A finger, a hand and a foot...

From beautiful Dubrovnik we continued our cruising throughout the Dalmatian coast - as our fellow cruises kept reminding us "its a hard life". We managed to take every opportunity for swimming, whether off the boat (where Julian goaded the other males, including a 55year old and 13 year old to jump from the highest points possible, and excelled at climbing the anchor back onto deck!) or on some of the most stunning 'beaches' - although in Bianca's book anything with pebbles is not a beach.

Highlights were the magnificant town of Korcula, walls surrounding gorgeous alleyways, and booming Hvar with an old citadel on the hill and superyahcts in the marina. We managed to only have one morning of bad weather, the rest of the time was hot hot hot which made the swims even more pleasant. Back in Split we busied ourselves for the day before boarding an overnight ferry to Ancona in Italy - our cabin was so cute! Then it was onwards to Florence!

We finally realised in Florence exactly how expensive it is to travel in Western Europe - sheesh. So we stuck to free or cheap attractions and managed to keep ourselves well entertained. The obligatory stop to see David was well worth it, Julian now considering a new career as an Art Critic - apparently the hands are too big. We had some very expensive pizza and beer near the Ponte Vecchia, and enjoyed breathtaking views across the city from Michaelangelos piazza. Also saw an exhibit on Gaileo, or the history of astronomy - fascinating looking at all the old globes and equipment from a range of cultures. Strangest was the preserved finger of Gaileo himself...

Florence had some great markets, and like in Turkey where we got convinved to buy Turkish tablecloths, Julian is now the proud owner of an Italian leather jacket. He got a good deal, now Bianca is looking for some nice Italian boots!

From Florence headed to Venice and to the blessed sanctuary of our apartment in Arsenale - it was wonderful to have somewhere to retreat to during the heat of the day, and we enjoyed becoming a little like locals, shopping for provisions, only getting lost occasionally. Julian managed to persuade Bianca out of bed at 5am on our first morning for a walk around the sights, which was an inspired choice. St Marks square with not a soul, same for Rialto bridge!

Our remaining sightseeing over the next two days took place in 38 degree heat, refreshing. We visited some great galleries and some interesting musuems (one with a massive 12m crocodile skeleton from the Sahara). Also on our itinerary where some of the many churches, including one with a preserverd hand of a saint and another one with a foot... Does anyone else find this strange? Managed to turn down the 80 euro gondolier ride, but did take the vaporetto's up and down the Grand Canal and out to Murano island. We oohed and ahhed through the Doge's palace and St Marks Basilica, and basically fell in love with Venice.

Now in Rome after a looong and hooot train ride. We've spent today sightseeing in cooler weather - wow only 32 degrees! Ticked off the Spanish Steps, St Peters Basilica, Piazza Navona and lots of Egyptian obelisks - how many do they have! Tomorrow we have planned the Colloseum, the Forum and Trevi Fountain before boarding our flight home - we'll be back in Canberra on Tusday morning.

Look forward to sharing our stories with you (and our bed, pillows, tandoori pizza, Coopers Pale Ale, and many numerous things we didn't realise we needed so much!)