Reillys on Tour

Hi All, Am 30! Currently sitting in internet cafe prior to catching the bus to Siena for a day out. So far have been to Pisa, Lucce and Florence (where we are currently holed up in a very nice place indeed!) Yesterday was spent cycling round Chianti with Keith (Irish) and Andy (Scottish) - for some reason Italians dont feel up to running bike tours themselves... Was very pleasant - we got to taste award winning wine and olive oil along the way made by a Count and Countess no less! (Not of the vampiric variety we have been assured) A fair portion of the days entertainment was provided by Andy who is possibly the most blatant of chat-up merchants I have ever seen in operation. Sample quotes: This way people this way - and American blondes can sit just here... Everybody in the van - girls you sit next to me So Keith, the story is they dont like me very much but they do care for you. You talk them round and we'll see what we can do next... Re-reading all of this m...

Dear all, Lisette and I have finally made it to Bologna - and have officially left Tuscany behind. Now that we've got here I'm increasingly of the opinion that we never should have left. Bologna seems somewhat industrial, hostile and - dare I say it - mugging territory. (For the more nervous of you I haven't actually seen direct evidence of this - it's just a feeling) We pulled into town latish last night having caught the Eurostar from Firenze/Florence to make our journey. That in itself was a bit of a surprise - I was only aware of the Eurostar chugging along between Waterloo and Paris. Quite unexpected. Having arrived and hauled our stuff to the hotel we went for an evening saunter during which I made the following observations: There's a lot of cars There's some dodgy looking blokes and a distinct absence of women travelling by themselves (in stark contrast to previous destinations) The graffitti here is excessive and depressing. You mig...