Hello Peugeot

A short post tonight to advise that we took delivery of a gleaming Peugeot 307 this morning.

Its nothing short of spectacular. Having never owned a decent car, the thrill of moving both my driver´s side mirror and the passenger's mirror at the same time and then having them fold in when I park was almost too much for me. It was a highlight 29 years in the making.

The day was eventful in other ways. We toured the corridors of the UN in what can only be described as Europe's most boring tour. We saw nothing, learned nothing and felt nothing. When the tour guide stopped in another corridor and asked for questions, I almost said "Does the fact that the United States is required to pay 22% of the UN's budget but is also the UN's biggest debtor state combined with the fact that it has just appointed a man as its ambassador to the UN who is openly critical of its workings compromise the ability of the UN to undertake its work throughout the world?" Fortunately I resisted the urge, but it was difficult.

The Red Cross museum on the other hand is amazing and is highly recommended for all tourists.

I also visited the headquarters of the World Intellectual Intellectual Property Organisation. It was just a short visit however having the photo taken out the front will be a special memory as I file trade marks throughout my career.

Off to France tomorrow.

Bonjour

PS - Another internet cafe, another failed USB connection for the photos. Sorry fans.

Italy: Its all Good!

We have finally bitten the bullet and are paying the 8 euro an hour for the internet. Excuse me while I type very very fast to compensate for this extravagance.

Our lives have been fantastic since we last communicated. You can't complain while crusing thru Tuscany and Venice and we won't. If there's a better place in Europe then bring it on. Mr Unexcitable has been greatly moved by Tuscany and seeing Siena, San Gimignano and Florence on gorgeous Spring Italian days. Gents, bring wives, fiances and girlfriends to these places immediately - you cannot go wrong.

Well we left Rome and headed to Florence seemingly a long time ago but probably less than a week. We landed in Florence and did our usual trick of waiting for a man to offer us cheap accomm. When he arrived he promised 40 euro accomm with our own shower. This was a nice surpise and we followed eagerly. Ignoring the stench of sewage in the streets (We are getting used to this smell by the way, anyone who has visited Venice will be know the smell I'm talking about), we found the hotel and settled in. Sure the old sheets were on the bed, but they were embarrassed about that and fixed it post haste.

Florence is certainly amazing. We took a fantastic walking tour which was conducted by a chick from Sydney. She knew her stuff and we were soon looking at every building as though it was built by the Medici or Strossi families or some other guild. We were spotting Donatello sculptures all over the place and thus completed our Ninja Turtle set: We have seen a Leornado, Raphael, Michaelangelo and Donatello. Cowabunga!

We checked out the Affizi gallery and enjoyed the Renaissance works. Apparently in the 14th century humans were once again able to paint without making babies appear disproportionate in the head. Scarily Cathy and I prefer the older 12th century stuff - check the frescos in the tower of San Gimignano as perfect examples.

Speaking of which, SG as we'll call it, must be the most perfect hilltop village in the world. Gorgeous like an advertisment for Intimissimi at the bus stop, it captivated us and encouraged us to stay far longer than we intended. Its tower, once climbed, has perfect views over Tuscany and its Wild Boar Panini will live long in the memory. Check it out here.

Siena: Having now read Dario's Too Much Tuscan Sun, I was looking forward to seeing the town of the Palio. What I didn't expect was to meet 2 Canadians and spend the day walking around shooting the breeze. It was lovely to speak some English and I certainly enjoyed the opportunity. I asked them how did the Canadians get rid of the Queen when us stupid Australians were unable to do so. They looked at my blankly and said they didn't know. I suggested that there must have ben a referendum or something and they said they didn't know. I laughed and they laughed and we moved on. 30 minutes later they piped up and said that the Canadians still had the Queen - that's why they couldn't tell me when they got rid of her! I was stunned. Surely those smart Canadians got rid of the Queen years back, but apparently no! We spent the night chatting away and made some new friends, which was lovely and overdue.

Staying in the 1, 2 star hotels means you can sleep in the same room and share your adventure. You do however lose the opportunity that comes from meeting new people in a hostel. Having heard more stories from our new friends about snoring, vomiting strangers, I'll stick to me and Cathy by ourselves in the 1 star I reckon.

Then on to Venice. For those that have been here, you know what I'm talking about. For those that haven't, get here before global warming finishes it off. Its like nothing else I've ever seen (except maybe Amsterdam without the cars, drugs and women). Truly amazing but probably only for 48 hours before the smell and inconvience of the 117 islands and 450 bridges takes its toll.

Before I sign off for a couple of days: some stories about some people we have met.

1. English couple who spoke like the black guy in the Nescafe ad about Kenyan coffee "Twapshire!!!" who were dressed like they had been born in Yemen and were living in the hills with Osama's relatives. We met them in a museum in the medina at Sousse in Tunisia. I didn't mention them at the time but I keep reflecting on this idiot Pom, dressed in a flowing blue Kaftan like thing, leather sandals and a scarf that he stole from Yassir. It was quite frankly extraordinary. We had a hard enough time in that country without dressing like movie extras but he seemed to think it was the way to go. Tragic.

