurich so had to drive right through the centre of the city in scorching heat and mad traffic. That was a bit of a nightmare. I wasnt overly impressed with Zurich but maybe it was just the areas we drove. It definitely looked different to other European cities but nothing that I would rave about. But the south of Switzerland, it was just about too beautiful for words. Like picture postcards with the melting snow forming waterfalls that cascaded down the Alps. Very strikingly beautiful!!! The place we stayed that night was also surrounded by mountains and Alps, some snow capped still too, and these were mirrored in the lake. It was so pretty and I could have sat and just looked at it all day. We had the most beautiful view from our own private balcony.
And of course, we had pizza on our very first night in Italy. From Lake Como, we travelled south west to a little mountain village called Sestola, south of Modena and Bologna. We were to spend the next day doing a little sightseeing in Bologna and visiting the Ferrari museum in Maranello (just outside Modena) but we were too exhausted after 3 very long travel days so we just rested at the hotel instead. We also had a fabulous view of the mountains from our private balcony here too. 
When we left there for Venice, we went past the Ferrari factory and Hans took a couple of pictures still.Our first main sightseeing stop was Venice. I just cant tell you how excited I was when we were crossing to the island of Lido on the car ferry. We were staying in a beautiful little villa on the island of Lido, which is one of many islands of Venice. The villa was very private, and extremely comfortable with its own private garden in a very small community at the other end of the island. The ferry took us straight past the Royal Palace and St Marks. It was soooo incredible. That night I was too excited to sleep before our day of sightseeing. We didnt get to see a real lot, one day is just not long enough. We would love to have also spent some time in the local streets where tourists dont go, plus we also only went half way up the Grand Canal. But I just adored Venice and it would have to be my favourite city of the whole trip J We gave the Gondola rides a miss also, they cost 100 euro ($180 Australian) for just the two of us to go for a half hour or so ride. But we did go to the Galleria Dell’ Accademia (a very beautiful art gallery), Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (a very beautiful church), Piazza San Marco, and Basilica San Marco. They were all so incredible and amazing. We took the lift to the top of the campanile in the Piazza and looked out over all of Venice. That was a fascinating sight. All you could see of the main island from up there was an endless sea of orange roofs. But the other views were magnificent and it is also from where Galileo conducted his experiments. We walked over the Rialto Bridge which was quite a thrill, and also took several photos of the Bridge of Sighs. The Rialto Bridge is the oldest bridge in Venice and I kept thinking of those that would have crossed it throughout history. I found it so fascinating. We decided to give the Palace and a few other sights a miss as it was getting late and we were quite exhausted. Unfortunately, I never did get the photos of Venice scanned in yet, that is something I really MUST do!
The next day we packed up and headed in the direction of Naples. I had a lot of mixed feelings as we crossed back to the mainland on the ferry. Trying to savour every last sight of Venice as we passed by. First we went directly south, staying the night in a small town right on the coast and just south of Ancona. It was a beautiful little family holiday town called Numana. Very scenic and pretty but we were only there overnight. The next day we had to go west to Naples, via the Grotte di Frasassi (http://www.frasassi.com/indexuk.html). This was the first time I had ever been to a Grotte and it sure was something to see. It is supposed to be the largest in Europe and it is so incredible! You cant touch the stalagmites or stalactites but they are the most unbelievably magical sight to see. They are so graceful and magnificent. Hans and I were both speechless when we walked in and saw them. The walk and many stairs through the cave was a bit hard going for me but definitely worth every second. We also had to wait a few hours for the English guide who takes you through the 5 rooms open to all tourists and it takes about an hour. Boy that was one sight I will never forget.
Because of our long stay at the Grotte, we didnt arrive in Naples until about 8pm and then we were regretting arriving at all. It was one pure nightmare and definitely an adventure to say the least!!! As Hans said, “I’m not scared of anything except the devil, but I was scared of driving in Naples”. We had booked accomodation in the city near the national museum but must have taken a wrong turn from the ring around Naples. We drove straight into a very poor area but that wasn’t the bad part. The traffic was like nothing I have ever seen or wish to see again. And it wasn’t just that there was lots of it. It was, put simply, peak hour traffic with no rules whatsoever. Not one single car or motorbike obeyed any red lights or signs, not even the police cars which just enjoyed chatting or breaking the rules themselves. There were no rules in Naples. There were scooters and motorcycles coming at you from all directions and I saw only one helmet out of the lot. And a lot of kids riding them too. We saw no cars that didn’t have dents in them and the bikes came out of nowhere all around us like flies suddenly appearing from nowhere. We were terrified. A couple of young girls came up behind us on a scooter and slightly collided with us. We were the only ones obeying one red light, even police not in a hurry just drove through, stopping a bit up the road to have a chat with other police eating dinner on the footpath. At other red lights, when it turned green for us to go, we couldnt because traffic was coming thick and fast from all other directions that weren’t stopping on red. Cars were pulling out in front of us from side streets without even the slightest glance. At another red light there were a row of cars waiting beside us in the other lane with the car in front stopped just past the light so he couldnt see it. The cars behind him tooted so he thought the light had changed to green and went through, with all the others behind him following, even though the light was still red. I was flabbergasted. The horns were also driving me insane. It seemed to be the custom to drive around tooting your horn, once again, even for the police. There was no laws and definitely no traffic rules and we were terrified. Nobody could give us directions to the street we needed also, so we ended up leaving Naples and finding a hotel in another town nearby for the night. We were so exhausted by that stage that we didnt even unload the bike. We just went straight up to the room and straight to sleep, not even thinking about dinner.
The next day we drove down to Pompeii. All the south seem to have much the same road sense but without the large amounts of traffic it wasnt quite so bad. It was also a little bit better behaved. It took us a while to find Pompeii as the signs werent the greatest and we ended up heading down the coast towards Sorrento at one stage. But we finally found it, drove into a campsite, and asked for a bungalow. The bungalows were very basic to say the least, no toilet seats anywhere in the south and the shower in the bungalow had no curtain or anything, it was just a rose attached to the wall in the bathroom and the water running onto the floor. But it was right opposite the entrance to the ruins and would do us for a couple of nights. We were definitely going to see the ruins of Pompeii while we were down here and that is something we werent going to miss for sure. There was also a washing machine at the campsite that came in extremely handy. And the attached pizzeria was delicious and handy for all 3 meals of the day. I loved their chocolate croissants for breakfast. But there was a big drawback to the campsite. It seems that the row of bungalow rooms were very popular with locals using the services of prostitutes and the walls were paper thin, I will leave the rest to your imagination…..hmmmmm. They even had somebody to go in and change the linen in adjoining rooms during the middle of the night.
The next day we went to see the ruins and that was sooooooo incredible!!! It was a great way to spend Hans’ birthday. It is definitely something that everybody should see. We wandered through the streets and buildings for over 6 hours until we were too hot, tired, and hungry to continue. We only saw about half of it in that time. For me, I found it moving to think that I was walking through the homes, churches, and businesses of somebody. It almost felt like we were intruding into their lives.
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In a couple of places we saw the petrified bodies of people in glass cases and while it was so interesting, I also felt terrible of the fact that these poor people have never received a proper burial and are on show to the world, still with the painful expressions on their faces and their bodies in tortured postures forever. It was a very sobering sight. Some of the mummies you could easily see their features and there was bone in some places that was visible.
The ruins were magnificent, although all the little things had naturally been taken away to museums such as the one in Naples. But the buildings were still standing. Some were better than others. There was writing on the walls of shops (outside), paintings on the inside walls of homes. Some of the frescoes were still quite magnificent with so much colour after about 2000 years. 
The floor mosaics were still very good. Some mosaics were still completely in tact and they were beautiful. 
There were all kinds of buildings too. The fast food shops which served the evening meal for all the cities people who ate outside in the evenings. They had counters with holes in them where the foods were kept and served from. Like giant pots set into counters.
There was a bakery with the huge furnaces. 
And we even saw a brothel with its interesting art work. There was also a little theatre, .jpg)
a big theatre, temples, the gardens surrounding the city, 
the gladiator training ground, 
and of course, the ampitheatre. We had a good look at the ampitheatre and sat in the seats, walked through some of the tunnels, and stood in the arena. .jpg)
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You have a very large understanding of how the people lived in Pompeii, almost as if you are there living with them. We sat on the steps of temples, wandered through the deserted streets, and stood and looked at the views that would have been seen by those who lived there. 
And what a sight Versuvius was, looming over the city as if she hadnt done anything. I was mesmerised by her everytime I saw her. 
I was quite disappointed I didnt get to see the most famous building, the Villa of Mysteries, but it was a long walk as it was the holiday retreat for the rich and located outside the main part of the city. And by the end of the day we were just too worn out to walk up to it. 