2. Man on the train from Palermo to Rome who only spoke Italian but attempted to convert the other man in our 4 man carriage to his form of religious cult known as the Watchtower. While I stuffed the ear plugs further and further into my inner ear, this gentlemen spent half the trip showing the other man pamphlets and telling him about religious matters. It woudn't have been a problem, except for the fact that it continued until after we fell asleep and was going before we woke up. What a nightmare! The only thing that saved us was the fact we couldn't speak Italian, otherwise we might have been next on the list!

Anyway, I'll leave Cathy to post soon. Must respond to some email.

Cheers.

Rome

After the turmoil of Tunisia, it was good to arrive in Rome, a place that makes travellers feel welcome. We arrive and a bloke suggests a hotel for us. In Tunisia that would mean he wishes you to pay him for no reason. In Rome it means a bloke is desparate trying to fill his hotel and its a massive saving for us!

The days in Rome were filled with the usual things you'd do in Rome. Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Colleseum, Gelati at the Trevi Fountain.... You get the picture Cathy loved the fountain.

Real highlights everywhere and a really great 4 days.

Interesting reactions in Rome regarding the shot journalist. We haven't been able to understand the TV but the Italian news has been running it 15 minutes out of 30 (with soccer the other 15 minutes it seems).

One moment of drama this morning when the aforementioned cheap hotel tried to charge us an extra night. It appears that if you get a bargain rate, they invent nights of accommodation. They were even arguing that we stayed there when we produced our train ticket from Palermo showing we couldn't have done so. Anyway we escaped and continued on our merry way to Florence.

We arrived in Florence today. The train broke down on the way which is quite typical for Italy. We then went to Pisa for the afternoon. Needless to say that it is a great place to go for 2 hours and the tower really does lean. Amazing scenes. Nearly as amazing as the number of people attempting the 'push the leaning tower' photo. Extraordinary.

Photos are coming in the next week or 2. Promise.

Tunisia - The Good, The Bad and the Very Ugly

Firstly, the Good

1. Tunisia has some amazing sites which deserve to be seen by as many people as possible. Here I'm thinking the Bardo Museum, the rock dwellings of Chenini and Douriet (built into the cliffs to enable grain to be stored and the properties to be easily defended) and Matmata (underground dwellings used in the Star Wars movies).

The Bad

2. Tunisia is as polluted a country as I have ever seen. It makes no sense at all but everywhere you look in the country side their is rubbish. I am not describing cigarette butts or general litter. There is wholesale dumping of rubbish everywhere. Its scandalous.

The Very Ugly

3. Tunisians apparently believe that visitors to their country want to be grabbed, pushed and prodded into purchasing carpet or simply handing over their money. It made strolling the streets difficult and our stay unpleasant. Too many times we had to walk away from some hustler who had put a white sheet on Cathy's head to get a photo and then demanded money. On that occasion, we had to physically remove the hustler and scurry off to safety.

All in all Tunisia was not as good as the guide books made out and we were disappointed. We however look forward to Rome with renewed interest.

And now.

The Top 5 Highs and Low of February.

Highs

5. The Roman empire, which seems to be everywhere and is following us around. Whether you are in Turkey, Tunisia, Greece or anywhere else, the Romans were there first.

4. Being on the road. I'm definitely enjoying not having to worry about times, dates and files. Cathy and I constantly have to remind ourselves of what day it is which is the real test of whether you have become a "traveller".

3. Good priced food. Sometimes you find a real bargain that makes you come back again and again. Doy Doy in Istanbul for its lovely kebab plates, Gyros in Patras for the souvlaki and chips in wrapped up paper and 600 millim freshly squeezed OJ in Tunis.

2. Istanbul in the snow. Unforgettable.

1. Our day trips to Heidelberg and Chenini. Two very different places where we saw some very interesting things. One had buildings carved into the mountains, the other had an amazing vibe which we will never forget.

Lows

5. I guess I should say the "gun incident" however I found it rather exciting and wanted to stay around for more. Perhaps this should be a sixth highlight.

4. The continued snow throughout Europe during the month of February. Global warming manifesting itself in very strange ways indeed.

3. Anzac House at Gallapoli. Their failure to turn on the heating in rooms when it was zero degrees was astonishing.

2. In an incident not yet reported on these pages, while in Athens a windy day saw a steel and glass advertising sign crash down on top of our bus causing panic, tears and an exclaim from Cathy - Is that a Bomb!! No it wasn't a bomb, just some dodgy Athenian engineering. The bus however had smashed windows, glass was strewn for 50 metres and traffic was stopped in the vicinity. Extraordinary really.

1. Tunisian men. Made our lives miserable at times and took away from their quite astonishing country.