After our experiences in Naples on arriving, we were going to leave for Tuscany a day early but decided to stay as originally planned and visit the city of Naples by train the next day. We were glad we did because apart from the crime and traffic, it really is a very beautiful and historical city. We first visited the National Museum, yep, the one on the next corner to where we were to originally stay. It was a fabulous museum. The bottom floor contained all kinds of huge statues, ancient statues, of gods, emperors, etc. One side of the top floor contained all kinds of artefacts, frescoes, etc from Pompeii and the other side was mostly artefacts and the like from Herculeum. In the centre was this huge room with the most beautiful ceiling. It apparently is one of the biggest covered halls in Europe and the room contained ancient artwork. There was also an inbetween floor that was full of ancient mosaics, including some from Pompeii. There was another room they didnt let us into. We found out later that it is the secret room, as they call it, and full of erotic artefacts. You can see it but must book at the entrance and they only allow 20 in at a time. 
We also went to Castel Nuovo. It was incredible. It was so big! Where the moat used to be there is still a huge ditch and at the bottom, a car park now. 
It is broken up into several parts. First you take a lift to the top of one of the towers and view Naples from up there. That was great. Next you go to one of the original halls of the castle and then down to an area that archeologists are currently working on. .jpg)
There is a glass floor above the diggings that you can walk on and look down at the excavations, including skeletons that have been discovered. 
Lastly you go into the chapels and the museum area. We also went to the top in another section where you could sit and just look out at the Bay of Naples with Capri and Versuvius in the distance. It was really beautiful. 
There was one part I didnt like, though, they had all these wild cats in the courtyard (maybe for keeping rodents away). They had a lot of little kittens too which all had a bad disease where they could barely see through the gross muck in their eyes. It was heartbreaking and I dont like the way they look after their animals down in the south. All around Pompeii (the town and the ruins) there were stray dogs too, looking for any affection they could get. It was really awful and I found it hard. But back to Naples, we wandered around it a bit and found so much gorgeous and historical architecture at every turn. A truly beautiful city if it didnt have such a bad reputation crime wise and everything. But there is pick pockets everywhere in Naples too. And some areas have mafia type gangs too. We also heard afterwards that people can also be stolen in Naples. But if you want history and a different cultural experience, you will love Naples.
It was then time to leave the south and head for Tuscany. We headed north to Montecatini Terme which we thought would be pretty central for seeing the main sights of Tuscany, we didnt realise that a lot of tourists have the very same idea. It is well known for its healing spas that are scattered throughout the town and it is quite a pretty town but very, very thick with tourists. It isnt that big a city but it has 200 hotels in it. Something like 60,000 guest beds in the town. The street with the hotel we had booked was just a hotel street. A long street with nothing in it but hotels. And for such a big tourist town, it was very hard for us on a couple of nights to find somewhere to eat. There were hardly any restaurants or pizzerias in the area where we were. You would make a fortune if you opened one up there. But we used Montecatini Terme as our base for seeing Pisa, Lucca, Vinci, and Florence. We had originally booked for the whole 8 nights we were in Tuscany but decided to stay only 5 and head further south in Tuscany, to where the true Tuscan landscape is, for the other 3 nights.First we visited Lucca. Not a real lot to see in Lucca but we loved wandering around the very narrow, medievil streets where no traffic is allowed. There are still the medievel ramparts all around the city centre and it is fascinating to see. A bit expensive and quite a few tourists there though.
Next we went to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me. You can not imagine just how much it leans until you see it with your own eyes. It is absolutely awesome and leaves you a bit in shock. We didnt take the usual tourist photos of us holding it up though. We also didnt pay to walk up it but instead just concentrated on taking photos that show just how incredibly much it leans. It defies gravity is an understatement!
Florence is a very nice city but has some major drawbacks. We didnt go to any of the museums or art galleries beacause of the enormous amount of tourists. The main museum, which contains the original statue of David by Michelangelo, has such a queue everyday that you have to stand in line in the sun for 2-3 hours to get in if you dont reserve tickets beforehand. There was also a queue at the main art gallery, the Uffizi, so we skipped all of them and just wandered around the other main sights. Florence is also extremely expensive. We sat down at one cafe at the end of the day, Hans to have a capuccino and me to have a slushee (slush puppy). They charged us about 10 euro ($17 Australian) for the two drinks. We were not impressed! Apart from being expensive and crowded, it sure is beautiful though and the duomo is definitely a site not to miss. It is incredible. Hans wanted to climb the tower there but once again there was a very long queue. We did, however, also get to see the church with many famous tombs, including the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo. That was great and we got photos of the tombs. 
We also visited Vinci. A small hilltop village near Florence that is the birthplace of Leonardo di Vinci. They have a museum there with a lot of replicas of his inventions and he sure was a genius! You can also visit the house he was born in. It was very interesting.When we moved south, we found a little villa in a small town called Sant Albino. It is just outside the incredible hillside town of Montepulciano. This was in the centre of the real Tuscany that you see on postcards and right in the chianti region (where the wine comes from). It is so beautiful and also the area where those winding roads lined with cypress trees are located. We only found one of those roads though but I was so happy to see one. The villa we stayed in was really lovely and owned by a really nice elderly couple that didnt speak a word of any language other than Italian so it was quite an interesting stay to say the least. But they were the nicest and lovliest old couple and she even looked like she was going to cry when she waved goodbye to us. We really enjoyed it with them so much and told them we plan to come back and visit them in a few years when we return to Italy. It was also very, very cheap, only 46 euro for bed and breakfast for both of us. From here we visited Montepulciano which is the most magical Tuscan village. Situated right at the top of the hill with its steep and very narrow medievil streets. We caught the local bus to the top of the hill and walked down through the streets. Looking through the narrow alleys all around that lead to lookouts with the most unreal views of Tuscany. That was definitely quite a place! There was also a wedding in the cathedral when we arrived at the top of the hill so we also got to watch. The next day we visited Siena but after seeing Montepulciano, it just wasnt up to comparison. The duomo was very beautiful in Siena. And Hans walked to the top of the tower in the town hall (505 steps in all) which I said “No Way” to. And being such a hot day too, we didnt spend a lot of time in Siena. But Tuscany is a very beautiful place and just like the pictures you see of it. We will definitely be returning there!!! Just not when it is so hot and there are so many tourists.
After Tuscany, we drove to Genoa, going via Cinque Terre. We didnt really go down into any of the towns of Cinque Terre but drove along the road at the top of the mountains. They are about 5 towns which are built onto the side of mountains in a way that you wouldnt believe. What we saw was so awesome, we also plan to return there. There is only a road down to the end two and even then, the residents themselves have to park in the carpark and walk down the steep steps. We saw some people moving in at one of the villages and the truck was parked in the car park where someone was unloading the stuff onto a mechanical platform that moves up and down a ladder. Then the other workers were unloading the platform at the bottom and carrying the things to the house. These villages are amazing! They are also in the most stunning and spectactular scenery you can imagine, right on the Riviera. With the sea meeting directly the base of the mountains they are built on, no beaches. The views really do take your breath away. It was evening when we arrived in Genoa and we were only there overnight so we didnt get to see much. Just from driving around looking for our hotel. It wasnt spectacular though, just a big seafaring city from what we saw. Also with very, very steep roads as it is also built through the mountains.
Our last stop in Italy was in Verona. We stayed about 15km out of the city in a small village. We had booked into a bed and breakfast which is actually a renovated 17th century farmhouse. The owner had bought it 15 years ago when it was very run down and with no roof or anything. The top floor was their house. Underneath, where the stables had been, they had converted into 3 guest rooms with their own bathrooms and a breakfast room. The room was amazing with the completely stone arched ceiling of the guest room and everything. They had done a magnificent job. We absolutely loved it and it was peaceful in the countryside. With it being soooo hot yet again, about 35, and with us being soooooo exhausted by the end of the trip, we decided not to go sightseeing in Verona and leave it for next time we go to Italy, definitely. Instead, we just relaxed and enjoyed the peaceful landscape surrounding us.
On the way home, we also stayed at a hotel in Austria as well as the one in Lossburg again. We were in a small village just outside Innsbruck and it was typically Austrian. I fell in love with the place. It is a peaceful and very scenic Alpine village called Mutters. A lot of hotels and guest houses here because it is popular with skiers in Winter and there is also summer skiing nearby on some of the glaciers. The houses were very typical timber houses and the whole place was very pretty. We went for a walk to get dinner in the evening and you could hear a band playing traditional Austrian music. It is probably not quite as striking as Switzerland but I definitely preferred it! It just had so much atmosphere that I didnt see in Switzerland. And so very traditional! The people were all so friendly and helpful too. It was definitely a very nice stay.
It would have been nice to see a bit more, half of our trip was just in travelling. When we return, we are going to split it up into sections. We will do just the north one time, the south and Sicily another, and also do Tuscany and Umbria separately. Italy has so much to see and you could never hope to see all it has to offer. Not in a lifetime anyway. We have seen the real major sites (apart from Rome which we will do just in a city trip for a weekend or something) and most of the biggest cities that I wanted to see, so in future we will concentrate on the smaller villages and landscape. That is where the real Italy is. I have also lost count of how many times I have said incredible, magnificent, beautiful, etc, etc, etc but that is the only way to describe it.
The food in Italy was totally UNREAL! We have never eaten so good and Italians definitely know how to cook and enjoy food! Breakfasts in Italy arent much and we had the same breakfast at every hotel, cold croissants and bread rolls, jam or honey, coffee or capuccino, orange juice, usually some cheese and ham, yoghurt, and sometimes cereal. But the lunches and dinners were fabulous. We usually ate at pizzerias or restaurants and nearly every meal was pizza or pasta. We chose not to eat the traditional Italian meal although we tried it once or twice. The Italian meal consists of antipasta followed by primi piatti which is usually a pasta. Then comes the secondi which is the meat dish but often just meat unless you order a salad with it (Hans was rather fond of the dish which was all prosciuto on a plate and served with some fresh melon). Vegetables are often served separately and later you can have cheese, fruit, or desert. For this reason, we often just stuck with the one course and maybe a desert. So, because meat was often served on its own, we usually just chose a pasta. But the pasta was sooooooo good anyway J Very fresh and the sauces were divine and home made. The pizzas are incredible in Italy too, but dont expect to ever see deep pan, that is not Italian. But they are huge, and every single pizzeria, restaurant, or whatever, cooks their pizzas in a traditional wood burning furnace. They are soooo good. And so cheap too with the average pizza costing about 4-5 euro (about $7 australian). One problem though, was that dinners are usually served soooo late. It is unusual for locals to go to dinner before 8pm. Italians enjoy their food and have made an art out of it J
We had perfect weather for the trip too. There was only one wet day really. That was the day we travelled from the south to Tuscany. The rest of the trip was sunny and very warm. Or rather, very hot! Temperatures were mostly 30-35 degrees everyday and it made it quite uncomfortable on the bike. Having to wear big bike jackets, boots, helmets, jeans, and leather gloves in those conditions was not nice to say the least and made travelling a race to get to the next hotel, shower, and cool off. We could have done what the locals did, shorts and t-shirts. But we werent prepared to take those kinds of risks. It also made sightseeing a bit hot and uncomfortable too. Next time we will be planning on going a little earlier, say April or May.
The bike held up very well on the trip, although there were a few minor mishaps. A few times the bike decided to fall when it was standing still, once while we were on it and were trying to do a u-turn partly using a very steep driveway that went down. We werent hurt apart from a few bruises and sore muscles from trying to lift it again. But it was enough to take some of the enjoyment from riding, away for me after that and replace it with just worry. It was nobody’s fault or anything. The bike was just extremely loaded, in fact, with both of us and all the gear on it, we were about 40kg over the suggested maximum weight for that bike. While it was moving, there were no problems at all. But when standing still, it made for a very difficult job for Hans. Apart from this, the bike performed extremely well and made the 6000km we did (even with the overload) look very easy. She sure is one nice piece of nice machinery.
However, in future we will probably stick to the car on such big trips. The distances and time make it a bit too long. Well for me anyway. My back, knees, hips, etc, just arent up to that kind of trip, especially with not really being on the bike much otherwise. Also, we just need so much gear for a trip of that length. We were away for nearly a month. As it was, I had to do quite a bit of washing in hotel sinks because we were running out of clothes or something. With the heat we had to change pretty well everyday. And it was also disappointing that we couldnt really bring back any souvenirs. I did manage to get myself a small model gondola and a couple of fridge magnets from Venice. Also a souvenir from the leaning tower of Pisa. But we just couldnt fit anything else in. As much as we would have liked a nice book on Pompeii or something, there just wasnt the room.Overall, it was an absolutely incredible trip though. Italy is every bit as beautiful and wonderful as I imagined and we cant wait to see more of it. The heat and the long distances by bike just couldnt dampen our spirits and we had the most enjoyable time regardless. If anything, it sure was one big adventure! And we definitely cant wait to get back there either. But first, a trip to Greece and a return to trip to Australia. The main question is, what will we see first? I think the North, but then we would both love to explore the Tuscany and the centre much more. Hmmmm I really want to see Sicily and the real south too! Guess that is just something we will have to think about! There are 23 films altogether with the one that is still in my camera. And there are going to be some really fantastic pics there!
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